Selecting Fruit

Passionfruit can be many colors, from yellow, to reddish, to purple. When the fruit ripens, the rind of the small, round fruit will be somewhat shriveled and you might think it is past it’s prime. But don’t let those wrinkles fool you, the juice inside that little fruit is ready to be used and enjoyed in many ways.

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When you find passionfruit in the market, pick it up, and shake it. A ripe, full fruit will be heavy for its size, and you will be able to hear that there is juice inside. Choose that one!

 

Ripening

​The wrinkled skin is usually a sign of ripeness, so if your passionfruit is smooth, let it sit on the counter for a few days until it acquires a few wrinkles. Once it has a few wrinkles, then you can open it and remove the juice and seeds. Don’t place it in the refrigerator until it has ripened.

 

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Handling

​To open your passionfruit, use a sharp knife and cut the fruit across the middle. Do this over a bowl, or on a plate, so that you don’t lose any of the tasty passionfruit juice. Inside the fruit will be a cluster of little juice sacks each containing a seed. Spoon out the sacs into a bowl.

 

You can separate the juice from the seeds by placing the juice sacs in a strainer over a bowl. Press the back of a spoon against the sacs to remove the juice. You can also use a blender to separate the seeds.  Use short bursts of the blender so that the seeds are separated from the sacs, but are not ground into small pieces.

Some people grind or use a blender to break down the seeds and add them in with the juice. The seeds are a little peppery, so taste them first before you add them back into the juice.

 

Storage

​Once your passionfruit has ripened, you can keep it in the refrigerator for around a week or so. Put it in a plastic bag or container to hold moisture. The separated juice will last a few days in the refrigerator. The juice freezes very well. Just put the juice in a closed container,  remove as much air as possible, and freeze.

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Counts and Weights

​A 2 ½” passionfruit contains about 2 tablespoons of juice and seeds. If you strain out the seeds, you are left with about 1 tablespoon of juice.

 

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Nutrition

​Passionfruit juice is very high in potassium and Vitamin A. One cup of a Florida passionfruit juice contains:

 

229 calories

1.6 grams fat

5.1 grams protein

​55 grams carbohydrate

​24 grams fiber

821 milligrams potassium

3002 IU Vitamin A

​Source: USDA NDB Number: 09231

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Recipes

​The juice of the passion fruit is what is used in most all recipes, but the seeds are also eaten. They can be ground and used as you would peppercorns.

 

Passionfruit juice is intensely aromatic and you won’t need much to flavor your dishes with the tropical flavor of passion fruit. Try passionfruit in dishes like these:

 

 

Passion Fruit Juice

The Wikihow website does an excellent job of showing you how to make passion fruit juice. You can see that here: http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Passion-Fruit-Juice

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Hot Passion Mojito

2 oz. white rum

4 oz. fresh passion fruit juice

Splash of soda water

3-4 mint stems

Dash Sriracha-style hot sauce

1 T. simple syrup

2 whole limes

 

Slice the limes into wedges and set a few aside for garnishing. Squeeze juice from the lie wedges and add rinds to the bottom of the glass.

Add mint, simple syrup and Sriracha. Mash with a muddler to release the oils from the mint. Add ice, rum, passion fruit juice and soda.

Garnish with lime slices and mint.

 

Recipe by Jaime Shycko, Local Flavor, Recipes Raised in the Florida Redland

 

 

Purple Passion Dressing

1/3 c. passion fruit juice

½ t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

¾ c. olive oil

¼ t. ginger

¼ t. Dijon style mustard

 

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Yield 1 cup dressing.

 

recipe Tropical Fruit Cookbook, Caloosa Rare Fruit Exchange, Inc.