Nothing adds a ray of tropical sunshine to your cocktails better than a Passionfruit.
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This incredibly perfumed, seedy fruit has a bright, sweet-tart and vaguely floral flavour. That unique flavour lends itself well to tropical fruit blends, nutty mixers and sweet Rums.
Although their hard purple casing may look impenetrable, it belies the deliciously sweet and tangy golden, yellow pulp (with edible seeds) that lies inside.
It can be used with almost any spirit, although its best known to accompany Rum in a variety of Tiki and tropically inspired drinks.
When choosing Passionfruit, go for the ones that are heavy, have no discolourations, bruising or green spots. And remember, the slightly wrinkly fruit is ripe and will have a sweeter taste than the smooth-skinned Passionfruit.
They will keep for several months in the fridge or a cool cupboard, but will gradually lose their sweetness. Passionfruit pulp can be frozen in ice blocks for later use.
Fun Facts About Passionfruit
- Exotic and tropical, Passionfruit is a vine based fruit that originated in South America but is now grown in different tropical and subtropical countries around the world.
- The Amazon is home to more than two hundred species of passion plants.
- The several varieties of Passionfruit are generally purple or yellow in colour. The purple kind, which is also called purple granadilla, is smaller in size but juicier and more flavorful. However, the yellow passion fruit is more widely cultivated.
- The Passionfruit got its name from South American Catholic missionaries, who believed that the passion blossom was a reminder of the passion of Christ. To them, the corona symbolized a crown of thorns; the stigma, the nails on the cross; the sepals and petals, which numbered ten in all, the ten apostles with the exception of Peter and Judas; and the stamens, Christ’s wounds.
- It’s served either sweet or sour.
- Technically it’s a berry and one fruit has only 17 calories. The dark seeds are crunchy but edible.
- It’s known to have calming properties and it’s used as a sleeping aid, to calm nerves and relieve anxiety. So if you’re feeling edgy, try it for a few days and see.
- Passionfruit are extraordinarily good for you, providing everything from iron to folate and magnesium to potassium. It’s a source of vitamins A, C and B complex and has minerals as well: iron, sodium, calcium and phosphorous.
