Passion fruit satiates us, rejuvenates us, and gives us juices, jams, desserts, and cocktails. Synonymous with refreshing, also known as granadilla, is a tropical fruit full of benefits capable of resetting us under a heat wave.
Passion fruit is a rare and exotic tropical fruit that brings a unique and particular contrasting flavour to the palate. Eating it satiates, relaxes, and slims us down while surprising us. Who hasn’t been attracted to that radiant cheesecake topped with a layer of golden and juicy pulp? It gives way to experimentation with cocktails and opens the doors to the Latin American journey of missionaries and Tupis. Below, is everything about this tropical fruit.
What is passion fruit?
Passion fruit is a sweet, sour fruit with a hard, yellow or purple shell, depending on the region where it is grown. Its interior is a juicy pulp that slips between an abundant heart full of seeds. With a long tradition in the production of juices, smoothies, and desserts, passion fruit is consumed throughout Latin America, where we can find it under names such as granadilla, passion fruit, parcha or parchita.
Remineralising and revitalising, this fruit has found its way onto hundreds of international tables. Those who are not fortunate enough to have its fresh pulp can find the juice to be the remedy for making new drinks, and those who have it nearby can take the pulp and spread it on canapés with caviar or a new sweet recipe. These are evolved uses of what was once a strawberry to be discovered in the New Continent.
Origin of passion fruit
Passiflora edulis produces two types of passion fruit: the purple passion fruit ( Passiflora edulis f. edulis ) and the yellow passion fruit ( Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa ). The fruit is similar in texture, although the former preceded the latter. The purple passion fruit is the wild version native to Brazil, growing in subtropical areas between 700 and 1300 m above sea level, while the yellow passion fruit is believed to be a mutation of the purple passion fruit better adapted to tropical climates and lower elevations.
It is estimated that there are between 500 and 1,400 different species of passionflower in the world, distributed across the 5 continents, although the largest amount is concentrated between Brazil and Colombia, the latter being the largest producer in the world.
Are passion fruit and maracuja the same thing?
What are the differences between maracuyá and passion fruit? This is a common question when faced with rare and exotic fruits such as maracuyá. It turns out that maracuyá and passion fruit are the same fruit but seen through different lenses. Its appearance and expansion throughout Latin America has earned it to be renamed on multiple occasions. This added to the fact that the Spaniards christened it as passion fruit, has created controversy and doubt, but to dispel them all you need to do is learn to recognize it.
Both the yellow and purple versions, including the gulupa, a sweeter variety of purple passion fruit that is widespread in Colombia, have the same morphology: an average size of 6 cm and a centre divided into three wings overflowing with seeds, more or less dark. Specifically, its seeded centre and its acidic touch are the best indicators to know that we are dealing with passion fruit.
Why is passion fruit called passion fruit?
Passion fruit comes from the passion flower. Its scientific name is Passiflora edulis and its common name is an analogy between the flower and the biblical scene. When Spanish missionaries first discovered a flower with dozens of elongated, purple filaments topped by anthers and 3 stigmas, they felt that they were in front of the very crown of thorns that Jesus Christ carried during the Passion of Christ. Thus, they baptized this flower as the flower of suffering or flower of passion.
It is different for the descendants of the land of passion fruit itself, between Brazil and Argentina, where the plant and fruit were known as mboruku’ya, a word from the aboriginal Tupi language. For them, the flower and fruit were always passion fruit and not passion fruit. When they ask you what passion fruit is, you already know what to answer.
Nutritional values of passion fruit
The nutritional value of passion fruit varies depending on whether it is fresh pulp, dried pulp or juice. Fresh pulp and juice are high in vitamin C and vitamin A. Dried passion fruit, as well as passion fruit powder made from the pulverized peel, is very rich in iron, magnesium, and phosphorus and low in vitamins. Thus, alternating juice, fresh fruit, and smoothies with a teaspoon of passion fruit powder can help us squeeze out all its nutritional content.
Nutritional values per 100 g of dehydrated passion fruit pulp:
- Calories: 97 kcal
- Proteins: 2.2 g
- Fats: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.4 g
- Fiber: 10.4 g
- Iron: 3.4 g (18 – 40% of RDI)*
- Magnesium: 128 mg (41% of RDA)*
- Phosphorus: 150 mg (21% of RDI)*
- Vitamin C : 30 mg (33% of RDI)
- Vitamin A : 64 mcg (8% RDA)
Properties of passion fruit
Passion fruit is a tropical fruit rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Its seeds contain up to 13% protein, 15% healthy fats, iron, magnesium, and small amounts of zinc. The peel, sometimes used in powder form as a food supplement, is composed of 61% fiber and the pulp has up to 80% insoluble fiber.
As for other bioactive components, it has a high percentage of phenols, carotenoids, linoleic, oleic, and palmitic acid. Thus, passion fruit becomes a remineralizing fruit, very satiating, ideal for losing weight, and improving intestinal health by preventing constipation.
Benefits of passion fruit
Eating passion fruit has various health benefits that need to be considered, from weight loss to the prevention of various diseases. We will tell you all about it below.
Helps in weight loss and fights constipation
Passion fruit peel extract powder is an excellent supplement for weight loss. Thanks to its high fiber content, it increases intestinal motility and also allows us to feel full for much longer. Animal studies have found that the use of passion fruit extract also helps reduce chronic inflammation, one of the factors present in both obesity and overweight.
Prevents cardiovascular diseases
Passion fruit pulp helps prevent cardiovascular diseases. It does so by strengthening the intestinal barrier. By improving the barrier, it prevents pro-inflammatory components, which contribute to chronic inflammation, from passing into the bloodstream. In this way, it protects the body from heart damage resulting from this inflammation.
Promotes eye health
Passion fruit contains a high percentage of vitamin A. This vitamin plays a very important role in maintaining the immune system, spermatogenesis, embryonic division, and its most well-known role, night vision care. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to xerophthalmia, a dryness of the cornea that can lead to permanent blindness. Eating passion fruit helps prevent eye diseases.
Prevents sagging and premature aging
A winning combo to take care of our skin, as well as to prevent premature aging, is to consume vitamins and flavonoids. These components are highly antioxidant. Passion fruit is very rich in vitamin C, vitamin A, galacturonic acid, and anthocyanins, components with a high capacity to reduce free radicals and prevent cellular aging.
Reduces stress and anxiety
The most commonly used species of passionflower to make relaxing tea is Passiflora incarnata, not Passiflora edulis. Even so, various lines of research have been pointing for decades to the vasorelaxing and hypotensive effect of the flavonoids contained in passion fruit. For this reason, consuming the fruit can also help achieve a more relaxed state, ideal before going to sleep.
Contraindications of passion fruit
Passion fruit is contraindicated in cases of allergies and moderate consumption is recommended in cases of intestinal disorders since, due to its high fiber content, it could cause a laxative effect.
On the other hand, passion fruit peel extract may contain high amounts of a cyanogenic compound. Its toxic effect may appear from a consumption of between 25 and 100 mg per dose depending on the person’s weight. For this reason, it is important not to exceed the amounts of extract or passion fruit powder.
What does passion fruit taste like?
Passion fruit is defined in two words: sweet and sour. This contrast is what most characterizes the passion fruit, which also has a unique grainy texture when consumed fresh. For expert palates, it is reminiscent of pineapple and when it is overripe, the fermented aroma appears.
How to eat passion fruit
There are two classic options for consuming passion fruit: juice or fresh by the spoonful. Cutting the passion fruit in half with just a spoon is the most satisfying and refreshing option. Drinking the juice is a shot of vitamins. And choosing to make jam or syrups from the pulp will allow us to give a distinctive touch to our desserts.
Among the complementary possibilities, we can also incorporate a spoonful of dehydrated passion fruit powder into our morning smoothies if we want to increase the fiber content and the anti-inflammatory effect.
Use of passion fruit in cooking
Among the recipes with passion fruit, we hit the nail on the head with a delicious Mexican drink, the passion fruit mescaline, nothing more and nothing less than a shot of mezcal, smoked agave liqueur with passion fruit pulp, lemon, and a touch of jalapeño. Other recipes with passion fruit are found around smoothies, juices, and acidic sauces, although nothing competes with the section of desserts with passion fruit. From cheesecakes with passion fruit to a passion fruit mousse, the acidic contrast of the passion fruit allows for the creation of ice creams, sorbets, and even unforgettable panna cotas.