Passionfruit is originated in southern Brazil, from where its name is also derived. Jesuit missionaries in Brazil used the flower of the plant to illustrate the crucifixion of Christ. The flower became known as Flor de las cinco llagas (flower of the five wounds), with each part of the plant symbolising an aspect of the passion, including the crown of thorns, the crucifixion nails, the five wounds and the 10 Apostles who remained faithful to Christ. The passionfruit is also known as granadilla (small pomegranate) in South Africa, a reference to its seediness.
In most parts of the world, the passionflower plant is grown mainly for its fruit (recent figures estimate worldwide production of abt 3.5k tonne) In Asia, however, the tender leaves of the vine are treated as an edible green, and they are shredded and wilted over gentle heat before being seasoned with spices and coconut.
The common, purple, or 'lacy' variety is a round fruit abt the size of a lime, with dark-purple skin that wrinkles when ripe. It has intensely flavoured deep-orange pulp and small black seeds. It grows on an evergreen vine, mainly in southern and south-eastern Australia.
The Panama passionfruit (pic) is larger and more oval-shapped with smooth,pale red-mauved speckled skin, often with green or yellow tinge. Unlike the common passionfruit, the Panama is ripe and sweet before the skin wrinkles. Its pulp is dark gold and it has large seeds.
the seeds are edible! love it or hate it
How to Buy n Store
When buying Lacy passionfruit, bypass those with smooth shiny skinds and look for fruit that are slightly wrinkled and weigh heavily in your hand for their size. A smooth-skinned purple fruit is unripe and bitter, if the fruit is lightweight, the pulp has dried up. A ripe passionfruit should sound sloshy when u shake it and have a heady perfume. The Panama passionfruit is sweet even before the skin wrinkles, but it still should be heavy for its size.
Passiofruit store well for up to 10 days at room temperature, and they are at their most fragrant and flavoursome under these conditions. THey can be refrigerated for weeks on end and be frozen whole, while the pulp can also be removed from the skin and frozen.
unripe Panama passionfruit
*article picked from Australian Gourmet Traveller*
*photos from me, taken in d'Paradise, Malacca*
passionfruits are awesome!!
Next up : Little Pavlova with whipped Passionfruit butter and strawberries
