Flair for Cooking
Recently on an excursion through the fruit department of my local grocery store to look for something new and exotic to try, a small display of passion fruit beckoned. Tempted by memories of a heavenly avored passion fruit mousse served to us during last month’s vacation, I selected two of the plump, purple eggshaped fruits and set out to learn more.
This purple passion fruit, native to Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, is a popular variety grown commercially in Florida and California. When sliced open, the fairly thick rind reveals a center lled with aromatic pulp made up of many individual sacs lled with a sweet guava-like juice and a tiny, crunchy black seed. Following the instructions I found, I scooped the pulp into a bowl and tried it with a spoon. The aroma and taste were heavenly.
Speaking with a friend from Venezuela, she screwed her face up in surprise that I had tried the fruit raw. She said they often pick yellow passion fruit at home to make fresh fruit juice, but the fruit is tart like lemons and has to be sweetened rst.
In many subtropical climates, varieties producing either purple, red or yellow fruits grow naturally in the woods. People pick them right off the vine and suck the insides out, much like we pluck honeysuckle.
Surprisingly, there appears to be at least 500 varieties of passi ora. Researching the possibility of growing my very own vigorous passion fruit vine, I learned here in the United States the “Passion of Christ” owers are more popular in gardens for their large, beautiful disc-shaped owers ringed in twirly tendrils than the edible delights they produce. Have you heard of May Pops? In our region, the fruit is called May Pops because when it ripens and falls, that is the sound it makes when you step on it. I was stunned.
Now what would we do with a vine full of passion fruit? Simple is a great way to start. Blend a dollop of passion fruit into your favorite plain or vanilla yogurt. Sprinkle the fresh pulp over green salads or light dessert dishes. You may be more familiar with the avor of passion fruit than you think. Turns out, it is one of the key avors in Hawaiian Punch.
The heavenly avor of passion fruit pulp lends itself well to summer desserts, fruit dishes, jams, jellies, pound cakes, cheesecakes or sprinkled over homemade ice cream.
Right now, I’m envisioning adding the exotic hint to my next batch of chocolate truf es or cake frosting. It can also brighten up a cool sip of summer in iced tea and lemonades or bring a zing with passion fruit margaritas or martinis. More and more, you will see this as an added avor in many of our favorite bottled drinks and prepared foods.
For a light summertime dessert, try this Brazilian-style passion fruit cream. In a glass bowl, collect the strained juice of nine fresh passion fruit. The goal is to break open the juice- lled pulp sacs and remove the tiny black seeds. Stir one 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk into the fruit juice along with 1-1/4 tablespoons of sugar. Put 2 cups of whipping cream in a separate chilled bowl and beat until peaks form. Fold half of whipped cream into the glass bowl with fruit mixture then fold in second half of whipped cream into mixture until it is smooth. Chill at least one hour before serving. For a little air, you can purchase one extra fruit or set aside a few seeds from these to use later as garnish.
Now that we’ve had dessert rst, let’s incorporate “lilikoi” (Hawaiian for passion fruit) into our meal. With the fruit reaching the peak of ripeness during grilling season, a light grilled sh like mahi-mahi or snapper would pair well with a passion fruit reduction or beurre blanc. If chicken is more to your taste, there are some great recipes that include deglazing the skillet with fruit juices like lime, pineapple and passion fruit as part of creating a sauce for a browned chicken and rice dish. I think that the avor would work well with shrimp, too. Perhaps the next time I make a batch of sh and shrimp cerviche, I’ll pour a little passion on right before serving.
Not only is it delicious, passion fruit is a rich source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In Europe, passion fruit is commonly used to aid in sleep and reduce stress.
Well, if that doesn’t work, maybe putting up my feet and listening to the crickets while sipping on the ice cold glass of sweet tea or vodka chiller that I poured the passion fruit juice into will.
Relax, enjoy and may life be a little sweeter with passi ora.
– Lynn Laird
Lynn Laird is a writer, fine artist and selfprofessed bon vivant living in Bossier. With “Flair for Cooking,” she seeks out interesting ingredients and techniques to help make everyday meals just a touch more fabulous. She can reached at flairforcooking@gmail.com.
