When I tasted this passion fruit, I was instantly reminded of flights between islands on Hawaiian Airlines. They serve little juice cups that definitely include passion fruit. They're delicious and now I know why.
Origin
Native to Southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Currently, passion fruit are grown in numerous tropical and subtropical areas.
There are a number of passion fruit varieties (distinct in both outward appearance and flavor).
Passion fruit grow on vines similar to grapes.
Taste, Texture, Touch & Appearance
The purple passion fruit (pictured here and in the video), are often smaller than a lemon, but pack a lot in flavor.
The outer rind is durable and leathery in appearance, and includes an inner pith (similar to a pomegranate). [This particular passion fruit was extremely ripe. Still completely delicious, but the rind was breaking down. This is noticeable as I tried getting into it in the video.]
Once inside the rind, everything is edible.
Each seed is contained in its own fleshy sac. [As noted above, this fruit was very ripe so each of the surrounding seed sacs were losing their integrity, creating a more juice-like gel vs individual seed sacs. I should note that the overly-ripe stage was entirely my fault as the fruit waited over a week in my fridge for me to cut into it.]
Ways to Enjoy
Scoop right out of the outer shell and eat! Yum!
As a stand-alone juice!
Add to a smoothie!
Add to a meat marinade!
As a desert flavoring (cheesecake, ice cream, cookies, mousse, etc.)
Notable Nutrients
Passion fruit are an excellent source of Vitamin C and Fiber, and good source of Vitamin A.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an antioxidant, helping protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.
Vitamin C is needed to make collagen which helps wounds heal.
Fiber
Fiber helps push food through our digestive tract.
Fiber scrubs the insides of our intestines as it moves through our digestive tract.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is connected to cell division and immunity, enabling us to grow and develop.
Vitamin A is necessary for optimal vision.
Gut Microbiome Connection
Our gut microbiome loves the introduction of new foods, especially new fruits and veggies.
Because passion fruits are high in fiber, it gives all of the microorganisms plenty of work to do which helps increase their population.
Eating different foods and/or preparing foods in different ways encourages the development and sustainability of new microorganisms as they are needed to help break down the foods we eat.
Bacteria are supported by the types of foods we eat. There are some bacteria that we know are not beneficial to our gut, and these bacteria are present with diets high in added sugars, low fiber, and high amounts of animal fats and protein. While other bacteria thrive with diets high in fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Eating a wide variety of fruits and veggies encourages the density and diversity of healthy bacteria.
Meet Other Foods Here!
How to Get to the Good Stuff!
I found my passion fruit here!
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