Passion fruit is a tropical fruit with crunchy, edible seeds. However, it isn’t a very pretty fruit, nor does it have a brilliant appearance. It’s rather small and looks somewhat like a shriveled-up crabapple.
Passion fruits are generally a mix of tart and sweet, which more heavily favor the tart. However, if you can find a perfectly ripe one it will skew a little sweeter. This tropical fruit has a tangy flavor with a subtle sweetness.
While it may seem counterintuitive, when choosing a passion fruit, look for the ugly ones. When you find one with shriveled, wrinkled skin, that’s your winner. Perfectly ripe passion fruit will be sweeter and unripe passion fruit will be incredibly tart.
If you get a nice ripe one, you could end up with a flavor that is similar to a lychee. Sweet, with a nice bite of tartness to it.
Varieties of Passion Fruit
There are a variety of types of passion fruit. However, in American grocery stores, you’ll likely only find the purple variety. If you want to try some of the others, look for specialty shops.
Purple Passion Fruit
This is the type of passion fruit you’re likely to have had, or seen, before. This variety has a mildly sweet flavor with a lot of tartness.
Sevcik Selection
These passion fruits hail from Hawaii. In addition to their tart flavor, they also carry a fairly woody flavor.
Yee Selection
Here the fruit is prettier than some of the other varieties. However, while the tartness is present, these passion fruits are not as juicy as the other varieties.
How to Eat a Passion Fruit
Unlike most other fruit, passion fruit is generally eaten with a spoon and scooped out of its skin. Inside the passion fruit, the flesh is more gelatinous than meaty, and it’s a fairly liquid texture. You won’t be able to cut it into pieces and pick it up.
If you choose to scoop out the fruit with a spoon, be careful not to scrape it into the pith. Like other fruits, it’s bitter and unappetizing. Make sure you are only gathering the flesh on your spoon.
If you aren’t interested in scooping it out with a spoon, you can also simply pick up the fruit. Then, instead of using a spoon, you can slurp out its contents. It might be a little messier, but it’s also more fun.
Seeds
While the inside of passion fruit is gelatinous and juicy, it’s also filled with tiny edible seeds. These seeds are crunchy and are meant to be eaten along with the flesh. It’s not impossible to extract the seeds, but it will take a bit of work.
Unless the passion fruit is being used for a sauce or a juice, the seeds are almost always eaten together with the flesh.
Choosing a Ripe Passion Fruit
In order to get that sweeter flavor in your passion fruit, you need to make sure it is ripe.
To find a ripe passion fruit look for a deep purple color with wrinkly skin. The passion fruit should smell either citrusy or tropical.
You can also give it a shake. If it feels heavy and liquidy, it’s probably ready to go.
To Sum Up
Passion fruit is generally more tart than sweet. It has a jelly-like consistency inside that is filled with crunchy, edible seeds.
This tangy tropical fruit might not look like much, but it certainly tastes like a star.
