The Wonders of The Passion FruitThe Passion Fruit The passion fruit, also called the purple granadilla, resembles in many ways the characteristics of a pomegranate. The Passion Fruit is from the plant genus Passiflora and its species name is P. edulis, which gives way to its binomial name of Passiflora edulis. The passion fruit, which was originally native to the Brazilian and Amazon regions of South America, can now be found in many countries to include Paraguay, North Argentina, New Zealand and the United States. The passion fruit is an oval round fruit and, depending on its region of growth, can be found in two distinct colors. The Golden passion fruit is a bright yellow grapefruit-sized fruit and is mostly grown in North America. The Dark Purple passion fruit is smaller, more the size of a lemon, and is grown in drier regions such as Australia and African regions like Kenya. While the yellow passion fruit can be grown to eat as is or for the extract of its juices, the purple passion fruit must be handled with more discretion, as its thick hard skin contains traces of natural poisonous oils. The inside, or meat, of the purple passion can be eaten as is and can be found in many of the foods from the areas in which it grows. The poisonous oil on the outside of the Purple passion makes it harder for harvesting and transport, as it has to go through an extra stage of preparation. This extra step includes flash boiling the outside of the fruit’s thick skin to destroy or break-down its oily poisonous covering. The juice of the passion fruit has a strong rich flavor accompanied with a pleasant aroma. The natural juice concentration of the passion fruit is very high, and is, for the most part, diluted with water or other juices before being used. The juice is also a great source of nutrients with its high levels of ascorbic acid and Vitamin C, as well as Vitamin A, iron, and potassium. Most recently, passion fruit has been noted as a great source of fiber. With its great taste, this fruit has also earned a reputation for being a wonderful low calorie snack, as one serving of passion fruit only contains 16 calories.
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