What is a passion fruit?

The fruit is a berry that can be 2 to 4 inches wide and 2 to 5 inches long. The outside shell is hard when the fruit are on the vine, getting softer as the fruit ripens after harvest. It is about 1/4 inch thick, depending on variety. The edible pulpy portion is the fleshy, acidic pericarp together with the arils surrounding the seeds. The seeds can be eaten being crunchy with no noticeable flavor. Fruit color is green when they are immature, changing to shades of purple, red or yellow s they ripen. Soluble solids content ranges between 14 and 18% and acidity ranges from 3 to 5% in the pulp. Moisture loss during ripening may be large enough to cause shriveling of passion fruits, but this does not influence the edible portion.

What are the nutritional qualities of passion fruit?

Passion fruit lowers cholesterol according to Dr. Leslie Bonci, Director of Sports Nutrition at the University of Pittsgurgh Medical Center. Soluble solids, which are primarily sugars, range between 14 and 18% and acidity ranges from 3 to 5% in the pulp. Moisture loss during ripening may be large enough to cause shriveling of passion fruits, but this does not influence the edible portion. The total carbohydrates include some starch. As the fruit ripens, starches are converted to sugars. A serving has 15 grams of cholesterol-lowering fiber, or roughly half your daily requirement.

How to get out the goodies?

The fruit is sweetest if you wait until the fruit is uniformly colored (red, purple or yellow) or begins to wrinkle before eating. The outer shell must be cut carefully to extract the runny juice and seedy pulp inside. Cut the fruit in half as shown below, then scoop out the pulp and seeds with a spoon. Eat the seeds - they're the fiber.

What to do with the pulp and seeds?

You can eat all that you scoop out.

If you do not like the crunchy nature or appearance of the seeds you can strain out the juice using a spoon to help in the extraction. A cloth straining bag is useful for larger amounts of straining. These are found in areas where jelly supplies are sold.

Some people don't mind the color of the seeds in the juice and process the pulp and seeds in a blender.

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