Passion Fruit - Description
Passion fruit is the name of the fruit of the plant of the same name, which represents a species from the genus Passionflower. This plant appeared in the South American jungle, and today it is also grown in the countries of South and Central America. Other places of passion fruit cultivation are Australia, New Zealand, Israel, the Galapagos and Hawaiian Islands, and South Africa.
For good growth and fruiting passion fruit you need a lot of light and fertile soil. To date, this plant is represented by more than 400 varieties. Their fruits, most of which are fit for human consumption, have different sizes, shape, color and taste.
Passion Fruit - Useful Properties
Passion fruit is rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidant substances. This fruit is especially useful for people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system, liver, urinary tract and overweight.
Passion fruit has an antimicrobial, antipyretic and laxative effect, they reduce cholesterol levels in the blood and contribute to the improvement of the digestive system, excreting uric acid and other metabolic products.
The passion fruit is famous for its soothing action. Due to the content of glucoside passiflorin, passion fruit is used to produce sedatives. There is evidence of the ability of passion fruit juice to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
Passion fruit is widely used in cosmetology. Due to the high content of alpha-hydroxy acids, it is able to improve hydration and improve skin elasticity and tone. Therefore, quite often you can find cosmetics from it, designed to care for fading skin or skin prone to pimples.
At the same time, the use of passion fruit is contraindicated in the presence of a tendency to allergies, as well as with individual intolerance.
Passion Fruit - Calories
Calorie Passion fruit averages about 68 kcal.
Passion Fruit - Use in Cooking
In cooking, the fruit is mainly the passion fruit pulp and juice, used both in pure form and as an additive to other fruit juices and drinks, to which it imparts a special flavor. The pulp is used in the manufacture of confectionery, sauces, fruit salads and desserts, as well as fillings and liqueurs. Passion fruit seeds are also edible, which are not as tasty as the flesh, but very useful.
In Brazil, passion fruit pulp is used to make mousses and juices, and seeds are used to decorate baking.
In the Dominican Republic, fruits are simply eaten with sugar.
Residents of the Hawaiian and Philippine Islands consume mostly passion fruit juice, piercing the fruit and drinking its contents through a straw.
In Sumatra, passion fruit is used to make syrup from passion fruit juice.
In Vietnam, it is used to make a popular dessert made from honey and passion fruit.
In Australia, sweet dessert sauces are made from the fruit of the passion fruit. There, this fruit is served to cheesecakes, ice cream and Pavlova air desserts. Passion fruit juice is used as the basis for the production of the refreshing Passiona drink.
Mexicans season passion fruit with red pepper and lime.
In Peru, the sour passion fruit is preparing a national seafood snack - ceviche.
In South Africa, passion fruit flavored yogurts, carbonated drinks and sweet pastries, as well as preparing tropical and multivitamin juice blends.
Recipe Examples with Passion Fruit
Recipe 1: Warm passion fruit salad with pumpkin puree.
If you want to surprise someone with your culinary talent, cook this salad! It is nourishing and, at the same time, very original, thanks to the combination of potatoes with calamari, arugula and chiroso sausage (can be replaced with any good smoked sausage). For the salad, be sure to cook pumpkin puree, which will emphasize its delicious taste. Ingredients:
3 squid;
500 gr. new potatoes;
6 bunches of arugula;
6 pieces of passion fruit;
150 ml of orange juice;
150 gr. olive oil;
500 gr. pumpkins;
300 gr. chorizo sausage;
6 grains of badian;
to taste the salt.
Preparation:
1. Cut pumpkin pulp into arbitrary pieces, pour cold water over it so that it only covers them, bring to a boil and cook until soft.
2. Quickly fry the star anise in the pan without oil. Drain the water from the pot with the pumpkin, add the star anise to the pumpkin pulp and wipe it together through a sieve.
3. Extract the fruit pulp from the fruit of the passion fruit. Mix it in a saucepan with orange juice, bring the resulting mixture to a boil and boil it over low heat. When thickened, remove from heat and pass the mixture through a sieve, then add olive oil to it and mix thoroughly.
4. After washing the potatoes, boil it right in the skin. Squids cut into fairly large pieces. Chop the chorizo into thin slices.
5. Peeling boiled potatoes from the peel, cut it in half lengthwise and fry with a small amount of olive oil, salt. Taking out the potatoes from the pan, quickly fry the squid pieces in the same place. Then, having got squids, we do not fry in the same pan, but only warm up the chorizo. Mix in the pan all the warm ingredients of the salad, fill it with cooked passion fruit sauce, orange juice and olive oil, add the arugula leaves and mix well again.
6. Serve salad on warm plates. Putting in the center of each a tablespoon of pumpkin puree, lay out the salad around it and sprinkle with olive oil.
Recipe 2: Strawberry Dessert with Passion Fruit
This dish rightly claims to be exquisite, thanks to a combination of strawberries with passion fruit, nectarines and raspberries. A great option for a romantic dinner.
Ingredients:
1.2 kg of strawberries;
3 tbsp. l Sahara;
100 ml of white dry wine;
3 fruit passion fruit; 2 nectarines;
250 gr. raspberries;
fresh mint.
Preparation:
1. My strawberries and remove the tails. Putting 200 grams, mix the rest with sugar and grind in a blender in mashed potatoes. Then mix mashed potatoes with wine.
2. Cut the passion fruit in half, extract the seeds from there and add them to the strawberry puree.
3. Cut the remaining strawberries with nectarines into crayons, add them together with raspberries to strawberry puree. Covering the container with dessert, put it in the fridge for an hour. After cooling, pour into soup plates, garnished with mint leaves.
Recipe 3: Cottage Cheese Casserole with Passion Fruit
Gentle cottage cheese goes well with the sweet and sour fruit of the passion fruit. This is a delicious and healthy dessert that you should definitely cook.
Ingredients:
300 gr. low-fat crumbly curd;
250 gr. soft fat cottage cheese;
100 gr. Sahara;
1 egg;
5 fruit passion fruit;
2 tbsp. l starch;
30 gr. butter.
Preparation:
1. Mixing crumbly curd with soft, add sugar and egg to it.
2. Cut the 3 fruit of the passion fruit in half and get out the pulp, squeeze the juice out of it. Dissolve starch in it and add to the curd mixture.
3. Smear the form with butter, sprinkle it with flour or chopped nuts and place the resulting dough into it. We bake about half an hour.
4. After letting the casserole cool a little, cut it into slices, spread it on a plate and decorate with the pulp of the remaining spirit of the fruit of the passion fruit. Decorate with whipped cream.
Passion fruit - useful tips from experienced chefs
When buying passion fruit, preference should be given to large shriveled fruits with dark purple skin and sweet yellowish-green seeds. In the fridge, the ripe fruit of the passion fruit can be stored for up to a week.
