Ah Passion Fruit! How do we adore you. Tart, tangy and sour. It is THE tropical fruit. But, how much do we know about these little yellow (or is it purple) fruits? To mark the return of Passion Fruit to the store this February we thought we go a little further.

So, without further ado here is…everything you need to know about Passion Fruit.

Is it One Word or Two Words? 

First, the elephant in the room. Is it spelled “Passionfruit” or “Passion Fruit”?

Well, it seems like it depends.  “Webster’s New World Dictionary of American Language, spells it as two words – “passion fruit”, but defines the word as: “the fruit of a passionflower”. Speak to an Australian or New Zealander and they will quickly tell you that it is one word – “Passionfruit”. If you want to get technical you could spell it three different ways “Passion-Fruit”, “Passionfruit” or “Passion Fruit”. Personally, we tend to go with whatever is mostly commonly used locally – which in mainland USA tends to the “Passion Fruit” (two words).

If you want to get even more technical on the topic then Passion Fruit isn’t even called Passion Fruit everywhere you go. For example, visiting Hawaii then you have probably had Liliko’i (yep, that’s passion fruit). In Brazil it’s called Maracuya and in South Africa they call it Granadilla.

While we are on the topic we might as well give you all the different names for Passion Fruit in the world least you should be in desperate need for it anywhere you go:

• mburucuyá – Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay
• maracujá – Brazil and Portugal
• maracuyá (yellow variety) or gulupa (purple variety) – Columbia
• maracuyá – Bolivia,Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Mexico, Honduras and Peru
• chinola – Dominican Republic
• lilikoi – Hawaii
• markisa – Indonesia
• sweet cup – Jamaica
• calala – Nicaragua (a sweet-tasting juice is made when the fruit is cut in half and boiled in water)
• parcha – Puerto Rico
• granadilla (purple variety)or granadilla (yellow variety) – South Africa
• parchita – Venezuela

What is it?

The fruit of the Passiflora, aka Passion Flower. It is a small edible fruit which is extreme tart and tropical in taste. Its name stems from around 1700 when missionaries to Brazil used the fruit to try and educate indigenous locals to Christianity. The plants components were named after an emblem in the Passion of Jesus – hence Passionflower and Passion Fruit. The fruits themselves have hard outer casings and contain sweet, tart and juicy yellow interiors with black seeds

Passion Fruit comes in two different varieties: Purple and Yellow.

Purple: originating from South America, the purple passion fruit is rich in flavor and juicy

Yellow: originates from much more tropical regions. It is usually bigger than the purple variety and less flavorsome.

What does it taste like?

A strong sour, tropical and tart flavor.

Nutritional Information

100g Passion Fruit contain:

Energy                      97 Kcal

Carbohydrates         23.83 g

Protein                     2.20 g

Total Fat                   0.70 g

Cholesterol              0 mg

Fiber                        10.40 g

Source – USDA National Nutrition Database

What we do with Passion Fruit?

We truly believe that Passion Fruit is something heavenly to taste and enjoy. For us, it is best when it is left to show off its signature tart and tropical flavor profiles. We don’t want any creaminess messing with it, so we mix it with pineapple and sweeten it naturally with some natural fruit extracts of apple, pear and peach (this helps take off the edge off of that signature tartness). The result is something which is not creamy, but is busting with flavor – tropical, tart and refreshing.

Final Thoughts 

If you love tart things then Passion Fruit is a tart-lovers dream. If you have learnt anything from this blog we hope that it is the ability to find these amazing little fruits anywhere in the world on your travels. Even if those travel only lead you our little vegan plant based ice cream store for some Passion Fruit (two words) goodness.

Let the Passion see the Fruit.

Big Love

P.S. our Passion Fruit flavor will be at our Montana Ave store for the month of February 2020 if you wanted to try it.