Good health in the passion fruit

Passion fruit: Exotic vitamin bomb with wrinkled skin

04/11/2013

The passion fruit - also known as passion fruit - is a rather inconspicuous fruit due to its wrinkled skin, but it actually hides a veritable vitamin bomb, rich in vitamins A, B and C as well as potassium, phosphorus, iron, calcium and magnesium. Characteristic of the fruit is a sweet-sour taste and a very aromatic pulp, which is often used to give food or drinks a typical tropical sweetness.

Import mostly from South American and African countries
Its original origin is the exotic fruit of a climber, which belongs to the family of passion flowers, in South America, today it is also often imported from African countries such as Kenya, Zimbabwe or the Ivory Coast. According to Heike Kreutz, the term "passion flower" was chosen by Jesuit aid on its missionary journeys in the 17th century. These would have considered the plant because of their extraordinary flowers "as an emblem of the Passion of Jesus", according to which "the ten petals for the apostles without Judas and Peter stand, while the purple crown symbolizes the crown of thorns of Jesus," said Kreutz.

Shell becomes shriveled with increasing maturity
The mostly dark purple passion fruits are available all year round here in Germany - whether a fruit is ripe, the consumer can quickly see with the naked eye, because the thick smooth shell becomes increasingly thinner and shriveled during the maturation process. Accordingly, the fruits are ripe - but not too ripe - if they have a slightly shriveled shell, but are free from pressure points and exude a pleasant sweet smell. Particularly popular with consumers is the juicy, jelly-like pulp of the passion fruit, but also the cores contained therein are edible.

Thorough washing of the passion fruit important
For the processing of passion fruit there are many possibilities - it is important in any case to wash the fruit thoroughly first, then it can then be cut in half and the pulp with the help of a teaspoon be scratched. If you need the juice of the fruit, Heike Kreutz gives the tip to squeeze out the fruit with a lemon squeezer or alternatively to sweep the pulp through a sieve.

Various uses
Afterwards the imagination knows no bounds - whether simply eaten straight or freshly processed in fruit salad or pancakes, in a jam-like form as jam or jelly or as a refining ingredient to desserts. In addition, the fruits are also suitable for some savory foods, giving them an exotic taste. For example, Heike Kreutz recommends "a cold carrot soup with passion fruit and poultry balls or seafood in a passion fruit sauce". And last but not least, the passion fruit is used in a variety of drinks, for example in cocktails, bowling, as pure passion fruit juice or added in multi-vitamin juices. (No)

Image: Dieter Kaiser / pixelio.de