7 fun facts you didn't know about passion fruit

Even the name sparks the imagination: "passion fruit".  

I'll say it again:

PASSION + FRUIT

It's almost like you're looking into the soul of a Brazilian.  

Passion and fruit - two things close to our heart. (If we could somehow add music, we'd have a real winner :)

Brazilians are crazy about them: Brazil grows more and eats more passion fruit than any other country on earth.

This is how it looks inside

Ever tried it? Seen it or tasted its fresh pulp?

It's a very popular tropical fruit which can be served either sweet or sour.

That's why we had to include it as an official tinyB brigadeiro flavor.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I have another motive: I *love* it. I eat practically anything with passion fruit.

Fun Facts About Passion Fruit

1. It's native to Brazil.

2. Its name comes from a family of passion flowers (passiflora). In Portuguese it's called "maracujá," after an Native American word which is not so pleasant, so I'll skip it. If you want the details they're inWikipedia.  Personally, I like "passion fruit" better.

3. It's served either sweet or sour.

4. Technically it's a berry and one fruit has only 17 calories. The dark seeds are crunchy but edible.

5. The most popular varieties are purple and yellow. Purple ones are smaller but sweeter and are more commonly found here in the US. Yellow ones are more sour and larger and they're Brazilians' favorite.

6. It's known to have calming properties and it's used as a sleeping aid, to calm nerves and relieve anxiety. So if you're feeling edgy, try it for a few days and see.

7. It's a source of vitamins A, C and B complex and has minerals as well: iron, sodium, calcium and phosphorous. More nutrition details availablehere.

Served Sweet or Sour

Serving it is really fun because it comes in so many ways:

Brigadeiros (of course), mousse,juices and smoothies, cakes, ice cream, tea,cocktails (even Jaime Oliver is getting into passion fruit. Try hisPassion Fruit Caipirinha - it sounds delicious, sauces,here's an amazing recipe forSalmon with Passion Fruit Sauce and Coconut Rice.  I can pretty much guarantee you that if you serve fish with passion fruit sauce, your guests will be impressed.
Personally, I'll take all of the above!

Where to Find it

By now you know that I'm a big fan and that I miss this fruit badly. I sometimes imagine reaching into a nice fresh passion fruit with a spoon and eating the juicy insides… yuuum!

Finding a fresh one is a major challenge, though.  

I live in San Francisco and I had to ask many Brazilian friends until I saw a few at Evergreen, a local Mexican market in the Mission, SF's Hispanic neighborhood.  Even then, their options are limited and not that attractive.

If you want to find your own, try Mexican or Filipino markets.

They're in season from early to late summer and hard to find at other times.

 Passion Fruit Brigadeiros

A lot of people who have tried all our flavors - especially Brazilians - tell me that it's their favorite flavor of all the ones we offer.

It's one of my top favorites, too. And I'm really picky :)