New Passion

I have a new passion since arriving here.....this little gem of a fruit, maracujá.  We call it passion fruit.  I have, of course, heard of it but I am certain I have never eaten a passion fruit before we moved here.  I actually bought and threw away passion fruits 3 times before I ever tried one because I wasn't sure what to do with it, and never got around to figuring it out until it was spoiled.

Interestingly, you want them to look all wrinkled and old like this.  That is how you know they are ready and ripe.  It is not uncommon for people to have a passion fruit tree in their yard.  In fact, our maid brought us this whole bowl of them from her tree.

It is very popular here to make juice (which is good), and mousse (which is amazing) with passion fruits.  Some people eat it right out of the shell.  That's how I love it.  Can you say simple?! It has a very unique, but sour taste.  Scraping the shell with a spoon, it reminds me of eating a grapefruit.  You can sprinkle on a little sugar if you like.  The seeds are edible and full of fiber.  The pulp itself is a great source of vitamins A & C, iron and potassium. 

Unfortunately, so far, I am the only one who eats it, save for an occasional spoonful to H.  I tried putting some pulp into my kids multi-fruit smoothies, but they immediately detected something different and didn't care for it.  So for now, it's my special treat...and I don't even have to share!