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I’m not even partway through the opening paragraph and the names just keep on coming. For a single plant to have so many potential titles, you know that it’s made some serious friends—or enemies—over the years. The unmistakable crowns of threadlike tendrils, contrasting with the delicate petals in shades of white, pink, purple, or even deep burgundy, are as stunning as they are persistent. If you plant them once, you have them for life. This is how I came to find my new lawn dominated by their succulent vines and ostentatious blossoms.
What ARE Wild Passionfruits?
For the sake of simplicity, I refer to them as “passionfruit,” but they’re distinctly different from the tropical variety. Smaller, bright red when ripe, and with a far drier pulp inside, Passiflora foetida L. has more in common with maypops, another similar southern variant. Ask five people what they taste like, though, and you’ll get five different answers. Perhaps it’s a matter of terroir, but mine are mildly sweet, not tart, not sour, not anything else like I’ve read online. Subtle, with more crunch than flavor, figuring out just what to do with this windfall has been an unexpected adventure.
Ideas For Cooking and Eating Wild Passionfruit
If you’re in a similar boat with odd red fruits raining down like hailstones, you’re in luck! I’ve found countless ways to enjoy these oddities, though depending on the exact tasting notes of your personal cache, your mileage may vary. Be prepared to dial in the sweetness and seasonings to best suit your preferences.
- Dressing: Think of them like papaya seeds in this case, perfect to swap into a sweet-and-sour salad dressing. Adapt any recipe you like, but I’ve found great success by blending 1 shallot, 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons wild passionfruit pulp/seeds, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Once smooth, stream in 1/2 cup olive oil to emulsify.
- Smoothies: If you just want a bit of added nutrition, you can’t go wrong with any sort of smoothie! Blend it completely smooth and you won’t even know it’s there.
- Muffins and Quick Breads: Mix 3 – 4 tablespoons of the seeds and pulp into any muffin or quick bread batter to add a satisfying little crunch every now and then. This is an especially enjoyable addition to lemon-poppyseed muffins and banana bread, if I do say so myself.
- Jam and Jelly: When in doubt, just add pectin. This is my favorite recipe because you can toss the fruits whole into the pot when you’re ready to start cooking. The skins contribute a ruby red color, then use a slotted spoon to strain them out, keeping the seeds for that characteristic crunch.
- Fruit Salad: Toss the pulp with fresh seasonal fruits, like cherries and blueberries, or more tropical picks like pineapple and mango, to introduce more texture.
Are wild passionfruit the kind of culinary sensation that would drive people to spend upwards of $4 a piece, as is the case for the tropical variety? Not so much. Do they have absolutely stunning flowers that yield a side benefit of a nice little snack every now and then? 100%. Take advantage of this pervasive “weed” and embrace the wild vines. Once you’ve got ’em, they’re yours for life!