Passion fruit, or the healthy Fruit of Passion

How to choose a good fruit and check its quality

The spherical or oblong fruits of the fruit, depending on the type, can have a bright yellow or dark purple color . Their length is from 6 to 12 centimeters.

If you need to purchase ripe passion fruit, choose large, slightly soft specimens that have a wrinkled skin with cracks - they are the most delicious and sweet.

It is recommended to keep them in the refrigerator for no more than a week.

You can buy smooth-skinned fruits and place them in a paper bag to ripen for a few days.

High-quality passion fruit, while small in size, should be relatively heavy . If the fruits are light, it means that their middle has already dried out and lost its juiciness.

The quality of the fruit cannot be determined by the smell , since the thick, dense peel reliably protects the pulp and does not allow the aroma to pass through.

How to choose passion fruit and eat it correctly:

How to properly store passion fruit at home

How to properly store passion fruit without a refrigerator?

1. Unripe fruit can be stored for five days.
2. The fruits are literally a day or two ripe.

After ripening, storage can only be in the refrigerator:

1. The whole fruit can be stored for up to a week.
2. Cut fruit can be stored for two days.
3. The optimal temperature for storage is five degrees.

The storage period depends on how correctly you packaged the fruit:

• Each passion fruit will need to be wrapped using a paper bag;
• Polyethylene is not the best material for packaging. That fruit can only spoil faster;
• The fruit that you have already cut will need to be placed on a plate and wrapped with cling film.

Like most fruits, passion fruit can be frozen in order to later prepare various dishes. To do this, first, peel the fruit, mix the pulp with sugar and put it in different bags.

Passion fruit can be stored in the freezer for up to three months, with the optimal temperature being minus eighteen degrees and below.

Composition, calorie content, nutritional value and glycemic index

Nutritional value of 100 g of product:

• proteins – 2.4 grams;
• fats – 0.4 grams;
• carbohydrates – 13.4 grams;
• dietary fiber – 1.5 grams;
• water – 82.3 grams.

The calorie content of passion fruit is quite low and amounts to 68 kilocalories per 100 g of product. Glycemic index – 30.

The weight of the fruits is from 50 to 100 g, you can easily calculate how many kilocalories are contained in each of them.

The chemical composition of passion fruit contains a large amount of:

• vitamins: A, E, C, K, PP and group B;
• minerals: potassium and magnesium, sodium, calcium, iron, sulfur, phosphorus, manganese, copper, fluorine and zinc.

What are the health benefits?

Passion fruit has a diuretic, laxative, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant effect on the body.

The pulp of the fruit tones, invigorates and increases performance, and eating the seeds, on the contrary, soothes, relaxes, and ensures good sleep.

The fruit helps normalize blood pressure, the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys, strengthen the immune system, prevent the development of osteoporosis and some eye diseases, cleanse the body of toxins, reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels, improve the condition of the skin, hair and nails.

Benefits for women, men, children, pregnant and lactating women, the elderly

If there are no contraindications , then it will be very useful to include it in the menu of adult men and women, the elderly.

Its regular use will help them avoid the development of many age-related diseases, enrich the body with vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids, which are poorly synthesized by the body with age.

Passion fruit is also an excellent preventative against prostate adenoma in men. And in women, it normalizes the menstrual cycle and relieves pain.

In the absence of an allergic reaction to the fruit, it is recommended to include it in small quantities in the diet of pregnant and lactating women . The iron it contains will help avoid anemia, which often develops during this period.

Eating these fruits will relieve health problems such as constipation, flatulence and surges in blood pressure.

Passion fruit is also beneficial for the unborn child . Its high content of calcium and B vitamins will contribute to the proper formation of the skeleton and a healthy nervous system.

The rich chemical composition of the fruit will be beneficial for the developing body of children. But they introduce it into their diet after three years .

It is heavy enough for the nutritional system of a smaller child. Its use may do more harm than good.

People suffering from diabetes are not recommended to eat large quantities of the product. During long-term storage, the sugar content in fruits increases greatly.

How to choose the right passion fruit

Like many other fruits, passion fruit has many varieties, and each has its own characteristics. If you ask any search engine what passion fruit looks like, the photos will show round fruits of different sizes and shades: yellow, greenish, purple, smooth and wrinkled, but with the same orange-yellow flesh and many seeds.

Traditionally, yellow fruits are larger and contain more pulp, but purple ones are juicier and sweeter, especially if they are covered with large wrinkles. Passion fruit peel is poisonous, but there are also edible varieties, the peel of which is put into jelly and used to make candied fruits. However, in Russian realities it is impossible to figure out which variety is in front of you, so it is better not to risk it.

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One of the most popular questions is how to eat passion fruit? Usually the fruits are cut in half and the pulp is eaten with a spoon, but if you have purchased a large and juicy fruit, you can use the islanders’ recipe - pierce the passion fruit, insert a straw and drink the juice.

You can store passion fruit in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but there is some danger here - sugar accumulates in such fruits, so they are not recommended for diabetics. So don’t take care of the ripe passion fruit that lands on your table! Add it to salads, have a romantic dinner with fruit cocktails, make vitamin masks for your hair and face - after all, it’s simply impossible to resist the legendary fruit of passion.

A passion fruit mask will also help your hair: it is no coincidence that Brazilian women are famous for their thick and shiny curls. The recipe is:

Potential harm, contraindications

Contraindications for consuming passion fruit:

• individual intolerance;
• allergic reactions;
• exacerbation of diseases of the digestive tract.

The peel of many types of fruit contains toxic substances. For long-term storage, it is treated with special wax compounds and antibiotics.

Therefore, before eating, the fruits should be thoroughly washed and placed in boiling water for a few minutes .

Recommendations for use

It is enough to eat about 100 g of fruit per day . This is usually done in a very simple way: the fruit is carefully cut into two halves. The very juicy, aromatic pulp is eaten with a spoon.

The seeds are consumed as desired , as they have a strong hypnotic effect.

You can make a wonderful aromatic juice from the fruits, which acquires an even brighter taste when combined with orange.

The fruit is a good addition to cocktails, yoghurts, ice cream, and other desserts. It can be an ingredient in salads, mousses, and sauces. It goes well with seafood, any fruit, and nuts.

Is it worth growing passion fruit at home and how to do it correctly?

Passion fruit is not very demanding and if you follow some rules for caring for it, you can get your own harvest of fruits on your windowsill.

Passion fruit varieties

Before planting passion fruit, you need to decide on its type: the growing conditions required for each of them are different.

The most unpretentious variety is purple passion fruit. It produces sweet fruits, but is less demanding of heat than, for example, yellow passion fruit with sour fruits. There are also hybrids of these two varieties; they are more resistant to weather conditions and parasites.

Passion fruit is grown from seeds. They can be bought in a special store or obtained from the fruit of a vine. You can also grow a vine at home from a vine that needs to be rooted, but it is usually quite difficult to obtain a plant cutting for planting.

In what conditions to grow passion fruit?

Passion fruit loves warmth, thanks to which it grows quickly, while clinging to almost any support. For this reason, to successfully grow vines, it is necessary to organize a hanging system. It is best to make it in the form of a grid. As passion fruit grows, its vine and leaves grow very quickly, so it is worth initially organizing a very strong base for the plant. Additional garters for passion fruit are not needed, since it itself acquires strong tendrils for fastening, like grapes.

Areas of use

For weight loss

It is allowed to include passion fruit in the menu of various diets. The product is low in calories and contains virtually no fat .

Promotes activation of metabolic processes, which leads to accelerated weight loss.

The beneficial substances contained in these fruits help in cleansing the gastrointestinal tract and breaking down existing fat deposits. It also helps speed up weight loss.

They will maintain normal vitamin and mineral balance, which is often disrupted during fasting diets. But to get results, you need to first consult with a specialist .

In folk medicine

In folk medicine, fruits and flowers with foliage are used :

• to get rid of insomnia and normalize the functioning of the nervous system, you need to eat one fruit with seeds a few hours before bedtime;
• If you have high blood pressure, it is recommended to take a decoction of the leaves of the plant for one month. And the infusion of flowers has a calming effect.

To prepare leaves and flowers, you can plant passion fruit at home .

With proper care, it grows very well, blooming in indoor conditions already in the second year of growth. It is rare to get fruit.

In cosmetology

Currently, passion fruit oil is becoming very popular . There are various industrial shampoos, hair conditioners, and face creams containing it on sale.

You can add a small amount of it to your cosmetic products yourself.

Passion fruit is rich in special alpha hydroxy acids. When used regularly, these substances help restore skin elasticity, smooth out wrinkles , restore a healthy complexion, and remove excess fat:

• Mix 50 g passion fruit with 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sour cream or cream, 1 teaspoon of honey, add a few drops of peach oil;
• in 1 tbsp. spoon of passion fruit pulp add 1 tsp. lemon juice, 1 tbsp. spoon of starch, 1 egg yolk.

Apply the masks to cleansed facial skin for half an hour and then rinse with warm water.

No less useful hair compositions prepared on the basis of passion fruit . They help strengthen their roots, stop hair loss and accelerate growth. After a month of treatment, the hair will become thick, elastic and shiny.

To prepare the mask, combine 100 g of passion fruit with 3 tablespoons of heavy cream, 1 tablespoon of burdock and olive oils. All ingredients must be thoroughly mixed, applied to hair, and covered with plastic wrap.

After half an hour, the composition should be washed off with warm water and shampoo. This mask can be stored in the refrigerator for a week, using every two days.

A little history of the “fruit of passion”

Passion fruit belongs to the passionflower family - plants that a few centuries ago received the sad name “flower of passions and suffering” - passion flower.

When in the 17th century, the Italian monk Ferrari set foot on the fertile Brazilian soil - the birthplace of passion fruit, he was amazed by the amazing beauty of the flowers. The unusual shape and color reminded the priest of the torment of Christ: a flower crown with wavy bright threads is a bloody crown of thorns, five large stamens are the wounds of the Savior, and snow-white petals are innocence... Returning home, the eloquent monk described the passionflower in his diaries, and according to legend, he himself The Vatican has approved the passion fruit flower as a symbol of the church.

However, decades later, this sad fruit story was forgotten, and passion fruit began to be called the “fruit of passion” for its rich taste, bright aroma and spectacular appearance. And in the countries of Latin America and Southeast Asia, edible passionflower has long been considered an excellent aphrodisiac...

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Cooking recipes

Salad with Passion fruit sauce

Ingredients:

• shrimp – 500 g;
• beets – 400 g;
• orange – 2 pcs.;
• passion fruit – 2 pcs.;
• salad (mix) – 200 g;
• walnuts – 100 g;
• lemon juice – 4 tbsp. spoons;
• olive oil – 50 milliliters;
• sugar – 2 tbsp. spoons;
• salt, spices.

How to cook:

• wash the beets, peel them, cut them into small slices, grease each with butter, dip in sugar, place in a mold and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 40 minutes;
• peel the shrimp, place in a container, season with lemon juice, salt, spices and let stand for about an hour, quickly fry;
• Peel one orange, remove the white film from the segments;
• chop walnuts;
• Remove the pulp from the passion fruit, add orange juice and olive oil to it, beat well;
• Combine all ingredients and season with the resulting sauce.

Passion fruit marshmallow: