Fresh passion fruit juice is a drink with a tropical taste like no other, with a mix of sweet and sour flavors. However, if you've never juiced a fresh passion fruit, cutting the thick shell and then removing the pulp may seem difficult. However, with the right technique and equipment, passion fruit juice is actually easy to make.
Ingredients
- 5 ripe passion fruit or 2 cups (500 ml) passion fruit juice
- 6 cups (1.5 liters) water
- 1 cup (225 grams) sugar
- Sugar or honey substitute to taste (optional)
Step
Part 1 of 3: Cutting Passion Fruit
Step 1. Soak ripe passion fruit in cold water to clean it
Rotate the passion fruit in the water for 1-2 minutes to loosen the impurities. The passion fruit's outer shell protects the fruit as it falls from the tree. However, this shell is also known to harbor dust and small insects. To properly soak passion fruit, fill the sink, large bowl, or basin with cold water.
- To remove stubborn dust flakes, rinse the fruit under cold running water after soaking. Use your fingers to wipe the fruit shell clean.
- Make sure the passion fruit is completely dry before you try to cut the shell. Fruit shells that are still wet can be very slippery.
Step 2. Press around the fruit shell to check for soft areas
Ripe passion fruit shells should feel a little soft, but still firm overall. A little soft area on the fruit shell should not be a problem. However, if there is a large enough soft area on the passion fruit, it is likely that the flesh inside is already moldy. Remove passion fruit with large soft areas.
Ripe passion fruit is round solid or feels heavy and has slightly wrinkled skin
Step 3. Place the passion fruit on a cutting board that can hold the liquid
Cutting passion fruit can release a lot of juice. So, don't use a flat cutting board, which can not only waste the juice, but also pollute the kitchen.
If you don't have a cutting board designed to hold liquids, use a large plate or serving plate instead. Just make sure to place a wet paper towel or rag under the plate so it doesn't slide around while you're cutting the fruit on it
Step 4. Use a sharp knife or serrated knife to cut the fruit shell
The two most common techniques are splitting the passion fruit in half or cutting off about 2 cm at the ends. Splitting the fruit in half means you have to remove the flesh twice, but it will also make it easier for you to check for mold in the fruit. Choose the cutting technique that works best for you.
Be careful when splitting the passion fruit shell. Hold the fruit firmly so it doesn't twist when you press it with the knife
Part 2 of 3: Extracting Fruit Juice
Step 1. Use a spoon to scoop out the pulp and seeds and put them in a blender
After that, move the spoon around the inside of the fruit shell to remove the flesh and seeds. Empty all of the halved passion fruit shells until the blender is completely filled with the flesh. After that, remove the shell of the fruit that has been taken from the flesh.
Step 2. Close the blender then turn on low speed for 30 seconds
This short vibration will separate the passion fruit flesh and seeds. To prevent the juice from splattering out, make sure the blender is tightly closed beforehand.
Step 3. Press the pulp and seed mixture in a sieve and collect the juice in a bowl
Use the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula to remove as much of the passion fruit juice as possible. Twist the flesh and passion fruit mixture while pressing to help remove more juice trapped between the seeds.
If you don't have a sieve small enough, you can use a sieve
Step 4. Mix the juice with water and sweetener to balance the sour taste
Mix 6 cups (1.5 liters) of water, 1 cup (225 grams) of sweetener, and 2 cups (500 ml) of passion fruit juice together. You can reduce the amount of sweetener if you want, or add a little at a time according to your taste. Common sweeteners are sugar or a sugar substitute, but you can also use honey. Keep stirring the mixture until all the sweetener is dissolved then transfer to the pitcher to serve.
If you get more than 2 cups (500 ml) of passion fruit juice, adjust the composition of this recipe proportionately so that all of the juice is utilized
Part 3 of 3: Serving Passion Fruit Juice
Step 1. Chill the passion fruit juice in the refrigerator before serving
Once cooled, pour some of the juice into a glass and drink it without any additions, or mix it with other ingredients to make a refreshing drink. To speed up the cooling process, pour the warm juice into a glass of ice cubes and let it sit for a while. The ice cubes will cool a little juice quickly.
Step 2. Squeeze half a lime and put it in a pitcher for a fresh taste
The sour taste of the lime juice will help reduce the sweetness of the passion fruit juice. Instead of lime, you can also add the juice of half a lemon.
To further enrich the taste of passion fruit juice, try adding 3 drops of almond extract and Angostura bitter drink which is an alcoholic herbal concentrate. After that, add black rum to taste or serve without adding more in a tall glass with ice cubes
Step 3. Make a sweeter lemonade drink with passion fruit juice
With a strong sweet taste, passion fruit juice goes well with the sour taste of lemonade. Instead of buying lemonade at the store, you can make your own. Simply squeeze 2-3 lemons and put the juice in a pitcher then add 1 cup (250 ml) of water, 4-6 tablespoons (60-90 ml) of sugar syrup and your homemade passion fruit juice to taste.
For a sweeter taste, use Meyer lemons instead of regular lemons. The Meyer Lemon is a hybrid variety of a traditional lemon and mandarin orange that has a sweet and sour juice and enhances the taste of passion fruit juice
Step 4. Make a fresh passion fruit and mint mixture
Mix 2 tablespoons (30 grams) of sugar, 30 ml of lime juice, 350 ml of water, 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of passion fruit juice, and 6-8 chopped mint leaves. After that, let all the flavors combine in the refrigerator for 1 hour and serve in a tall glass with ice cubes. If you don't like the texture of the mint leaves in your drink, you can use mint syrup instead.
- Mix 2 cups (500 ml) of water, 2 cups (500 grams) of sugar, and mint leaves in a saucepan.
- Slowly heat this mixture over medium heat and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Remove the thick mixture from the heat and let it sit for 15-20 minutes.
- Finally, strain this mixture to get rid of the mint leaves then add it to the drink according to taste.
