Determining the level of ripeness of passion fruit is a bit tricky, especially because the skin texture can look wrinkled and no longer fresh even though in fact, the flesh is still not ripe. Don't worry, this article contains simple tips for checking the ripeness of passion fruit that you can find in supermarkets or fruit shops. If you've already purchased undercooked passion fruit, you don't have to worry because passion fruit can easily be ripened at home for a few days before eating.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Knowing the Characteristics of a Good Quality Passion Fruit
Step 1. Check the ripeness of the passion fruit based on its color
Avoid the passion fruit that is still green! The greener the color, the more raw the flesh. Instead, choose a passion fruit that is purplish, reddish, or yellowish in order to get perfectly ripe fruit flesh. This method applies to all types of passion fruit, yes! Some types of passion fruit will only consist of one color, while there are also passion fruit whose skin color is graded or shows a mixture of several colors.
Some types of passion fruit are actually ripe even though the color does not change much. If you plant a passion fruit tree in your yard and find fruit that has fallen naturally, keep checking for ripeness by other methods before deciding to eat or throw it away
Step 2. Observe the passion fruit skin texture
Passion fruit is still raw if the skin texture is still very smooth, and ripe if the skin texture is wrinkled and wrinkled. However, make sure you do not choose passion fruit that is too wrinkled, yes! Excess wrinkles indicate that the passion fruit flesh is overripe and no longer fresh.
Step 3. Look for passion fruit defects
Don't worry too much about a light scratch or a few smudges; both are still normal and do not affect the taste of passion fruit when eaten. Passion fruit whose surface looks lumpy is actually still worth eating, although the texture of the flesh will be softer. However, keep checking the presence or absence of lumps on the passion fruit skin that is scratched because the presence of internal bumps makes passion fruit more at risk of mold.
- Before eating it, you can first cut and remove the lumpy or moldy passion fruit.
- The fungus attached to the passion fruit skin only needs to be washed thoroughly. After all, you will not eat passion fruit skin, right?
Method 2 of 3: Weighing and Touching Passion Fruit
Step 1. Choose the passion fruit that falls from the tree naturally
If growing passion fruit trees at home, leave the task of checking for ripeness to gravity. Supposedly, a perfectly ripe fruit will fall from the tree on its own because of its weight.
However, sometimes even unripe passion fruit will fall from the tree because the tree branches are too weak due to dehydration. Therefore, double-check the passion fruit for doneness with another method before eating it
Step 2. Choose passion fruit with heavy weight
Weigh the passion fruit by hand, and check the level of doneness of the flesh based on its weight. Choose passion fruit that weighs heavily even though the size is not too big.
Ideally, ripe passion fruit is 4-8 cm in diameter and weighs about 35-50 grams
Step 3. Choose passion fruit with dense flesh
Slowly, press the passion fruit skin. Supposedly, the fruit flesh inside will feel soft but still solid. The flesh of the fruit is immature if it feels firm, and overripe if it feels very soft when pressed.
Method 3 of 3: Ripening, Cutting and Storing Passion Fruit
Step 1. Cook passion fruit at room temperature
If you've bought passion fruit that's unripe or undercooked, try ripening it at room temperature for a few days. Make sure passion fruit is not exposed to direct sunlight, yes! Make sure you also check the level of ripeness of the passion fruit every day so that the passion fruit does not end up being too ripe, the skin wrinkled, and the texture of the flesh drying out.
Step 2. Slice or chop the passion fruit using a sharp knife
Remember, passion fruit skin is not edible! To eat it, you need to scrape the flesh of the passion fruit using a spoon. If it is going to be processed into other dishes, simply cut the passion fruit in half so that the pulp is easier to dredge.
Step 3. Store sliced or chopped fruit in the refrigerator or freezer
After splitting, passion fruit should always be stored in the refrigerator or freezer so that it does not rot. If stored in the refrigerator, passion fruit can last up to one week. If you want to store it for a longer time (up to 12 months), pack the passion fruit pieces in a special plastic clip bag and freeze in the freezer.
