How To Know If Passion Fruit Is Ripe

The lovely tart flavor of passion fruit comes from its pulp, not seeds or juice. When choosing passion fruits, make sure they are soft and give when pressed lightly. If you can only taste the acidity of the fruit, it has probably lost its taste and should be discarded!

Many people grow their own passion fruits, as they vary in color depending on the plant variety. They can also be dried and put into recipes or drinks, where they will rehydrate and add some flavor.

If you would like to try your hand at growing your own passion fruit, start with a simple leafy green vegetable crop first. After that, move onto a vine vegetable such as cucumber or zucchini. Then, choose either an annual flower bulb crop or a perennial flowering shrub. It is best to do research before investing money in plants, so that you know what kind of soil and amount of sunlight each needs.

Press the fruit gently

As with most fruits, passionfruit ripens as it dries out. When you press the peel of a passionfruit, whether hand-held or using a plate, this indicates that it is ripe.

When they are in season, there are ways to know when a passionfruit is fully dried out. If you feel the texture of the pulp, then that is very good indicator. However, before eating it, make sure it does not smell like alcohol!

If you have to choose between those, going for the dry texture is better than no flavor or taste. But if you really want to know how to tell if passionfruit is sweet enough, then checking its scent is the best way to do so.

Use your nose

The texture of passion fruits changes as they ripen. As they get closer to being ripe, their flavor intensifies and becomes more pronounced.

Their scent gets stronger too! When you can smell the fruit without it having to be squeezed, that is a sure sign that it is mature enough.

You will also be able to tell when they are fully dried out. They should not be squeezable or wet-looking at this stage.

Use your fingers

When passion fruit is in season, you can pick them up at any grocery store or specialty food market. Because they are often sold in plastic bags as a sour ingredient for recipes, it is easy to underestimate how ripe they are!

If you have to squeeze one of the fruits just to see some juice coming out, then it has not yet reached its peak flavor potential. If there is no liquid that comes out when pressed, then the passion fruit may be slightly underripe.

However, if most of the pulp changes color from white to bright pink when pressed, then it is probably close to perfect. Make sure to taste it and check it against the tips below!

What to look for when determining if passion fruit is sweet enough

You will want to make sure that the passion fruit tastes sweeter than normal. But, it should also have an adequate amount of acidity so thatit does not overwhelm the mouth.

Some recipes require dried passion fruit powder which makes it even more difficult to know when this fruit is completely over-sweetened.

Touch and taste

The skin of the passion fruit can be squeezed to determine whether it has enough flavor. If it does not, try buying it at a different store or in bulk so you do not have to purchase it too soon.

When shopping for passion fruits, make sure they are both soft and slightly warm. When biting into one, let your tongue touch the sour mouth piece first and then swallow quickly!

If after doing this you still like them, they may be crunchy inside which some people prefer. You should however, avoid these unless you know what variety they are as some will not.

What is the difference between acorn, strawberry, and white sweet passion fruit?

Acorns have very small hairs that grow along diagonal lines. These get stuck in your throat while eating making it feel like you need to use an extra napkin.

Strawberries have thicker skins than other varieties which makes swallowing difficult. This also causes choking risk as well as uncomfortable chewing.

White sweet passion fruit have thin protective shells around the seeds which make swallowing even harder. Both of these affect how much flavor the passion fruit has and why some people enjoy them more than others.

Go to a store that has fruit

In grocery stores, supermarkets, or specialty food shops, you will usually find plastic bags with dried fruits in them. These are called brine packs or salt-drying packets. Dried fruits such as apricots, plums, and cherries are often packed in these packages because of their natural sweetness.

You can use these packets to quickly dry out your passion fruit! Simply soak one packet in a bowl full of freshly squeezed lemon juice for one week, then pour off the liquid and test whether the passion fruit is sweet (this would be due to the drying process).

Buy fruit that isn’t bruised

This is one of the most important things you can do to know when passion fruit is ripe!

When buying fresh passion fruits, make sure they are not bruised or wrinkled. If you find some with slight wrinkles, these are still ok, but try to buy ones that aren’t too soft either.

The skin of a freshly picked passion fruit will easily pull away from the flesh which indicates it is probably over-ripe.

Buy fruit that isn’t too wet or dry

The texture of passion fruits can be quite liquidy, which makes them very difficult to eat without getting some of the juice all over you.

If the pulp is slightly watery, it has not fully dried out yet- this is totally okay!

This doesn't make the flavor any less delicious though, so don’t worry! If there's one thing passion fruits are known for, it's their tart citrusy taste!

Just remember to wash your hands well after eating them, and use the leftover pulp in other recipes. You may want to add it into yogurt or dessert dishes as an extra source of vitamins and minerals.

Try to find a smell that tells you it’s ripe

The passion fruits we use in recipes are usually sweet, so there is no need to check for taste- they are already delicious!
However, when choosing fresh passion fruit, there is an easy way to know when it's time to pick them.

When one bites into a passion fruit and it breaks down slightly, that is considered natural sugar to eat along with it. This happens because as it matures, the skin becomes thinner and thinner, making it more susceptible to being eaten by your teeth.

This doesn't mean that every batch needs to have this happen, but looking out for this can help tell whether or not they are at their peak flavor.