How To Know When Passion Fruit Is Ripe

As we grow up, we develop passions- things that make us feel passionate or excited for what they are and how to use them. These include foods, hobbies, sports teams, and so on.

For example, I’m sure most people have heard of the term ‘cherish’ before. If you ever see someone eating their favorite food, I bet you know what word comes to mind.

They are tasting it more than anyone else would, which is why it tastes good to them. They love it and want to eat as much of it as possible!

That passion or desire can sometimes last a few minutes, hours, or even days. It depends on how hungry you are at the time.

But if there was one fruit that never seemed to get tired of your taste buds, it would be the passion fruit.

It may sound weird but try it and see. Read on to learn about everything passion fruits tell you when they are ripe and how to prepare them.

Touch the fruit

This happens when you place your hand onto the fruit’s skin. If it feels soft, fuzzy, and warm, then it is ripe!

Many people believe that if the rind of the passionfruit looks brown or darkly colored, it is not ready. However, this theory does not hold up because even very hardy berries will sometimes ripen before they develop a darker color.

When passion fruits are in season, most grocery stores offer them at a discount if you buy a whole one.

Put it down and wait a few minutes

This week, we’re talking about how do you know when passion fruit is ripe! Passion fruits are in season from June to September, so they’ll always be around but you should really try them while they're hot because otherwise, they can taste sour or fermented.

Passion fruits grow on plants called trunks or cotyledons. As the name suggests, these contain some sort of juice that comes boiling out when pressed. This liquid is typically bright pink due to the presence of anthocyanins, an antioxidant pigment found in vegetables like strawberries and carrots.

But what makes this particular variety different is that there's also a second kind of acid present- citric acid. Not only does it give the juice its color, it plays an important part in the flavor profile as well.

Check the texture

The texture of passion fruits can tell you when they are ripe!
As they get closer to being fully ripened, their skin will become slightly more wrinkled and thinner. They also may begin to feel warm or even soft when pressed.

However, do not purchase if the fruit is not very wrinkled and does not feel soft.

Taste it

Most people agree that when passion fruits are not sweet anymore, they are no longer ripe. Before eating them, you should be able to taste a slight acidity.

Many recipes require the fruit to be in flavor so skipping this step will result in having to start over! This is very frustrating as you would have spent time growing the fruit only to lose it due to an inability to eat it.

Making sure your passion fruits are at the right stage helps prevent this. You can also use these tips to help determine if they have reached their peak flavor.

Use your nose

There are two ways to tell when passion fruit is ripe! The first one is by taste – you can either have it as pure juice or purée it down into foam. If it tastes sour, then it is not ready yet!

The second way to know when passion fruits are ripe is to look at them physically. As with most tropical fruits, the skin of the passion fruit will grow thicker and tighter as it ripens. This process takes around a week for each half-ripened passion fruit.

Once they are soft and slightly browned in color, they are considered mature and should be picked while they are still crisp. You want to make sure that you do not bruise or break these berries, as they will continue to ferment and get sweeter as they sit.

Use your ears

This year, most grocery stores will have at least one varietal of passion fruit in their produce section. If you are able to tell when a passion fruit is fully ripe, then choose the ones that look the best and taste the best!

The passion fruits you buy should give off a slight acid flavor and should feel soft like gel in your mouth. As you can see, making sure your passion fruit is properly ripened makes a difference in how much flavor it has!

Hopefully, this article inspired you to start eating more fresh berries and/or passion fruits! But don’t forget to try them while they are still in season so you do not get sick of them.

Use a digital fruit ripeness sensor

As we know, passion fruits are not actually berries; they are instead large seedy fruits that contain a compound called phenol, which gives them their unique flavor and texture.

When these fruits are in season, farmers will use a special device to determine when this chemical is present and thus when the fruit can be picked.

This tool does this by detecting color changes of the fleshy part of the fruit – the pericarp or peel. When there are no changes in color, then it is time to pick the fruit!

Since passion fruits have an extremely thin skin layer, most people either eat the whole fruit or scoop out the seeds and taste test for ripeness.

Use a paper fruit ripeness chart

As mentioned earlier, when passion fruits are not red anymore is when they have overripened. This does not mean that they are no longer delicious!

Because of this, there are some tools to know if your passion fruit has reached its end. One of these is using a paper fruit ripeness chart. Most grocery stores or specialty food markets will have one for you to use to determine when your passion fruit is ripe.

These charts usually have different colors corresponding to how soft the passion fruit is. The darker the color, the softer the passion fruit. If it is completely white then it is hard and not sweet enough.

This article will talk more in depth about what colors indicate what stage of ripening as well as tips on how to store your passion fruits so that they do not over-soften.