How To Tell If Passion Fruit Is Ripe

As seen with our passion fruit example, you will want to make sure that your passion fruits are not underripe. If they are, then they can taste very sour!

If you find yourself needing to rush the process of eating them because they have gone bad, then it is better to wait until they are ripe and soft so that they do not hurt your mouth.

But how do you know when they are really sweet? You may be able to just try one, but if you don’t like it or it doesn’t seem right, then chances are someone else close by has one that is. They might be willing to let you take some for free!

There are several things that you can check to see if your passion fruits are ready. This article will go over a few of those.

Push down on the fruit gently

Pressing the fruit is one of the most important steps in determining when it’s ripe. You want to make sure that you don’t bruise the flesh, but at the same time, you want to feel some softness. If you are able to press the whole piece of fruit with no resistance, then it is probably overripe.

Just because fruits look beautiful doesn’t mean they are sweetly delicious! Many fruits have an edible part called the pulp or seed that tastes very sour or salty. This isn’t necessarily bad for you, but you will want to check before eating them whether or not the taste is too strong.

Listen for a hollow sound

Now that you have tried some passion fruits, you will want to know when they are ripe! If you notice that their texture changes as it matures, then that is a good indicator.

As they ripen, the pulp in the fruit gets thinner and thinner. This is because the sugars in the juice start to ferment and thicken as the fruit comes into season. When they are just dry and not sweet anymore, they are ready!

You can tell whether or not a passion fruit has reached its peak by trying one of them. If you can hear a faint hollowness when you bite down, then it has hit its stride and should be enjoyed soon!

Sour berries like lemons and limes usually taste better at this stage than over-sweetened ones. However, make sure your mouth is well hydrated before eating so you do not suffer any bitterness or sourness due to dehydration.

Use your nose

The texture of passion fruit changes as it matures. When they are soft and creamy, they have reached their peak flavor and will soon degrade in taste and smell.

The scent also changes as it ripens. Initially, there is not much of a fragrance but as it matures, it develops an appealing floral aroma that some say resembles a flower.

When you can detect the faint perfume, then it is time to pick them! While most recipes call for just eating the seeds directly, you can instead use puréed passion fruits to make drinks or dessert toppings.

You can even add them to yogurt or milk to give it an extra tangy boost. They will still taste the same, but may offer more health benefits than the ones consumed raw.

Consider the taste

The texture and flavor of passion fruit changes as it matures. When they are in season, passion fruits will be sweet and slightly tart. As they get older, they can become much more sour or even bitter!

The color does not change with age. However, when they are fresh, they will be light pinkish-orange.

When determining whether passion fruit is ripe, try rubbing one between your fingers. If it gives off slight juice, then it is perfect!

If it tastes very acidic, chances are it has overmatured and lost its flavor.

Look for signs of ripeness

As with any fruit, you will want to make sure that your passion fruits are ripe before eating them.

Most recipes call for just one or two berries per person, so it is not essential that everyone has their own berry when they eat them.

If you find a bunch of seeds inside the berry, then do not worry too much about whether there are enough berries for another person.

Peel fruit when it is not ripe

When passion fruits are in season, you can usually tell they have just begun to ripen because their skins are very thin and there are only small openings between the skin and the interior of the fruit.
As they mature and develop harder shells, those qualities will change.

The darker color within a passion fruit represents dried pulp that has solidified as the juice was absorbed. This process takes about one week for every two pieces of passion fruit!

So how do you know if your passion fruit is at its best? There’s an easy way to check- soak it in water! If the flesh changes shape or melts away slightly, then it is still edible and sweet. An unedible passion fruit would be soft and lose most of its moisture.

Don’t eat it

The most important thing about passion fruit is that you should not consume it when it is not in season. If you find one unripe fruits, chances are there will be more of them coming soon!

Passion fruits grow on trees during spring time, so they can easily spread their seeds and have another crop later. This could happen even years after picking the first batch!

Because of this, some bushes may flower very late in the season or not at all sometimes. It depends on the plant species and climate where it grows.

Consider storing it

The next step in determining whether or not to buy passion fruit is considering where you will store it once you have found one that looks ripe. If you plan to use it right away, then having it stored in a sealed container is fine.

But if you are planning to consume it later, then your choice becomes more important. Make sure your passion fruits are exposed to air for at least a week so that they can develop an aroma and taste.

You also want to make sure that they do not get wet as this could cause them to spoil. We recommend buying dried passion fruits instead of fresh ones as these have better flavor and smell.