How to Make Passion Fruit Juice at Home

The passion fruit grows on a vine like grapes sending out tendrils to grasp onto a surface such as a fence, wall or trees. It is a vigorous plant and has been known to overtake trees and even up onto the roof of houses. It is a plant that needs to be kept under control instead of pampered like some plants. It is a beautiful plant to look at with dark green leaves, exotic flowers and green fruit which turns yellow or purple, depending on the variety you are growing.

The year round availability means this is fast becoming one of our favorite juices in our home. It is quick and easy to prepare and full of vitamin C. It also has the added benefits of helping one to sleep.

The beautiful photo below shows the passion fruit vine, flower and fruit. The photo is used courtesy of Mary B Thorman.

• 5-7 Passion fruit, depending on size
• 1/3 cup Sugar, substitute sweetener if you prefer
• 1 litre (1 quart) cold water

Start by cutting the passion fruit in half, from the stem to the bottom. You may need a bit of force to get through the skin, they can be a bit tough.

Be forewarned, the juice will start to ooze out. Separate the halves as quickly as possible to avoid this. Lay this with the cut side up as in the photo to retain all that juice inside.

Alternatively you can cut the top off and scoop it out with a teaspoon, as though it were a soft boiled egg.

Additional information:

Here in Brazil, they will use the empty shell of the fruit to place a candle in during religious festivals and parades.

If you decide you don't want to juice it, at this point you can just scoop it out and eat it with a spoon. Some varieties are tarter than others. The ones you may buy in America and Europe might be the purple variety which is sweeter and would need less sugar.

Sprinkle a little sugar on top and just scoop it into a spoon and eat it, seeds and all.

1. Scoop out the insides of the passion fruit into a blender, seeds and all. Don't worry if the white pith goes in there, we will be using a sieve to remove this. Do this with all the passion fruit.
2. Next, add the sugar. I like to use 1/3 to 1/2 cup of sugar. Obviously, this tells you, I don't measure it, I just pour it in. I would start with 1/3 if you are using the sweeter purple skinned variety. If you prefer to replace the sugar with your favorite sweetener, then adjust to taste.
3. The next step is to add the water. I like to use chilled water and I fill this up to the 1 liter mark on the blender. That is about a quart.
4. Turn the blender on low. You will hear the seeds breaking up but this is okay.
5. The easiest way to remove the seeds is through a sieve. I use a fine nylon sieve and place this over a funnel or a wide mouthed jug. Pour the liquid including the seeds carefully into the sieve. Using a spoon, gently stir the mixture so the seeds don't block the sieve, this allows the juice to pass through. Continue doing this until there is no more juice. You will have a sieve with foam and seeds. This can be discarded. Note: Here in Brazil, the seeds are often used to decorate cakes. They are edible and quite crunchy. I eat them but be aware you can get appendicitis from eating seeds. They can get stuck and cause a blockage which is one cause of appendicitis.

When you have passed this through the sieve your juice is ready. It can be kept in the refrigerator until you are ready for it. The juice will separate with the foam rising to the top. Just stir this up with a swizzle stick or spoon before serving. I normally just put a jug of passion fruit juice on the table with a wooden spoon, so whoever is pouring can give it a quick stir before each serving.