So here it is, my diatribe on passion fruit. But a quick note first on “pash” – this is actually a verb in Australian slang, and to pash means to make out with someone passionately. Thought I’d throw that in simply because the one place in the world where passionfruit is most popular is Oz. That said, though, both purple and yellow passionfruit are grown throughout the world; the passionflower prefers a more tropical climate, but is currently cultivated in a number of locations (Brazil, the Caribbean, Australia, Africa and some areas of the southern United States). Passion fruit by itself tends to taste tart. It is usually used with other types of fruit in recipes to lighten its tangy taste. Passion fruit, as well as its flower, are known for their aromatic scent. Because of its sweet smelling fragrance, passion fruit is sometimes added to food simply to enhance its aroma.
Passion fruit is often used in gourmet cooking, its tart flavor and sweet fragrance often chosen to optimize odor and palate. It is used in desserts, jams and cocktails, and is often found enhancing a seafood dish. Unfortunately, as I mentioned my brother getting upset about, true passionfruit flavoring is not as abundant as some yogurts and juices would have you believe and pay for – and there is a definite difference between the real and the contrived passionfruit smells and tastes, so be wary of purchasing the synthetic flavors, as they will lack in the rich bittersweetness that is true passionfruit. Indeed, they will also be deficient in the abundant medicinal properties that real passionfruit possesses. Passionfruit has been used to lower blood pressure, control spasms, treat asthma, expel worms, kill bacteria and enhance libido. Passion fruit extracts have been demonstrated to kill cancer cells in developing fetuses and the fruit and leaves have sedative properties. In 1975 a number of harmala alkaloids were isolated from the fruit, including harmane, harmol, harmin and harmalin – these are all MAOIs (Monoamine-Oxidase Inhibitors) which basically means that they are quite powerful antidepressants. Harmala alkaloids have been demonstrated to be psychoactive and harmin and harmalin are key constituents of the sacred drink of the Amazonian shaman, Ayahuasca.
There is one major compound that constitutes true passionfruit scent, 6-(but-2'-enylidene)-1,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-1-ene, shown below:
Some other minor components are: (Z)-hex-3-enyl butanoate, hexyl butanoate, ethyl (Z)-oct-4-enoate and beta-ionone. Of interest is the fact that yellow and purple passionfruits demonstrate a difference in chirality in their key component volatiles: for example, one possesses a “left-handed” version of heptan-2-ol, whereas the other possesses a “right-handed” version…More on chirality and its effect on our perceptions of smells and tastes later.
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