What’s the most common homemade preparation from passion fruit? Juice or squash. But why not jelly, jam and pickle? Or even a fermented beverage? A group of passion fruit lovers in the city were introduced to these value-added products at an event at Sthala, a meet-up space at Kannammoola last Sunday.
Leading the session was Rajani Chandran, former faculty member in home science at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani, on behalf of Association for Developmental Initiatives in Sustainable Agriculture and Home Science (ADISAH). “I want to show them that there is more to passion fruit than juice. The fruit, a native of Brazil, is rich in nutrients and every part of the fruit can be turned into an edible product, including its rind. It is not available in all shops. At the same time the ripe fruit can fetch you ₹110 (yellow variety) and ₹130 (pink variety),” said Rajani prior to the two-hour session.
She demonstrated the preparation of jam, with the mashed passion fruit pulp and papaya mix she had brought with her. “Instead of papaya, you can use palayamthodan banana variety or even apple with the passion fruit pulp,” she explained to the group that had people from different walks of life.
Rajani Chandran leading the session on passion fruit | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
She also stressed on the advantages of extracting the juice by filtering the pulp through a muslin cloth, instead of using the blender to make the juice. “Then you can use the residue to make another product, like pickle or wine or fermented beverage as we call it. Although pulp is commonly used to make the beverage, I use the rind of the fruit and the residue,” she said.
The pickle is prepared using the same ingredients and the same method that go into the making any homemade pickle. “If you add jaggery to it, that will become a sweet pickle. You can also make pickle with those passion fruits that fall off the vine before they reach the full size. It tastes like the lime pickle,” she explained. Another product that piqued everyone’s interest was the passion fruit jelly, also made from the rind. Rajani also gave tips on storing the wine and preservatives used in jam and squash.
Food for thought
Abraham K George, an “agripreneur”, observed that the class was helpful for him, as he was planning to venture into manufacture of various products from passion fruits grown in his farm in Pathanamthitta. Meanwhile, Sheela Nair, an advocate of healthy food habits, said that she was looking forward to learn more about the fruit, a favourite of hers, as she was planning to grow it at her home.
The participants also exchanged views about planting the vine and harvesting before they dispersed for a tasting session. Fahad C I, working in the research and development wing at Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Pappanamcode, felt that although not enough research has been done on passion fruit, the small initiative shed light on many aspects about the fruit that he wasn’t aware of.