Sweet passionfruit

What it is

This is Passiflora alata. One named variety, BRS Mel do Cerrado, weighs 120–300 g (4–11 oz), so a fruit can be a substantial handful. Its yellow-orange pulp sits inside a yellow shell.

The pulp and seeds are eaten together. For a fresh fruit, a knife and spoon are enough.

Where it comes from

The vine comes from tropical South America, from Amazonian Peru through the Amazon region to eastern Brazil. In Brazil it is called maracujá-doce, meaning sweet passionfruit.

BRS Mel do Cerrado began with selection and crossing at Embrapa Cerrados in 1999. Released in 2017, it was developed for the specialty fresh-fruit market, with sweet pulp as one of its selling points.

How it's eaten where it grows

Brazilian recipes for maracujá-doce include picolé, an ice pop made by freezing the pulp with its seeds in small moulds. It needs no added sugar.

Brigadeiro de maracujá-doce takes another route: sweet-passionfruit juice cooks with condensed milk and butter, then cream is stirred in. It is served in little cups, finished with pulp and white-chocolate shavings.

How it's grown

The vine can climb 10 m (33 ft), gripping its support with tendrils. In Cruz das Almas, Bahia, it usually starts flowering nine to ten months after sowing. Fruit is ready about two months after pollination. Ripe fruits stay attached to the plant, so harvesters cut their tough stalks with pruning shears.

When and where you'll find it

In Brazil, BRS Mel do Cerrado was bred for the specialty fresh-fruit trade. Sweet passionfruit is also grown in Spain: a German online fruit shop, Trübenecker, lists Passionsfrucht Alata from Salvador, a small organic grower in Valencia. The fruit travels whole, ready to cut open and spoon out.