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Getting passionate in the Philippines

Food/Drink / by

Feyma and I have been sharing a lot of passion recently.  In fact, I have to admit, even though we have lived in the Philippines for 10 years, we really did not share real passion until just the past week or so.  We have, admittedly, enjoyed it immensely.

Wait… hold on.  What is that you’re thinking?  Get your mind out of the gutter!

I’m not talking about love or sex here.  I’m talking Passionfruit!

Have you ever had passionfruit before? Until recently, we had not had passionfruit (except one taste that we forgot about), but I sure am glad we tried it.  A few years ago, we were at the Bukidnon house of our friend, Catholic Priest, Father Franco.  Father Franco had a couple of pieces of passionfruit there, and as I recall we tasted it and liked it.  But, he was pretty much out of the fruit at the time.  We never had seen passionfruit available in the Philippines, except that one taste at Father Franco’s house, so we kind of just forgot about it.

Last week, I had heard about a local dairy farm that produced cheese.  I never had really found a Philippine produced cheese that I thought was very good, but I did hear some very good things about this place, called Malagos Farmhouse.  I actually saw a feature about them on TV, and it looked pretty good.  One of the cheeses that they produce there is a bleu cheese from goat’s milk.  Both Feyma and I are big bleu cheese lovers, and it is quite expensive here to buy imported bleu cheese, so we decided to go buy some from Malagos Farmhouse and see how it was.

While we were at Malagos Farmhouse for the cheese shopping, we saw a big table with some kind of fruit on it.  It was not a fruit that I remembered seeing before, so I asked the lady working there what it was.  She told me that it was passionfruit.  I asked how much it was, and she told me that it was P12 per kilo.  Hmm… that’s just about 25 cents US for 2.2 pounds of the stuff!  Feyma and I decided to get 2 kilos of it just for a try.  We had been told that passionfruit juice is very good, and the lady at Malagos Farmhouse told us that these passionfruit were very ripe, and perfect for juicing, so we decided to squeeze some juice from these.

Within just a few minutes I had my first taste of passion (juice that is), and WOW!  I was in heaven.  This stuff was good… I mean really good!  But, it was also very strong, almost pungent.  So, my next move was to mix a very small amount of it in with iced tea.  Wow again!  Delicious.  We brew our own iced tea from tea bags, we don’t buy the manufactured, processed stuff.  Mixing in a very small amount (about 5% passionfruit juice with 95% tea) of passionfruit juice really kicked up the flavor to a different level.

Feyma also enjoys eating the fruit, although I personally have not tried that yet.  The juice is really a treat for me, so I have always stuck with that, although I am sure I’ll be trying it being eaten soon.

After just a couple of days, our 2 kilos of passionfruit were already gone, but we were craving for more!  Yesterday, we went back to Malagos Farmhouse and bought another 10 kilos (wow, that’s 22 pounds!) of passionfruit.  Last night my nieces juiced some of it for me (about half) and that produced a 330ml (about 11 ounces) bottle of passionfruit juice.  I use it to mix with iced tea, or other drinks, making a unique flavor.  330ml sounds like a small amount of juice, but it is so strong that 330ml goes a long, long way, and that will last me at least a week, I think.

I was just doing some browsing on the net and found lots of recipes for different things using passionfruit.  One that looked particularly good was a Mango and Passionfruit muffin.  I think we’ll give that a try soon, because it sounds good.

So, now I have a new passion here in the Philippines… Passionfruit!

Oh, I can hear some of you already asking… how was the bleu cheese? Great too!

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Comments

  1. Sounds good , have to try it next trip….but kinda looks like something I sneezed this morning …..I know ..way to much information !!

  2. Bob
    Im seeing a trend of things you re passionate about lately.
    Bread baking, BBQ, now Juicing, I like it.
    How about some homemade Passionfruit ice cream I am sure you could scrounge up a Ice cream maker there on the cheap, or how about a Passionfruit HaloHalo.

    • Ha ha…. indeed, I have a lot of passions, Neal! Right now, the BBQ grill is my biggest passion right now, I enjoy it a lot! Ice Cream maker? I think passionfruit ice cream would be delicious, but I’ve never seen an ice cream maker here before!

      • Bob
        We used to have one its a pretty simple device that u use rock salt ice and ice cream mix and flavorings.

  3. Hi Bob, I’ve never tasted the actual passion fruit, but have the Passion Vine that bears this fruit, in my garden in Cebu. The flower of the vine is very beautiful and is really called “passion” because early Spanish Christian missionaries thought the stamen “Passion Vine” relating to the Passion of Christ. It’s a very beautiful vine that attracts a lot of butterflies, but I’ve yet to see fruit on it. I’d love to try some– Sounds delicious!

      • Yeah Bob… I think that’s why.. This particular flower vine has red flowers,–I’m not really sure if only certain colored flower vines produce fruit.

        • Hi queenie – I know that there are two different colors of passionfruit – yellow and purple. I wonder if the color of the flowers is different? The passionfruit we have been getting is yellow.

          • Bob, I just looked it up–there are two varieties of fruit. The yellow you have it says originates from Australia. It also said that the fruits blend nicely with other citrus fruits, so maybe you could mix them with lemoncito for an extra flavor!

            • Hi queenie – we have been enjoying it with iced tea and water so far. We’ll have to try it with other juices and see how it is! I am sure it will be delicious. We even made some muffins with passionfruit, and they were great!

              • It says that the pulp freezes well, so if the fruit has a limited season, you could buy up as much as you can, and maybe freeze them in ice cube trays to later put in your iced tea for a long time..

        • Bob, I just read on one nursery site that the passion fruit vine is fast-growing and woody at the base. The flower is white with a purple center. Maybe my red flowered passion vine will never bear fruit. Also, it stated that many nurseries sell the plants–these were from Pampanga. Maybe this particular vine isn’t that hard to find around…

          • Hi queenie – Yeah, the flowers I have seen have been white with purple center. They are quite beautiful too. Maybe they are more common than I thought, but I have never seen the fruit in a “regular” fruit stand or in the market.

  4. Sorry Bob–I wasn’t very clear there! The raised stamen and flower parts are shaped like a cross and crown of thorns, thus the “passion” name.

  5. Bob.. passionfruit ..strawberry..mango..durian all these mixed together to make ice cream would be lovley..also since you found a place that make cheeze maybe they would sell you some whole cream..that makes the best home made ice cream…ya..if u could find one of those old style ice cream makers the ones with a metal cylinder that goes in side and you pack ice and rock salt on the sides and then put the top on and you can have a ice cream cranking party there or let all the neices and nephews get a little excersize turning the crank….it does make great ice cream..only problem is that it would not last very long…….

      • Yes..I am sure you could do that..Just have those helpers of yours that did your BBQ grill and have them put a 2 speed transmission on the grill..or a shifter for the steering wheel..and away you go…Now..if you or some body came up with something like that ,that worked so you could sit there and do 2 things at one time…that would be something I am thinking…But..U would have to use some gears or something..because U need to turn the ice cream maker faster than you turn that BBQ…Maybe just get another steering wheel..a smaller one and put Feymas name on it and then she could crank the ice cream maker and you could do the BBQ and you could have a together thing..quality time with each other.

    • Hi Dan – The odds of finding a huckleberry in the Philippines is probably about the same as seeing snow on the peaks of Mt. Apo when I look out my window! 😆 Neither is likely! 😉

    • Hmm marinade? What would you marinade, some kind of meat or something? That would be unique… not sure if it would be good, though! 😆

  8. Hi Bob,
    I like the passion fruit ice cream idea. I have one of those hand crank ice cream makers. I found it at J.C. Penny’s. Nothing beats the taste of homemade ice cream, but I’m impatient, so I cheat and use dry Ice instead lol. Is whole cream available there? what about dry ice?

  9. I think passionfruit in the Philippines is called ‘merinda’, at least in Visayan? The yellow is more suited to a tropical climate while the purple can handle colder weather, frosts etc.. Orange and passionfruit juice is one of the most common combinations in Australia; or, Passiona or Pasito (passionfruit flavoured soft drink!) Passionfruit slice is delicious… one warning though, eating more than 4-5 passionfruit in one sitting can result in, um, very regular visits to the toilet.

    • Hi foxratpig – long time no hear! Hope you are doing well. As far as I know there is no Filipino word, Tagalog or Bisaya, for passionfruit. The fruit is not native to the country. I just looked it up in several dictionaries, and found nothing.

      Hmm… trips to the toilet! Let me put the fruit aside until tomorrow! I’m going to limit myself to 3 pieces per day! 😆

      • The only reason I thought it was called merinda was because I asked a Filipino (Boholano) what is was called and they said, “Oh, we call that merinda.” So beyond that I don’t know… might be a provincial thing? 🙂

        I think what Jack was saying when talking about passionfruit marinade is that you can use passionfruit/kiwifruit/pawpaw pulp to tenderise tough meat – the enzymes in the fruit break the toughness down.

        They had an interesting article about passionfruit here:
        http://www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/many-uses-passion-fruit

  10. My asawa does not recognise the fruit and I’ve never seen them in Metro Manila. Back in Australia lots of people have a vine; I used to have one myself. They are incredibly prolific. Try it on fruit salad, or on vanilla ice cream, or swirled through yoghurt, or make passionfruit butter (masarap in little tarts), or use the de-seeded pulp in baking. But the iconic use of passionfruit in Australia is as a topping for pavlova (big meringue thing with a soft centre, covered in cream. No, no obesity problem in Oz hehe).

    • Hi Ken – From everything I read, it does seem that passionfruit is really popular in Australia. I do think it would be absolutely delicious on vanilla ice cream! I have seen pavlova on TV before, but I don’t think we have that in the States…. I’ve never seen it in person anyway.

  11. P12 a kilo? WOW!! Around my dorm it’s like P60 a kilo for anything. I wanna try fruits so badly, but too much!

    • Hi Jawz – Yeah, very cheap just P12/kg. I couldn’t believe how cheap it is. But then, only a small amount of that weight is actually edible, I think most of the weight is the “shell” or “skin” that you can’t eat. So, what are your favorite fruits here so far, Jonathan?

  12. Hi Sir Bob.
    In this neck of the woods this fruit goes under the name Granadilla.It is my favorite fruit juice
    mix it in with a milk shake but my favorite is itha double shot of vodka.Now this one i would not mind running past Paul Thompson in Subic.

    • Hmm… Granadilla, huh, Frank? Interesting. It does seem like it would go well with a shot of Vodka. Probably Paul would like it as a chaser for SMB! 😆

      • I’ve been raking my brains what you meant by passion fruit. The passion fruit I’ve had from Hawaii, were rather tart and had nice smell to it. It dawned on me that what you call passion fruit is granadilla in other countries. I pigged out on granadilla in Colombia. Alex

        • Hi AlexB – I don’t know the names in every country, but I do know that in much of the world (Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, etc) the fruit that I am talking about is indeed called passionfruit. Whatever we might call it, it tastes good! 😆

  13. when on is in hawaii passionfruit is everywhere in drinks. We have it once in a great while in the stores here on the mainland. It is one of my favorites.

  14. I read a article about that farm in a food magazine I bought at Martins place in Butuan ..It was about the different cheeses they make there ..so how was the blue cheese ..Ohh yes passion fruit is sooooo good ummm ummm ummm 🙂 Haven’t seen any up here yet but I will be looking for it in the market .. Phil n Jess

    • Hi Phil – I think it’s unlikely that you would see it in the market, because it isn’t really a “native” fruit of the Philippines. I think the place where we came across it grows a number of different “off the wall” things that are quite unusual here. BTW, the bleu cheese was really good!

  15. I am the lazy sort and buy the bottled passionfruit,

    It is made by Kablon Farms – and available in the juice section of Park and Shop. Just add wter and drink, LOL!

    There is a LOT of passion fruit available right now in Bankerohan – go to veggie bagsakan area. yaya buys a couple every few days and she makes it into juice.

    • Hi Cheryll Ann – I’m lazy too…. I let my nephew do the juicing! 😆 Actually, I didn’t realize that Kablon made that juice! 😉

  16. Tuna
    •4 ea Tuna loin portions, 6-8 oz
    •1 passion fruit, fresh
    •3 Tbsp Soy sauce
    •1 Tbsp Parsley, chopped

    chicken

    Amount
    2 oz Passion fruit concentrate
    2 oz White wine vinegar
    1 tblspn .Sweet ginger
    1/2Salt
    1/4 teasp Pepper

    I have tried the chicken once a long time ago, it was pretty good. The Tuna Sounds like it might work pretty well.

  17. Bob and Queenie: The flowering passion vine is a different specie than the fruit bearing one. The flowering specie of the passion plant is one of the most beautiful flowering vine that I have grown in my gardening experience. Have a Good day to both of You!

  18. It is called lilikoi here in Hawaii. It grows like a weed here. The famous POG juice is has passion fruit juice in it, well about 1/3 of 5% real juice. Also my favorite is the lilikoi pie and cake. I guess it could grow in the extreme south and west in the US, besides Hawaii.

  19. Hi David,

    I was hoping that you’d have some input on this, seeing as you’re so into gardening too! Yes, up to now I wasn’t aware that only two varieties of passion vine produce fruit. I was suprrised to also find out that there is an international society of passion vine enthusiasts that have identified over three hundred different varieties of these flowering vines in all different colors and forms! I wonder how many are found in the Philippines…
    They truly are beautiful as you say.
    I wish we had more information about the Tagalog or Visayan name for the fruiting vine or passion fruits. So far Foxratpig is the only person to be able to put a name to it. It’s good to know the local names when you’re looking for any plants at a municipal garden or private nursery…
    I hope that you have a good day too!

  20. Delicious, we have plenty of those here in Baguio and further north in the Mountain Trail area..unfortunately it is seldom to see them being sold in the market nowadays and local sari sari stores are the one selling it during its season.

      • Makes me wonder if you can try growing it in your backyard..my Grandmother did and it wasn’t that hard to grow, haven’t seen one in the lowlands maybe it has something to do with the climate, but it might be worth trying.

  21. Hi Queenie: Nice to hear from you. I am glad you did some readimg on passion vines. There is a variety that I grows in Maryland, USA during the summer to Fall season. On winter it dies and you have to replant it in spring. In the Philippines it grows almost like weeds. Have Fun in your Gardening Activities . Anything new in your garden?

  22. I pour a bit of chilled vodka in a half of passion fruit, stir it around, drink it down, and repeat as necessary!

  23. The passion fruit vine grows very well and vigorous. Plant some in a garden or along a fence and watch it take off. If it graps a hold of a powerline it will just keep going and going. My favorite way to drink it is mixing about 1/3 juice with 2/3 water more or less depending on how strong you like it and add sugar to taste. Ice cold it is delicious! Enjoy!

    • Hi David – When I make the juice, I think I mix it even a little weaker than you are doing. Probably I mix about 5 or 6 parts water for each part of passionfruit juice! It sure is delicious, though.

  24. I was amazed to read you had not tasted passionfruit previously. Australians grew up with passionfruit vines growing over patios outhouses and fences. The Nelly Kelly variety with purple skins and succulent yellow pulp is the most common. The tropical varieties with yellow skins are a fairly recent strain. The vines can be easily grown from seed and will fruit in the second year of planting. The vine will only fruit for a couple of seasons so always have new plants ready. I have bought passionfruit from SM in Clark but the flesh is not as sweet as it should be. Passionfruit is excellent for frosting on cakes and in icecream. A fruit salad is great when passionfruit is added (not that awful stuff the Filipinos call fruit salad).

    • Hi Jules – In the States, where I am from, passionfruit is not common. I don’t ever remember seeing it before. That is why I had never tasted it previously!

  25. hi..been looking at it here in Davao City to buy some seedlings for my aunt..she said it is good for a person who has a cancer..i tasted it when i was a child..and tastes great..

  26. Finally i found my childhood favorite Juice , Maracucha as it is well know in some part of africa and deep forest where the Gorilla knew these secret Passion kind of fruits growing wild near the Vironga Volcano surrounding and little by little was introduce to the civilized circles and i remember having a juice along with fried sardines and frites ( belgian french Frie ) and at nite we would sip a mixture with Vodka and Life can be cheerful sometimes , thanks for the information and the Shared Passion , yes philippines has many wonders