Passion fruit - or maracuja - is one of my all-time favorite fruit. It's de-li-ci-ous. Not overly sweet, not too sour, and the purple wrinkly fruits are fun to eat. Most people love the taste, but some don't like the little kernels or are turned off by the glibbery consistency of fresh maracuja. But with our recipe for passion fruit syrup, you don't have to worry about that. It's full of flavor and free of kernels.
How to make passion fruit syrup
There are two ways to approach a homemade passion fruit syrup. One is a bit more refined, the other very straightforward and less evolved.
Passion fruit syrup recipe by Jeff Beachbum Berry
With the Tiki cocktail hype in the 1950s, fruity, colorful, tropical drinks became a thing. And that's also when passion fruit entered the stage. And Jeff Berry, a renowned historian of Tiki culture, reconstructed the recipe for a passion fruit syrup from that time as follows:
Use one part simple syrup, one part frozen passion fruit pulp. Defrost the fruit, combine it with the syrup, and put it in a sealable container in the fridge.
And while that will also bring in passion fruit flavor, it's not up to the standard of today's crafty mixology. So we have a more refined recipe for you.
The more advanced way of making passion fruit syrup
All you need for this beautiful homemade passion fruit syrup recipe are fresh passion fruits, water, sugar, and a bit of time.
First, you cut the passion fruit in half and use a spoon to scoop out the fruit pulp. Once you have removed the pulp, there are two ways to get rid of the seeds. Either before you start boiling your syrup or after it's done. I like to wait and leave the kernels in until the end.
That doesn't have much of an influence on how the syrup turns out, though. It's more to do with me optimising efforts. I find the finished syrup is easier to sieve than the fresh fruit. Plus, you have to strain your syrup anyway once it is finished.
So all you have to do now is add water and sugar into a saucepan and bring everything to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the passion fruit pulp into the saucepan and turn down the heat. Let the mixture steep away for at least 30 minutes. We usually do 45 minutes to 1 hour.
And I know it's tempting while watching your passion fruit simmer away, but don't start to squash and crush the kernels. They are a bit bitter and will make the color of your syrup cloudy and less vibrant, as well.
After one hour, take the saucepan off the heat. Let the passion fruit syrup cool down before straining it into a bottle. When sealed airtight, it will last for four weeks. And as with other fruit-based syrups, like our fig syrup or pineapple syrup, you can also add a splash of Vodka. The alcohol will make the syrup last longer.
How to tell if a passion fruit is ripe?
Passion fruits come in colors ranging from dark purple to red(-ish) to yellow. Therefore, you cannot tell from their appearance if they are ripe or not. The same goes for mangos, by the way. Knowing that might come in handy should you plan to make a Mango Margarita on the rocks anytime soon.
But back to the passion fruits for our syrup recipe. No matter the color of the fruit, the skin should be wrinkled. If it has plump, smooth, firm skin, the fruit isn't ripe yet. Also, if you haven't had fresh passion fruit before, they are very lightweight. That doesn't mean the fruit turned bad like it would be the case with some nuts.
Cocktails ideas with Passion fruit syrup
You can bring the taste of passion fruit with this syrup recipe to highballs like a Gin and Tonic. Or to a Vodka Soda, aka Skinny Bitch (not quite so skinny anymore than). Just follow the directions for our Pink Fig G&T and add a splash of lime juice, too. That balances out the sweetness from the syrup nicely.
Or you can experiment with cocktails that already have passion fruit in their recipe, like the Porn Star Martini and the Hurrican cocktail.
Generally, many cocktails that usually include simple syrup are a good fit for flavored syrups, too. Or you can simply open a bottle of bubbly and add a bit of passion fruit flavor to it.
Equipment
- 1 bottle sealable
- 1 cup
- 1 mesh sieve
- 1 funnel
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 6 fresh passion fruits
- 1 tbsp Vodka optional
Instructions
- Cut the passion fruits in half and extract the pulp with a spoon.
- Add the water and the sugar into a saucepan, and heat while stirring.
- When the sugar is fully dissolved, reduce the heat and add the fruit pulp.
- Let the mixture steep for 45 minutes. Stir now and then, but don't squash the kernels from the passion fruit.
- Remove the syrup from the heat and let it cool down. Add a splash of Vodka, if you like, to extend its shelf life.
- Then use a mesh sieve and funnel to strain your syrup into a sealable container.
