FWNAB: Granadilla

Packed granadillas.

The granadilla is the fruit of a plant called Passiflora Ligularis and it is a close relative of the passion fruit.

It is native to the Andes mountains between Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia, but it grows as far South as Argentina and as far North as Mexico. It is also cultivated in Africa, Australia and Papua New Guinea.

How did it find its way to our local supermarket is one of the wonders of the modern world!

This was a surprising fruit to try: as softness goes, just by its appearance we thought it would be like an apple, or an orange at the most, but actually the hard outer shell cracks incredibly easily, to reveal a gooey middle that would be perfect as zombie brain lookalike for the upcoming Halloween festivities.

Halloween-ready!

The seeds, which are hard and black, are surrounded by a gelatinous transparent pulp, which is the edible part of the fruit and contains vitamins A, C, and K, phosphorus, iron, and calcium. (source)

I must be honest: I did not eat much of it, as I was not really sure about the texture, but it tasted very delicate, sweet and aromatic, and I think it would be perfect to flavour ice creams or jelly.

I found a few recipes using it for a yummy sorbet, a fridge tart, lovely curd tarts, a mousse, another mousse, a cake, a sponge cake, yet another cake, or cream cheese icing.
Looks like it’s a real favourite for dessert-lovers, so I must try one of these soon!