How To Freeze Dry Passion Fruit

Freeze Dried Fruits

Have you ever eaten passion fruit? If you haven’t, it’s an exotic tropical fruit that looks almost like a fig outside but has a similar flesh to a pomegranate, only more vicious and oozy. It’s native to Brazil from the Amazon, but you can get it in California and Florida. It’s got a sweet-tart flavor that’s kind of citrusy in a tropical way. Imagine a cross of flavors between a kiwi and a pineapple.

But this exotic fruit isn’t always available. Sometimes you’ll see huge loads of them in your grocery, and sometimes it’s gone for days. Storing huge loads of this fruit is also a challenge because it gets moldy. So, here’s how to freeze dry passion fruit so you’ll have as much as you need for years for your drinks, snacks, and meals.

How Do I Pick the Best Passion Fruit For Freeze Drying?

The best part of freeze-drying passion fruit is you can buy it in bulk at its peak ripeness. Choosing the best fruit is like buying a melon. Pick those that are large, firm, and a bit heavy for their size.

They should be plump and has a slight give to them when pressed. Avoid ones that have bruised skin as they are in the overripe stage.

If you want the maximum sweet-tart experience, go for passion fruit with wrinkled skin. The wrinklier the skins are, the riper the fruit.

If you want passion fruit for snacking, go for the ones with purple skin. If you want to consume it as a beverage, go for the yellow ones. Whatever color you choose, make sure the color’s uniform although out. Discard ones that have discoloration on them.

How Do I Prepare Passion Fruit for Freeze Drying?

This fruit has a lot of seeds in it, making it difficult to freeze dry as it is. The seeds are edible, yes, but they don’t freeze dry well because of the outer skin. What you need to do is to separate the flesh from the seeds to make your freeze-dried passion fruit last longer.

Materials:

For the preparation, you’ll need:

• Knife and cutting board to cut the fruit in half
• Spoon to scoop the flesh from the skin
• Fine mesh sieve, but not so fine as the ones for coffee and tea. Use one with holes small enough to help keep the seeds from passing through but not so fine that most of the flesh is left behind.
• Three large bowls to collect the flesh and for straining.
• Ladle for pouring out
• Pot or saucepan for “cooking” out the flesh from the seeds.
• Large cup
• Ice cube trays, preferably easy-squeeze ones.

Preparing the Passion Fruit

1. Cut the fruit in half to expose the delicious flesh inside. Don’t be intimidated by its appearance because the flesh is very easy to work with.
2. Continue until you’ve cut all of the fruits you got.
3. Use the spoon and scoop out the flesh in a bowl.
4. Place the strainer on a different bowl and use the ladle to get your passion fruit. Fill up the strainer to half or 2/3 of the way so you’ll have room to process the flesh.
5. Press and scrape the seed against the sides and floor of the strainer. Keep going until there’s no more flesh going through the sieve.
6. Dump the seeds in your large measuring cup and continue straining until you finish up all the tropical fruit flesh.

What Do I Do with The Seeds?

Don’t discard your bowl of seeds because some bits of flesh are still left behind. But, since we can’t take it out from a strainer, let’s make passion fruit tea with it.

1. See how much seeds you got from straining, then pour everything in your pot.
2. Add double the amount of water. You can add less if you want since you’ll be freeze-drying this. You just need enough to get the seeds to release the flesh.
3. Add in your preferred sweeteners and flavorings for your tea. You can use sugar or honey to make it sweet. You can add crystalized/grated ginger, lemongrass, or cinnamon for a deeper flavor.
4. Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Keep it on low flame for 15-20 minutes to get as much flesh out of the seeds.
5. After 15-20 minutes, you have the option of straining out the seeds and other big, chunky ingredients you added it. There are some bits of flesh still stuck there, so use your strainer again to take it as much as you can.
6. Then let the tea simmer until it’s reduced to half or into a very thick consistency without burning. The less water your tea has, the faster it will freeze dry.
7. Turn off the heat and let it cool down. At this stage, you can experiment still by adding your favorite tea bag and let it steep until the mixture cools down. To make it safe, measure out a specific portion in case you wouldn’t like the flavor. Remember that this is a reduced concoction, so the passion fruit flavor will be intense at this point, even if it’s from the seeds.
8. Let it cool and pour in an easy-pour pitcher or measuring cup for freeze-drying later.

Do I Pre-Freeze Passion Fruit Juice Before Freeze Drying?

Since we’re talking about liquid here, it’s best practice to pre-freeze the passion fruit before freeze-drying. This is because:

• You get to portion them out early.
• Less accidents and spills
• Easier to store

This is where the ice cube trays come in. Pour the passion fruit juice and passion fruit tea in separate trays, and they’ll be easier to pre-freeze. Once they’re frozen, you can dump them on cold trays, and they’re ready for freeze-drying.

How To Freeze Dry Passion Fruit

Freeze-drying passion fruit juice is easy when you have a Harvest Right Freeze Dryer.

1. Turn on the machine and press “START > LIQUID > NOT FROZEN”
2. For frozen passion fruit, select “FROZEN” and let the unit pre-cool for 15-30 minutes or until the chamber’s at -8°F (-22 °C) or lower.
3. Close the drain valve and load the trays.
4. Press ”CONTINUE” and let the machine do its work.

How Long Does It Take To Freeze Dry Passion Fruit?

Freeze-drying passion fruit can take around 24-31 hours or longer. Passion fruit is made up of 73% water, so it might take a while. Your prepared tea might also take the same time, or longer, depending on how much water it has.

How Do I Know My Freeze-Dried Fruit Is Ready?

The best time to check your freeze-dried passion fruit is when the trays are still warm. The cubes should be dry, light, and crumbly. Cut a random piece or two and check the center. The inside should be flakey and powders like mica.

If any piece feels cool, moist, and soft, put the trays back for 3-6 hours of extra dry time.

How Long Does Freeze-Dried Passion Fruit Last?

Your freeze-dried passion fruit stays shelf stable for 25 years or more. The key here is to store it properly in Mylar bags or Mason Jars.

You can store them as cubes so you’ll have a chunk of passion fruit when you reconstitute it. Or you can buzz it into a fine powder for faster reconstitution for drinks and recipes.

Mylar bags are great for long-term storage, while Mason jars are good for on-demand use. Put in 1-2 of 300cc oxygen absorbers before vacuum sealing. Keep them in a dark, cool room with a temperature no higher than 72°F (22 °C).

How Do I Reconstitute Freeze Dried Passion Fruit?

You can reconstitute the cubes in a bowl of cold water. Just add enough until they’re fully covered and let it absorb moisture for 5-15 minutes or until soft.

If you want to make juice out of your freeze-dried passion fruit powder, use a 1:1 ratio of passion fruit and water. You can use less or add more, depending on your taste. Start with less if you want to because it’s easier to dilute the juice than to add more powder.

How does passion fruit taste to you? Let us know in the comment section.

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