Passion fruit (fruit)

The passion fruit (Portuguese: maracujá and Spanish: maracuyá, both from the Tupi mara kuya "fruit that serves itself" or "food in a cuia") is the fruit of a number of plants in the genus Passiflora.

Description
Passion fruits are round or oval, and range from a width of 1.5 to 3 inches (3.81 to 7.62 centimeters). They can be yellow, red, purple, and green.

History
Passion fruit originates from South America, specifically from the region stretching from southern Brazil through Paraguay to northern Argentina. The fruit has been cultivated since ancient times, primarily by Indigenous communities in these areas.

It was later introduced to Europe in 1553 by Spanish and Portuguese colonizers.

Maracujá
The Portuguese maracujá and Spanish maracuyá are both derived from the Tupi mara kuya "fruit that serves itself" or "food in a cuia".

Passion fruit
The term 'passion fruit' in English comes from the passion flower, as an English translation of the Latin genus name, Passiflora, and may be spelled "passion fruit", "passionfruit", or "passion-fruit". Around 1700, the name Passiflora was given by missionaries in Brazil as an educational aid to convert the indigenous inhabitants to Christianity: its name was flor das cinco chagas or "flower of the five wounds" to illustrate the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection, with other plant components also named after an emblem in the Passion of Jesus.

Varieties
Well known edible passion fruits can be divided into four main types:
 * purple passion fruit (fruits of Passiflora edulis Sims),
 * yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Deg.),
 * sweet granadilla (Passiflora ligularis),
 * giant granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis L.).

Uses
The fruits have a juicy edible center composed of a large number of seeds. The part of the fruit that is used (eaten) is the pulpy juicy seeds. Passion fruits can also be squeezed to make juice. It is also used in pastries and other baked products.

Nutrition
Raw passion fruit is 73% water, 23% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and 1% fat (table). In a 100 gram reference amount, raw passion fruit supplies 97 calories, and is a rich source of vitamin C (33% of the Daily Value, DV) and a moderate source of riboflavin (10% DV), and potassium (12% DV) (table). No other micronutrients are in significant content.

Phytochemicals
Several varieties of passion fruit are rich in polyphenols, and some contain prunasin and other cyanogenic glycosides in the peel and juice.