Foodstuff: Granadilla – Sybaritica

This is an interesting little item I picked up at our local grocery not long ago. The name sounded vaguely Spanish to me and put me in mind of  the more familiar ‘pomegranate’, from which we derive the word ‘grenade’. As it happens, the name is indeed Spanish in origin, and a little bit of research revealed that the fruit is native to South America (although it is now cultivated in Africa, Australia and New Guinea). Apparently, there is another variety of the fruit which is purple in color and they are both sometimes known as ‘Passion fruit’, especially Australia, the UK and America. That name was somewhat familiar to me, as is the ‘Passion flower’, which apparently is part of the same vine-like plant that produces the fruit. In any event, is was very curious to see what this curious foodstuff might be like…

The fruit has a thick, rather tough, papery skin and, on sectioning, reveals a somewhat unappetizing greyish pulp that is very thick and mucilaginous, and contains numerous small black seeds. On closer inspection, there are some threadlike structures in the pulp and, when you attempt to scoop it out with a spoon, it is very clingy and cohesive.

I couldn’t detect much by way of smell from the fruit, but the taste was very pleasant. It is tart and sweet at the same time and the best comparison I can make flavor-wise is with the kiwi fruit, although there is also a curious, but very nice, aromatic, perfume-like quality to the aftertaste. The seeds are edible and when you bit into them they seem to enhance the tartness a little and also add a nice nutty background to the rest of the flavors. The texture is a little startling at first, a bit like a very thick custard, perhaps, but the crunchiness of the seeds add a little bit of an interesting counterpoint to that.

All in all, I rather liked this fruit, but I am not sure that I will be purchasing too many more in the future. Each of these little things contains a bare tablespoon and a half of the pulp (perhaps two), but, at 3 or 4 dollars apiece, I think I would rather buy caviar. Apparently the juice is favored in many places (and I gather sometimes turned into wine), but at these local prices, I can’t imagine what a single glassful must cost…

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