July Recipe: Passionfruit Syrup! (Patreon)

Passionfruit Syrup

So I was going to post the recipe for linguine with white wine jalapeno sauce this month, but I ate it all up so fast I forgot to take a picture of the stuff, so that will have to wait a bit. In its place is one of my secret summer essentials.

I thought I hated passionfruit most of my life. Then I went to Australia where they’re everywhere and discovered that what I actually hated was artificial passionfruit flavoring. Passionfruits themselves are awesome little alien balls of deliciousness. 

But they are so freaking expensive! And so little fruit! $2 a pop in Perth or on Peaks Island. That’s nonsense. So here’s how I indulge my torrid affair with passionfruits without taking out a high-interest loan. 

Syrup! Once you’ve made and bottled this, you can use it on anything: to make cocktails or soda, drizzled on pancakes or ice cream. It’s delicious to dip roasted lamb or beef or toasted pita bread in, you can use it to passion up your salsa, really, anything at all. A big batch might last you most of the summer. FRUGAL. SORT OF. NOT REALLY. BUT YES.

As proof that this is as good as I’m claiming, Heath made some passionfruit soda (and a little rum) down to the beach today. One of the islanders said hello and offered to let him taste some of his own beach drink, which was his favorite, his “passion drink,” he said. Heath counter-offered, sharing the homemade soda in exchange. The guy took a hesitant sip.

“WOW! This is AMAZING! What the hell? What is this?”

“It’s…actually passion drink. Homemade with passionfruit.”

“Aw, mine’s just V-8 and white wine. I just call it passion drink because I’m passionate about drinking it.”

And as Heath walked away triumphant, he heard the guy say to his girlfriend:

“Aw, man, I don’t even want to drink mine anymore.”

***

4-7 ripe passionfruits depending on how intense you like your flavor and how much you want to spend on produce (ripe passionfruits look rotten: wrinkled, black, and should feel like they’re hollow husks with nothing inside but despair)

1.5 cups of water

1.5 cups sugar

4 drops yellow food coloring if desired

Slice passionfruits in half and scoop out alien innards into a pot. Add water and sugar and stir till dissolved. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, simmer for 15-20 minutes until mixture coats the back of a spoon. Let cool. 

Strain and funnel into a bottle. I like to put the black seeds back in sometimes for a cool look, and if you’d like it to really pop when you mix it with water, etc, you can add a little yellow food coloring if that’s your jam. 

Serve however you like. Make other islanders lose their passion for their own favorite drinks. 

Success. Feel righteous in your life choices