dilution. Passion fruits are unusual for their
relatively high acid content, mainly citric —
more than 2% of the pulp weight in purple-
skinned types, and double that in most yellow
ones — and their strong, penetrating aroma,
which appears to be a complex mixture of
fruity and flowery notes (esters, peach-like
lactones, violet-like ionone), and unusual
musky notes (from sulfur compounds like
those in black currants and sauvignon blanc
wines). Passion fruit pulp is used mainly to
make beverages, ices, and sauces, with the
milder purple P. edulis generally consumed
fresh and the stronger yellow P. edulis var.
flavicarpa processed (an early commercial
application was Hawaiian punch).
Meat-Eating Fruits: The Puzzle of Plant
Proteases
At first glance, it seems strange that fruits
should contain meat-and gelatin-digesting
enzymes, the molecules that prevent cooks