Question re: "Passion" Fruit from T&T

[bluedog]

I just love this place, but sometimes their labelling is mystifying. I can only assume they are the closest direct to English translations from Chinese. Galangal was labelled White Ginger, for example, and I've never seen that name applied to it before, and neither did most of the sites that popped up on Google. But not matter, a rose by any other name....

But I am a bit mystified but the "Passion Fruit" I bought the other day. It was like no other passion fruit I've ever seen: red skin, and tasted sort of like mild passion fruit, but more of the consistency of a firm tomato...the "rind" was soft and edible (unlike passionfruit I've had where the rind is leathery and inedible).

Any asia aficionados know what this is? skylineR33? Charles Yu? Your knowledge of Asian food is encyclopedic, any idea what we ate? Anyone else?

[KEYLIMESODA]

just had a passion fruit from rui gomes on st clair west between lansdown and dufferin,
99 cents each these are great!!!

[KEYLIMESODA]

thx , im gonna grab some , are they seasonal , or a regular thing at loblaws?

[bluedog]

Not sure. At a minimum, the prices are seasonal. There are certain weeks you can get them for 0.99, but then they suddenyl shoot up to 1.99. There mostly always there, however.

Another thing to try (and I think is a better buy) is a grenadilla. Basically the same as a passion fruit, but larger and orange. Just a different variety of PF, I think.

[KEYLIMESODA]

im gonna try the grenadilla if i can find it , i seriuosly need a passion fruit fix.

[acd123]

I tried a grenadilla last week (I didn't know what is was called) from one of the fruit markets in Spadina. I asked for passion fruit and they told me that was the only variety they carry.

I didn't like it nearly as much as a 'regular' passion fruit. It was a bit sweeter but without the balance of acidity, and the flavour wasn't as intense.

[KEYLIMESODA]

where can i find passion fruit in torontos west end?

[bluedog]

"Standard" passion fruit is available from most grocery stores...occasionally Loblaws has it for 99 cents, but more typically $1.99, which is a little rich for me.

[mikeb]

They are also usually at Rui Gomes.

[KEYLIMESODA]

nice , thx guys , i live close by rui gomes , im guessing there only available seasonally , as far as grocery stores i havnt seen them there yet and i dont shop at lob laws but ill give them a try.

[KEYLIMESODA]

so i picked up some what i thought were passion fruit at t&t but it tasted more like a tomato , im thinkin its a tamarillo , but a red passion fruit and tammarillo look exactly the same on the outside , a passion fruit looks a bit darker.. could t&t be mislabelling these or was this in fact a different type of pf , if so then what im looking for is the purple ones.

[bluedog]

I am convinced what I bought was a tamarillo. Given my experinece, almost certainly a mislabelling issue....Loblaws usually has the dark purple PF.

[bluedog]

Thanks everyone: definitely NOT a persimmon. I've had many different type of persimmon and there were persimmon in the same display case. As skylineR33 says, seeds of a persimmon is not edible and neither is the rind.

I'm starting to wonder if it was a tamarillo. Never really heard of it before, except in passing, before extensive googling late into last night.

Seeds were black and edible, small like a kiwi. Skin was not edible, but the "rind was fleshy and edible, like a firm tomato...every thing is pointing towards a tamarillo.

Thanks everyone, however, for your input.

[grandgourmand]

You can eat the rind. Most don't though. Here's a thread on the topic:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/34498...

[skylineR33]

Probably passion fruit if you also eat the seeds. From my knowledge, Passion fruit has different color, red, green, yellow, dark purple, different size, different shape, there is some long shape like banana called Banana Passion fruit, rind can be soft or leathery, grown in many different countries ... but I have not heard it's rind is edible.

Persimmon seeds is not edible, at least I have not heard anyone eat their seeds if there is any. And people do not usually eat their rind too.

Hope this helps.

[morrigan]

You are supposed to peel a persimmon? Oops...

[skylineR33]

Use a knife.

[orangewasabi]

don't worry, I never peel my persimmons either -- just tear em in half, stand over the sink and slurp it all up.

[skylineR33]

I did that with the soft one. Never try to slurp a hard one, will be fun to watch I guess.

[orangewasabi]

LOL, I can pretty much make a mess out of eating any fruit, regardless of texture.

[kiwiFRUIT]

We had a banana passion fruit vine at my parents house in NZ, the skin is not very tasty, kind of like a soft furry banana skin. For a long time these were the only passion fruit I knew.
This fruit you bought does sound like a tamarillo, otherwise known as a "tree tomato".

[oohlala]

I was just at Warden T&T last night and saw the "passion fruit" bluedog described. I believe they're indeed Tamarillo. They were from imported from Colombia. I'll definitely give it a try next time

[Vinnie Vidimangi]

what were the seeds like?

[slants]

pretty sure thats a persimmon