Passion fruit is a tropical fruit that’s seasonal and found only during the summer. This fruit has a sweet and sour taste and packed with nutrition which makes them popular to use in smoothie drinks, add to salads, and make dipping sauces. If you enjoy passion fruit, you’ve probably bought plenty of them to store at home. You may wonder how long you can keep passion fruit before it goes bad.
So how long does passion fruit last? The shelf life of passion fruit will depend on when they were picked and how they are stored. Stored at room temperature, passion fruit can last between 10 and 15 days once it’s riped. If kept in the fridge, it can last for up to 30 days. In the freezer, they can last up to six months.
Above is just an estimated time of their shelf life. Other factors affect their shelf life such as when passion fruit was harvested, the storage temperature, and where it’s stored. Therefore, passion fruit can have a longer or a shorter shelf life than what’s in the chart below.
In this short guide, we’ll go through how long passion fruit lasts, proper storage, how to tell when they are bad, and how to keep them fresh longer. If that’s the information you’re looking for, keep reading.
Passion Fruit Shelf Life
| Room Temperature | Refrigerator | Freezer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole Passion Fruit last for | 10-15 Days Once Ripe | 15-30 Days Once Ripe | N/A |
| Cut Passion Fruit last for | 4-6 Hours | 7-10 Days Once Ripe | 5-6 Months |
| Passion fruit Puree last for | N/A | 10 Days | N/A |
How Long Does Passion Fruit Last?
It’s best to allow passion fruit to ripen at room temperature first. This will allow the fruit to have a sweet flavor to it. Once it’s riped, you can store it at room temperature, in the fridge, or in the freezer.
At room temperature, passion fruit will last up to 15 days. If the room temperature is extremely hot, the fruit will have a shorter shelf life. Passion fruit will continue to ripen until it spoils.
In the fridge, passion fruit will last up to 30 days. When kept in the fridge, it will slow down the ripening process allowing the fruit to last longer.
In the freezer, passion fruit can last for up to 6 months. It’s best to freeze just the pulp and seeds or freeze the fruit as a puree.
Can Passion Fruit Go Bad?
Like most other fruits, passion fruit will go bad over time. Once it’s harvested, it will slowly ripen before it goes bad completely. This will give you plenty of time to use or eat them before it has to be thrown away.
Always keep them at room temperature until they ripen. As they start to ripen, their skin will start to become wrinkle all around. The skin may start to become soft as well. This is the perfect time to enjoy the fruit since it will be sweet.
Once riped, if you don’t plan on using them, keep them stored in the fridge to slow down the ripening process.
How To Tell When Passion Fruit Is Bad?
Once the passion fruit goes bad, they will start to show signs. One common trait of bad passion fruit is the color of their skin. When the color is brown, that indicates the fruit is overripe and should be discarded.
Also, look for tears and breaks in the skin. If there are any of them, air will get in and cause the flesh to go bad. Passion fruit that is bad will have the inside dried and mold may start to grow in there. If you notice this, throw away the entire fruit.
How To Store Passion Fruit
If you picked the fruit or bought it, most likely they will be unripe. You will need to let it ripe first before eating or storing it. Unripe passion fruit will have a bitter and sour taste to it.
By letting the passion fruit ripe, it will develop into a sweeter tasting fruit. If you want the fruit to have a really sweet taste, let it ripe until you see wrinkles all over the skin.
Once it’s riped, you’ll need to store them in the fridge to keep them from ripening any further. Unless you’re planning to eat the fruit within the next couple of days, it can be left at room temperature.
In the fridge, store whole passion fruit in the crisper section. You can keep them in a paper brown bag to keep them dry.
Avoid storing them with other fruits such as bananas, apples, kiwi fruit, figs, pears, mangoes, peaches, plums, tomatoes, avocadoes. These fruits contain a plant hormone called ethylene. This will prematurely ripen the passion fruit.
For passion fruit that has been cut, store them in an airtight container. You can keep the flesh and seeds in the rind or store just the flesh and seeds.
Once you have the fruit in the container, seal it tight to prevent any air from leaking into it. If air gets into the container, it will cause the flesh to dry up.
Can You Freeze Passion Fruit?
Yes, you can freeze passion fruit. This is an excellent way to preserve their freshness if you need to store them longer than a month. When freezing passion fruit, you can only freeze the flesh of the fruit. Freezing the entire fruit will cause them to become soggy when it thaw.
Before storing the passion fruit in the freezer, you’ll need to prepare them first. The best method to freeze passion fruit is to use the ice cube method.
Items needed:
- Riped passion fruit
- Ice cube tray
- Spoon
Below are the steps to preparing and freezing the passion fruit:
- Cut the passion fruit into halves
- Scoop out the flesh and place them into the ice cube tray
- Fill each slot to the top
- Using a cling wrapper, wrap the entire tray with it
- Place them into the freezer for 2-3 hours
- Once it’s completely frozen, remove it from the freezer
- Immediately transfer the passion fruit cube into a freezer bag or airtight container
- If using a freezer bag, press on the bag to squeeze out as much air as you can before sealing it
- After sealing the bag or container tight, label it with the freezing date and place them into the freezer
Freezing passion fruit should keep them fresh for up to 6 months.
Defrosting Passion Fruit
There’s no need to thaw the passion fruit from the freezer. Simply remove the amount of passion fruit cube you need and place them in the blender. Put other fruit or just the passion fruit and use the blender to mix them for a minute or two.
Besides making a delicious fruit drink, you can add frozen passion fruit straight from the freezer to make sauces, baked goods, and yogurt as well.
Related Questions
How do you know when passion fruit is ripe?
When passion fruit is ripe, they will be plump and turn from a green color to one of the following colors: dark purple, dark yellow, orange, or red.
When the fruit is super riped, it will have a slight wrinkle all over it. This is the best time to eat the fruit as it has the sweetest taste.
How long does passion fruit puree last?
It will depend on if it’s store-bought or you made the puree yourself at home. For store-bought passion fruit puree, it will last for up to 1 year in the refrigerator. If you made passion fruit puree at home, it will last for up to 10 days in the fridge. The reason why store-bought puree last longer is due to the additives and preservatives that are used in it.