The Passion Fruit

One common Caribbean fruit that most people take for granted is the ever sweet passion fruit. The passion fruit is native to South America, India, the Caribbean, Brazil, Florida, Hawaii, Australia, East Africa, Israel, and South Africa. Although most people tend to think that the passion fruit is red in color, it is actually quite yellow, although riper passion fruits can have a purplish tinge to them. The passion fruit is quite a large part of Caribbean cuisine when it comes to drinks and desserts.

Often, the passion fruit is made into a puree, frozen to create a tasty passion fruit ice cream, or simply as a garnish next to a lovely piece of cake. In most cases, passion fruits are used to concoct delicious drinks, and since this fruit is grown in the Caribbean, it is widely used throughout the islands for a variety of reasons. One of the most famous ways to use the passion fruit is within a special Caribbean version of mousse.

Although passion fruit mousse is relatively easy to make, it is difficult to obtain fresh passion fruit in North America, which is why this dish is often reserved for those vacationing in the Caribbean. However, a proper Caribbean caterer can easily whip up a tasty passion fruit mousse that will have your guests raving for days to come. Caribbean cuisine is interesting not only for its combination of exotic flavors, but also for its use of all things native to the region itself. In fact, Caribbean cuisine can easily be included in the “slow food” movement for the sheer fact this type of food really draws upon natural resources with little help form the outside world. If you get the chance to taste some authentic Caribbean cooking, make sure to select at least one dish or drink with passion fruit as the main ingredient.