Passion Fruit Syrup Recipe (using fresh or frozen pulp)

By far, without a doubt, passionfruit is the absolute best cocktail ingredient. This is not just my opinion but probably a proven fact.
Because I think you will love it as much as I do, I have not one but TWO ways to make passionfruit syrup; with fresh fruit pulp and with frozen puree.

The best and easiest method for making passionfruit syrup is to stick with an equal parts syrup; one part passion fruit pulp (fresh or frozen), one part sugar, and one part water. For a more flavorful and concentrated syrup, you could do equal parts passionfruit pulp and sugar. Gently heat the ingredients just enough to incorporate and if you have the time, let the syrup steep before fine-straining and bottling.

Now let’s go into a bit more detail.

OKAY, BUT WHAT DOES IT TASTE LIKE THOUGH?
The flavor of passionfruit is reminiscent of a sour orange but sets itself apart with subtly sweet tropical flavors. As far as the possibilities within a cocktail, they are endless. It pairs well with lemon or lime and really just about any booze.

WHAT COCKTAILS CAN I MAKE WITH PASSIONFRUIT?
You feeling a lil tiki freaky? Put this in like… ANY tropical drink.
Mai Tai? Replace the orange liqueur with passionfruit syrup. INSTANT UPGRADE.
Need something light? Try vodka, passionfruit, a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice and some bubbly water. Go ahead and add some fresh mint if you’ve got it.
More of the tequila type? Try the trusted Passionfruit Margarita or the Pashloma, our passion fruit riff on a Paloma.
Don’t even get me started on no ABV cocktails… truly the mocktail recipes are abundant with this syrup.

Okay, should I keep talking about my unwavering love for passionfruit or can we move on now?

FRESH VS. FROZEN

Fresh passionfruit is quite expensive back in my home country of the U.S.A. Here in Thailand, however, it is quite easy to come by and very affordable.
Most of my experience making cocktails with passionfruit is with frozen store-bought pulp. I think the flavor of frozen pulp is more consistent than with fresh fruit, but it is also quite a bit more punchy and tart.
That said, nothing beats the beauty and taste of a freshly picked passionfruit.

Both techniques yield an equally delicious syrup so I would say that if you live somewhere in the world where you need to take out a loan to buy fresh passionfruit… just go with the frozen stuff. 

Real quick tips on how to pick out the best fresh passionfruit:

• Look for fruit that feels heavy for its size.
• Seek out fruit that isn’t too ripe(too sweet) or too unripe(too tart). We are talking a Goldilocks level here; just right.
• Lots of wrinkles on the outside typically means the fruit is more ripe. Look for passionfruit with only a bit of wrinkling. It should give a bit when gently squeezed.
• If you only have access to very ripe passionfruit, consider slightly dialing the sugar back in the syrup initially, you can always add more later.

What kind of frozen passionfruit should I use?

I CAN’T FIND FROZEN PUREE! HELP!

If you are having a difficult time finding passionfruit locally, here are a few options online. I have not tried these but I did my best to learn what these options were made of and I think with a little tweaking that these would work. Here are the affiliate links to Amazon.

LET’S MAKE THE DAMN THING:

TURNING FRESH OR FROZEN PASSIONFRUIT INTO A SYRUP

STEP 1: 

Add equal parts passionfruit pulp, sugar, and water into a medium sauce pot.

Quick Tip: When I make this recipe sometimes I measure by volume and sometimes I weigh the ingredients. I haven’t noticed a difference in flavor between the two methods. So whether you’re Team Scale or Team Measuring Cup, just stick with 1:1:1 for a versitle passion fruit syrup.

STEP 2:

Give everything a lil stir to make sure it’s mixed well.

STEP 3:

Gently cook over low-medium heat for about 5 minutes or until everything is incorporated. DO NOT BOIL THIS SYRUP. You lose so much of the brightness of the fruit when you boil your syrup to death ☠️.

If you are using fresh passionfruit it is best to allow the syrup to steep, preferably overnight in the fridge.

STEP 4:

 Fine strain and bottle.

And there you have it, folks! Your very own homemade passion fruit syrup.
This will keep for a month if stored properly. You can also add a dash of booze to keep it fresher for longer.