Granadillas, otherwise known as passionfruit, have always been one of my favourite fruits. They remind me of my childhood in Zimbabwe, and really add such an exotic element to a dish. They have such an unusual sweet sour flavour, that is utterly irresistible. I love granadilla cheesecake, granadilla curd and in particular granadilla ice cream.
One of my go to things to make with granadillas, is cordial. It is so great having a batch of home made granadilla cordial in the fridge. It’s perfect to serve to guests as a refreshing beverage, with lots of ice and sparkling water. It’s also a fantastic base for cocktails. The naughty named ‘Porn Star Martini’ is basically a granadilla martini. Instead of using fresh granadilla with sugar syrup, just use a little granadilla cordial. Combine with vodka, passionfruit liqueur (Passoa), lime juice and champagne for a really naughty treat. It’s also scrumptious just served with champagne.
Granadilla cordial is a great way of using extra fruit
So my inspiration to develop this granadilla cordial, resulted from a preserving workshop that I ran for the company Urban Harvest. They design and build organic vegetable gardens for homes, corporate businesses and most importantly, disadvantaged communities. They have a number of gardens at under-resourced schools, old-age homes, homeless shelters and hospices. Their flagship garden and essentially home base, is in Observatory. The idea of the workshop was to teach the staff how to use up any leftover produce in the garden, reducing waste, but also teaching them new skills. The workshop went so well! It was such a pleasure to share my skills with the team, and to see their joy and excitement with all the beautiful foods that they made.
Enjoy it in a mocktail or cocktail
The Urban Harvest garden was absolutely dripping with granadillas, so we ended up making about 4 litres of cordial. We all enjoyed the fruit of our labour with lots of mint, ice, and sparkling water. Everyone loved it! After the workshop, I took some granadillas home and decided to whip up a batch for us. We have been savouring it on the balcony in that late afternoon sun. We drink it either as a mocktail with sparkling water, mint and lots of ice, or as a cocktail with champagne. It is just such a treat!
One thing I just wanted to make a little note on, is the granadilla pips. I love the look that you get when you leave the granadilla pips in the cordial. It has such a nice rustic feeling and gives the granadilla cordial some texture. Some people really don’t like them though, in which case you can just strain them out before you bottle the cordial.
Make sure you sterilise your bottles
Before you bottle your cordial, you must sterilise your bottles. Sterilising will kill any unwanted bacteria and ensure a longer shelf life. To sterilise, wash the bottles well with soapy water. Then, bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 160°C. You can boil the lids for 15 minutes. Or, boil the bottles and lids for 15 minutes in water (they must be submerged). Remove the bottles with tongs, and place on a cloth. This is important, as if you put them on a cold surface they will crack!
Granadilla Cordial
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Ingredients
- 1 cup of granadilla pulp (about 10 granadillas)
- 2 cups water
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup lemon juice
- Sterilised bottles
Instructions
- Cut the granadillas in half and scoop the pulp into a bowl, making sure to catch all the juice. Push the pulp through a sieve, and then return the seeds to the juice (you want to detach the pulp from the seeds, but still add the seeds to the syrup to get any flavour off them).
- Place the sugar and water in a large pot and turn on a low heat. Stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Bring to the boil (only when all the sugar is dissolved!) and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Add the granadilla pulp and juice. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and simmer for 1 minute.
- If you don’t like the look of the seeds, pour through a fine strainer, pushing down hard to extract all the juice. Otherwise they can be left in.
- Pour into sterilised bottles and refrigerate once cool.
- To serve, dilute with water, sparkling water or champagne and serve with lots of ice and mint.
