Masaprola (Passion Fruit or Granadilla)

At first, I did not know the name of this fruit, which is rare in the Philippines. I had come across it when the deep mountain dwellers came down to town to sell their exotic fruits, like the giant Saba bananas that I mentioned in a previous post. This new fruit, however, was very unfamiliar, and they referred to it as the Masaprola. After browsing around online, I determined that it is also known internationally by the names of passion fruit, sweet granadilla, guavadilla, or grenadia (all in the Passiflora genus).


It has a wonderful citrus-like aroma, sweet-sour taste, and fairly high water content, which now makes it one of my favorite Summer-time fruits. After a long trek, I used to love arriving back at the house and just guzzle down several rounds of these yellow elixirs. Soon the effects of dehydration and aches of muscles would dissipate. Apparently, the fruit is high in vitamins A, C, and K, phosphorus, iron, and calcium.

I use a spoon to eat it in order to avoid making a mess, but one could just slice it open and just slurp up the insides. I've read that the pulp is the edible portion as the seeds "are hard and black...surrounded by a gelatinous sphere of transparent pulp." However, I slurp up the entire mass and just consume it whole, with apparently no ill effects. After a long hike under the hot sun, gulping these down pronto seems only natural to me, as I yearn for a thirst quencher =)