While in Hawai’i recently, I got to indulge in one of the seasonal
treats of the Island winter – lilikoi. While not botanically different from
purple passion fruit, lilikoi a.k.a. yellow passion fruit, has slightly larger
fruits with more tartness. You won’t be
able to grow lilikoi anywhere that it drops below 40 degrees F, making it a
special tropical treat (many thanks to Irene for sharing!).
The tartness of these fruits coupled with the many seeds makes
lilikoi less desirable for fresh eating but fantastic for juicing. From here you can make jelly, sorbet, or vinaigrette,
but we think its true calling is to become Lilikoi Martinis! You’re shocked, I
know.
Depending on the size and your powers of extraction, it
takes 10 or more fruits to make one cup of juice. Irene had gathered probably two dozen or so and
we got about 3 cups worth of the precious elixir. The key is to be patient and
give the juice all opportunity to separate from the pulp. Fortunately, it is
easy to recruit a ‘stirrer’ for this process, as the other hand is left free to
hold a wine glass, a camera, or whatever one fancies.
While I can’t grow a lilikoi in Portland, there are two
passion flower vines that are hardy enough to withstand our climate, either of
which could also be ‘juiced’ according to the same protocol. Until I have my own vine that bears fruit, I’ll
just have to dream about lovely lilikoi.
Lilikoi Juice
1) Get out a large, fine mesh strainer that fits over an
appropriately large glass bowl or measuring cup (glass makes it easier to see
when the juice is touching the bottom of the strainer, but you could use any
non-reactive vessel that is big enough). The idea is to have the strainer fit completely
within the bowl but be suspended by it, so that no juice gets lost out the
sides and the whole thing isn’t too tippy.
We used an 8 cup/2 quart/2 litre pyrex measuring cup, with an 8”
diameter strainer. This set up comes in
handy for many other events in the kitchen, so it is worth investing in. Also
get a medium sized stainless, glass or ceramic bowl for pulp discards.
2) Prepare a clean glass stoppered bottle or lidded jar to
hold the finished juice. We used a Grolsch
beer bottle – the kind that has the stopper mechanism attached. Chose something that will make it easy to
pour the juice out of, but avoid plastic if you can as it can contribute
flavors/odors from the last thing that was in it.
3) Cut the lilikoi fruits in half and scrape the pulp and
seeds into a blender carafe. When you get
2-3 cups of pulp accumulated, pulse on low 4 – 5 times to break up the pulp a
bit, but not so much as you start pulverizing the seeds.
4) Transfer the blended pulp to the mesh strainer (that is
over a bowl) and stir gently with a spoon to move the pulp around and let the
juice escape into the vessel below. When
juice is only sporadically dripping out, transfer the pulp to another bowl but
don’t throw it out (yet).
5) Continue steps 3 & 4 above until you have used all
the lilikoi and reserved all the spent pulp.
If the juice in the bowl touches the bottom of the mesh strainer it will
slow/stop the accumulation of juice. If
this happens, suspend operations temporarily and pour off the juice into the
prepared bottle from step 2. Resume.
6) When all the lilikoi have given their tangy innards to
the cause, return all of the used pulp to the strainer and stir to release any
remaining juice. Then while still over
the catchment bowl, find another bowl that just fits inside the strainer and use
it to push down on the pulp to really squeeze out every drop of goodness (it keeps
dishes to a minimum if this is the same bowl as the one that you have been
putting the reserved pulp into, so some prior test-fitting might be in order). Don’t
push so hard that you wreck the strainer. Pour off any additional juice from
the catchment bowl into your bottle.
7) Ta-da… You are now the proud possessor of lilikoi juice! Make yourself a martini – you've earned it! The juice will keep in the fridge, tightly covered, for a week or more. Freeze for longer storage.
*The waste pulp makes great compost, just beware that you
might get some volunteer lilikoi sprouts in the pile too – which might not be a
bad thing!
Lilikoi Martinis
Serves 1 | easily doubled
Once you've made the juice, this is relatively easy! The absolute best is to use juice that has not been put into the fridge yet - it retains this beautiful floral perfume that is especially intoxicating.
Fill a
martini shaker 1/3 full with ice. Shake briefly to help breakup the ice, then
open and add:
- 2 oz good vodka
- 1 oz lilikoi juice
- ½ to 1 oz simple syrup* (or to taste)
Shake vigorously and strain into martini glasses. Double everything to make two if your shaker
allows – your friends will be very appreciative!
Now sit back and enjoy the sunset…
*To make simple syrup, add equal parts sugar and water to a
pan (1 cup of each is lots). Heat to a boil then reduce to a simmer, stirring
constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool and store in a covered
bottle in the fridge, where it will last a loooooong time. Discard if the liquid becomes cloudy or
smells badly, which are signs of mold.
The area has an old world feel, with some modern-day conveniences. The scale in the picture might be from my Grandmother's time, but we were also fortunate to come across a gluten-free bakery, Taffets, that shows how the market is changing to accommodate the present. 
