ITDG 
Interdev Agroalimentaire  

Production of passion fruit juice

	Type de fiche	Techniques/Technologies
	Mise en œuvre	ITDG(Royaume Uni)
	
	Zone géographique	Global; 
	Mots clés	JUS DE FRUIT; PASTEURISATION; FRUIT; PULPE

	Echelle d’action	Groupe

Contexte
Passion fruit is found in many tropical and sub-tropical countries. It produces a juice with a very strong exotic flavour and a bright orange colour.  Passion fruit juice can be mixed with other juice, such as orange or pineapple to give a pleasant tasting product.

Fruit juices rely on a combination of acidity, pasteurisation and packaging in sealed containers for their preservation. They have to be drunk immediately after opening. If care is taken over the packaging, pasteurised juices can be stored in a cool dark place for up to a year.  It is normal for some sediment to form at the bottom of the bottle as it is left to stand, but if this is excessive, a finer filter can be used.

Problématique / Objectifs
Passion fruit juice is unusual in that it has to be made from fruits that have ripened and dropped to the ground.  If fruits are picked from the tree they will not have reached the correct stage of maturity and will lack the pleasant flavour associated with the fruit.  Fruits are most suitable for processing when all greenness has disappeared and the outer skin has a smooth or slightly crinkled surface.

Care must be taken to ensure that old fruits that have been lying on the ground for several days are not used as these will have rotted and will spoil the flavour and quality of the juice.

Passion fruit juice has a pH of 2.6-3.0 and an unusually high starch content.  There are approximately 25-35 fruits to the kilogram.  The bigger fruits (more than 30g) are more suitable for processing as they have more juice and less rind.  There are two important commercial varieties - purple passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) and yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis forma flavicarpa).  The latter has larger fruits, a more acidic juice and a less preferred flavour.

The flavour of passion fruit is extremely sensitive to heat and susceptible to rapid oxidation.  It is a fine balance between ensuring that the product is fully pasteurised, while maintaining the delicate flavour.

The seeds of passion fruit are not suitable for animal feed due to their very high crude fibre content.  However, they can be refined and used in the manufacture of paint, varnish and cooking oil.  The skin of passion fruit is a good source of pectin and makes a good manure.

Description/Mise en oeuvre
Production method

1. Wash whole fruits in clean water and discard any part of the fruit that is bad.

2. Cut the fruits in half with a stainless steel knife ad scoop out the pulp with at stainless steel spoon.

3. Extract the juice from the pulp by liquidising the pulp at a very low speed for about 1 minute.  It is important to use a low speed to prevent chipping the seeds. Chipped seeds produce black specks in the juice that are very difficult to remove and look like dirt.  Tip the contents into a muslin cloth and squeeze out the juice, leaving the seeds behind. Liquidise the juice only, at high speed, to reduce the particle size.  This helps to reduce settling in the final product.  This process gives a yield of juice from the whole fruit of between 30 and 35%.

4. To make skin pulp, take the same quantity of skins as skin pulp that is required.  Boil the skins for about 30 minutes until the flesh of the skin is soft and translucent. Remove the skins from the water and scoop out the flesh from the outer cuticle.  Liquidise the softened flesh with water (2 parts of softened flesh to 1 part of water) to a smooth cream, then squeeze the mixture though a muslin cloth to remove the hard pieces of pith.  Skin pulp is added to juice to reduce settling and to improve the appearance of the juice.  It contains pectin and gives the juice more fruit particles.

5. Dissolve the sugar in the water and filter through a muslin cloth to remove any possible dirt and foreign bodies (this helps to produce a clearer, brighter juice). Heat the sugar and water to 90 C and then add the rest of the ingredients to the hot mixture.  This means that the fruit juice is heated up very quickly and so reduces the loss of the heat-sensitive flavour. Continue heating all the ingredients until the temperature reaches 85 C as quickly as possible.

6. Hot-fill the juice into hot, clean, sterile glass bottles.  The bottles should be heated to avoid them cracking when the hot juice is poured in.  The bottles should be filled as quickly as possible so that the remaining juice does not have to be held at this high temperature for a prolonged period and to avoid contamination as it cools down.  Wipe the lip of the bottle with clean tissue paper to ensure it is clean before the cap is placed on.  Lay the bottles on their side for 15 minutes to cool.  This is important to avoid contamination while the cap fits firmly onto the glass as the vacuum forms.

Résultats/Eléments chiffrés
The fresh whole fruit can only be stored for a few days at ambient temperature before it deteriorates. However, cooling it to 6.5 C extends the storage period to 3-4 weeks.
The pulp can be prepared and stored for long periods with the addition of 1000-1500 ppm sulphur dioxide or benzoic acid, or a mixture of both. However, there is a reduction in flavour during storage.

Ingredients required to make 400 190ml bottles of passion fruit juice

Juice			9%  (this requires 26kg passion fruit and 11kg sugar)
Sugar			13%
Water			73%
Salt			0.7%
Skin pulp		5%
Sodium benzoate	0.0188% (188ppm )

The level of preservatives is controlled by legal limits, which vary from country to country.  Local regulations should be checked at the Bureau of Standards.

The following equipment is required;
  Bottles, crown corks and labels
  Crown corking machine
  Cooking facilities
  Stainless steel saucepan
  Thermometer
  Stainless steel cutting knife and spoon
  Wooden spoon for stirring
  Steam generator
  Cutting board
  Scales 
  Measuring cylinder
  Funnel 
  Liquidiser 
  Muslin cloth

Enseignements
  Only fresh, fully ripe fruit should be used; mouldy or insect damaged fruit should be thrown away.  All unwanted parts (dirt, skins, stones etc) should be removed.
  All equipment, surfaces and floors should be thoroughly cleaned after each day's production.
  Water quality is critical, if in doubt use boiled water or add one tablespoon of bleach to each gallon of water to sterilise it.  If water is cloudy, a water filter should be used.
  Pay particular attention to the quality of re-usable bottles, check for cracks, chips etc and wash thoroughly before using.  Always use new caps or lids.
  The concentration of preservative should be carefully controlled for correct preservation of squashes and cordials, and may be subject to local laws.  Check first and use accurate scales to measure the preservative.
  Chemical preservatives cannot be used to cover up for poor hygiene or in-sanitary conditions.  It is imperative that all equipment is thoroughly cleaned before and after use and the juices are filled into sterile containers.  Chemical preservatives are only meant to add extra protection after the products are opened when the juice may become contaminated.
  The temperature AND time of heating are critical for achieving both the correct shelf life of the drink and retaining a good colour and flavour.  A thermometer and clock are therefore needed.
  The correct weight should be filled into the bottles each time.

Auteur : Sue Azam Ali
Saisie le : 06/12/2001
Fiche validée 

		Pour aller plus loin

	Contact	ITDG, Intermediate Technology Development Group Ltd
Bourton Hall, CV 23 9QZ, Rugby
Tel.:(44) 1788 661 100, Fax: (44) 1788 661 101, E-mail: itdg@itdg.org.uk
Site web: http://www.oneworld.org/itdg/