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Friday, September 7, 2007

KIWIFRUIT (Green Flesh)



Common Name: Kiwifruit
Vernacular Name: Chinese gooseberry, Kiwi
Botanical Name: Actinidia deliciosa
Specimens From: Italy
Specimens Weight: 72 gm (average weight per fruit)


Kiwifruit have been around since several centuries back, mostly growing wild in China but only in the early 20th century onwards, that New Zealand experimented it and began cultivating it on a large commercial scale.

Initially, they called it the "chinese gooseberry" because it came from China and it tastes similar to a gooseberry fruit (but it does not belongs to the gooseberry family). Once this fruit became popular, they renamed it to "kiwifruit". It is named after a type of bird, kiwi, which is ingenious to New Zealand.

But why named it from a bird's name? Simply because the exterior brown colour and the fuzzy hair of this fruit does look similar to the kiwi bird. And to add to the confusion, some countries shorten the name and just simply call it "kiwi", the same name as the bird. So are we eating the fruit or the bird?

If you think that New Zealand lead in the production of kiwifruit, you are not right. It comes in a far second to Italy. The native country, China is even no where to be seen.

The taste is sweet and slightly acidic, similar to eating a banana with pineapple and/or strawberry thrown in. The skin is edible but most people would prefer not to eat it, including me, due to the unappealing fuzzy look and the tartness. But the sad point is, the skin contains antioxidants. Why is it always the good things usually taste poor! Just cut it into half and scoop it with a spoon, since the flesh is soft enough and the small black seeds are edible too. Honestly, the 'yellow flesh' kiwifruit tastes better but it is more expensive!

"Hayward" cultivar, is by far the most popular among the few cultivars but most of them do look similar and it is difficult to tell them apart, so why bother? Basically there are three common types. The 'emerald green' flesh (which is this fruit), the 'golden yellow' flesh and the baby hardy kiwi.

This fruit is usually oval in shape and the size of an egg but there are also square in shape and large sizes too, though it is not so common. The skin is brown with small fuzzy hair all over.


If you like sour juice, pure kiwifruit juice will be great for you but you can always blend it with other sweet fruits to suit your taste.


Fruit: Kiwifruit; Actinidia deliciosa; Actinidiaceae.


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23 comments:

Karin W. said...

I visited the Canary Islands in 1998 where local farmers had begun to plant kiwi fruit. The subtropical climate of The Canary Islands is ideal for kiwi fruits.

kml said...

I would never have guessed that Italy was the leading producer of this fruit. Very interesting!

Swaruchy said...

A nice post again fruity :-)
Loved reading your post :-)

Fruity said...

Hi Karin:
By the way, where is Canary Islands?

Hi KML:
Neither did I. I thought it was NZ too

Hi Sirisha:
Great, keep reading as you wish

Joanne said...

I always have two kiwis in the morning as part of my breakfast~! =)

Fruity said...

Welcome back, Joanne. That is good for you, keep eating! I eat all kind of fruits everyday.

Mom Knows Everything said...

I love Kiwi and so does my toddler! Every time we go to the fruit stand we pick a couple up. :o)

Karin W. said...

The Canary Islands are an archipelago, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, west of the African coastline. By air, only five hours from Sweden.

Fruity said...

Hi Tammy:
Great that you love kiwifruit, it's soft and easy to eat

Hi Karin:
Oh...ok, thanks

urban vegan said...

Kiwis are like a combination of all my favorite fruits.

Anonymous said...

My son refused to eat kiwi just because it's green. I finally blended it into a smoothie, waited until he finished gulping it down, and said "I guess you like kiwi after all." He still eats them to this day. : )

Fruity said...

Hi Urban Vegan:
Welcome here. So I guess I know which fruits are your favorite:) Cheers from Fruity

Hi Jamie:
You are finally here, welcome. Most fruits are green anyway or maybe he thinks it's unripe:) It's a soft fruit, so easy on kids. Cheers from Fruity

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

I adore kiwi fruit!!! What a special day it is when we bring it home from the grocery store!!!

Hugs, JJ

Mansi said...

Hmm, I love Kiwis!! they have a wonderful color and flavor!! But i never knew it came from China!!!

Fruity said...

Hi JJ:
Kiwifruit is nice but you should try the yellow flesh, it is even better

Hi Mansi:
Welcome back, China got lots of funny fruits and so is your native place too..

maiylah said...

the skin is edible? gee ... am learning good stuffs from your blog!
will fave your blog and subscribe to your feed! hope it's ok! ;)
would love to do link exchange, too, if it's fine with you ... :)

Fruity said...

Hi Maiylah:
But most people don't like to eat this kiwifruit's skin. Sure, no problem that we link-up.

Anonymous said...

Yea kiwi is a good looking and tasty fruit, here is a recipe that uses it.

Tropical Bacon Croissant

4 croissants, split
1/4 cup philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
4 pineapple slices, cut in half
12 slices oscar mayer Ready to Serve Bacon
4 strawberries, thinly sliced
1 medium kiwi, peeled, thinly sliced



SPREAD bottom half of each croissant with 1 Tbsp. of the cream cheese.

TOP each with 2 pineapple pieces, 3 bacon slices and 1/4 each of the strawberries and kiwi; cover with top of croissant.

Fruity said...

Thanks for your recipe, appreciated.

morinn said...

my mum always ask us to eat our kiwi with the skin, i guess she is right! :D

Fruity said...

But did you eat it :) Hehe, I guess not

Anonymous said...

This kiwi fruit is outstanding . really good .

suman
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BudgetGadgets said...

I like kiwi so much, but it takes so many days to wait till the kiwi is soft if you buy a hard one. I usually don't eat the kiwi skin as it's "fuzzy" , maybe I should have a try next time haha