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.


Click here to view other fruits in thumbnail images


Click here to have a say in your favourite fruits