Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit is over 700 years old but has only been available in the United States since the early 1960's. Kiwifruit is actually a berry that grows on treelike shrubs, which can reach as high as 25 feet trellised much like grapevines.The Hayward, named after nurseryman Hayward Wright, is the principal kiwifruit variety grown in New Zealand, Chile, and California. Each fruit is egg-shaped and about 3 inches long with a thin, fuzzy, brown skin. The flesh is bright green and studded with tiny edible black seeds in a beautiful sunburst pattern. It has a taste that varies from sweet to tart, and some say it tastes like pineapple or strawberries, and still others say no, it's nectarines or melons. Today, kiwifruit is one of the most popular fruits, and in terms of growth, it is doing better than apples and oranges, or any other fruit.

California provides 99 percent of the kiwifruit consumed in the United States. Most kiwifruit that is imported to the United States comes from Chile and New Zealand. Kiwifruit is available all year round because New Zealand and California have opposite growing seasons. Chile provides additional fruit from May through July.

Selection & Storage
For the sweetest, fullest flavor, look for ones that are plump and slightly soft to the touch like ripe peaches. Unripe fruit has a hard core and a tart astringent taste. Avoid shriveled or mushy fruit, or those with bruises or wet spots.

Ripen kiwifruit at room temperature for 3 to 5 days. You can speed up the ripening process by putting kiwifruit in a paper bag with an apple, banana, tomato, or pear, all of which give off ethylene gas, which speeds up the ripening process. Ripe kiwifruit should keep in a refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

Preparation
Kiwifruit can be peeled with a vegetable peeler or a sharp stainless-steal paring knife. Cut off both ends first, as this will make peeling easier. To eat the kiwifruit with a spoon, cut it in half and scoop out the flesh. You can eat the skin and all if you rub off the peach like fuzz first.

Tony's Tip
Kids might like the "soft-boiled-egg" approach to eating kiwifruit as a snack. Halve the fruit crosswise, scoop out the fruit from each half with a spoon. A grapefruit spoon that has a serrated edge on one side works the best.

Tony's Favorite Recipe
Kiwifruit Salad

Varieties
Though it looks like a tree fruit, kiwifruit is actually a berry that grows on treelike shrubs that can reach as high as 25 feet. The shrubs are trellised much like grape vines. The Hayward, named after nurseryman Hayward Wright, is the principal kiwifruit variety grown in New Zealand, Chile, and California. Each fruit is egg-shaped and about 3 inches ling with a thin, fuzzy, brown skin. The flesh is a bright green studded with tiny edible black seeds in a beautiful sunburst pattern.

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