How to Eat a Kiwi Fruit
Kiwis are generally available in most supermarkets all year round. The most common kiwi is the Hayward which has green flesh and is covered with brown fuzz. Gold kiwis have smooth bronze-colored skin and are pointy at one end. The flesh is mustard colored and quite flavorful. The gold kiwi is also higher in both vitamins C, E and lutein/zeaxanthin. New hybrids include the baby kiwis which are green, smooth, about the size of table grapes, and eaten much like them. When you shop for kiwi, choose plump ones that yield slightly to the touch. Avoid those that are shriveled, moldy or have soft spots. You can easily ripen kiwifruit by leaving it at room temperature for a few days or to speed up the process, put the kiwifruit in a dry paper bag along with an apple or banana.
Most people don’t realize that you can eat the kiwi skin after rubbing off the fuzz. The skin is actually quite nutritious. If you want to skip the skin, the easiest way to prepare a kiwi is to simply slice it in half and scoop out the flesh or you can slice it into rounds and peel the rounds before serving. If you have an egg slicer, you can use it to slice kiwi into uniform rounds.
How to Get More Kiwi into Your Diet
- Put diced kiwi into a green salad.
- Puree kiwi into smoothies. They’re delicious with banana and/or blueberries and non-fat yogurt.
- Kiwi chunks make a great addition to a turkey or tuna salad.
- Serve kiwi with strawberries, a dollop of yogurt and a dash of honey.
- Blend kiwi with cantaloupe or other melon and add yogurt for a creamy, chilled soup. Garnish with blueberries and mint for delightful color.
- Make a relish of chopped kiwi, red onion, pineapple and orange. Serve with grilled meat or fish.
You can tenderize a cut of meat with kiwi. An enzyme called actinidin does it. Rub over meat 30 minutes before cooking or purée and use as a marinade. This same enzyme breaks down collagen and makes kiwi a poor choice to use in gelatins as it won’t set.
