A kiwi is a small, egg-shaped fruit with fuzzy brown skin and bright green flesh filled with tiny black seeds arranged in a beautiful starburst pattern. Its scientific name is Actinidia deliciosa, and it is a true berry that grows on a woody climbing vine. Despite its small size, a single kiwi contains more vitamin C than an orange of the same weight. The flavor is a unique mix of sweet and tangy, often compared to a blend of strawberry, banana, and pineapple.
The kiwi fruit originally comes from the Yangtze River valley in China, where it grew wild in forests and was called the Chinese gooseberry. In the early 1900s, seeds were brought to New Zealand, where farmers began growing the fruit commercially. New Zealand growers renamed it the kiwifruit in 1959 as a marketing strategy, choosing the name of their famous national bird because both are small, brown, and fuzzy. Today, China, Italy, and New Zealand are the world’s top kiwi producers, and the fruit is enjoyed in countries around the globe.
Kiwi plants are vigorous climbing vines that can grow up to 30 feet long, wrapping around trellises and arbors for support. The vines produce fragrant white flowers that must be pollinated, usually by bees, before fruit can develop. Interestingly, kiwi vines come in male and female plants, and you need both growing nearby for the female plant to produce fruit. It takes about three to five years for a new kiwi vine to produce its first harvest, but a healthy vine can keep producing fruit for 30 years or more.
Kiwi fruit contains a special enzyme called actinidin that breaks down proteins, which is why kiwi juice is sometimes used to tenderize tough meat. This same enzyme is the reason you cannot make gelatin desserts with fresh kiwi, because the actinidin breaks apart the proteins that make gelatin firm. If you want to use kiwi in gelatin, you have to cook it first to deactivate the enzyme. The fuzzy brown skin of a kiwi is actually edible and contains even more fiber and nutrients than the green flesh inside.
The most common variety is the green kiwi with its signature emerald flesh and fuzzy brown exterior. The golden kiwi, developed in New Zealand, has smooth bronze skin and yellow flesh that tastes sweeter and less tangy than the green type. There are also tiny kiwi berries, about the size of a grape, that have smooth edible skin and can be popped into your mouth whole. Hardy kiwi varieties can even survive cold winters, allowing gardeners in cooler climates to grow this tropical-tasting fruit in their own backyards.
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