Fruit
Kiwi
Actinidia deliciosa
It comes from China, where it was called the Chinese gooseberry. New Zealand exporters renamed it after the brown, fuzzy bird.
When
Around: Nov–Apr · At its best: Dec–Feb
Around: Nov–May · At its best: Dec–Feb
Around: May–Oct · At its best: Jun–Aug
Around here
In Spain kiwis are grown mostly in Galicia and Asturias, where the rain suits them; Catalonia grows few. The usual variety is Hayward, green and oval; gold kiwis are sweeter and less sharp. They're picked hard in autumn and ripened in cold stores, which is why shops have them until spring.
At the market
- To eat now: it should give slightly when pressed, like a ripe peach.
- Rock hard is fine: it'll ripen at home in a few days.
- Avoid wrinkled ones, very soft patches or a fermented smell.
At home
- Hard, they keep for weeks in the fridge, even a couple of months.
- To ripen, take them out; in a bag with an apple or banana, two or three days.
- Once ripe, a week in the fridge, away from apples unless you want them softer.
If you have too much
- Kiwi jam with a little lemon: green and tart, good with cheese.
- Freeze it peeled and sliced for smoothies.
- Careful: raw kiwi has an enzyme that curdles milk and stops gelatine setting. Cooked or in jam, it doesn't.
- The same enzyme tenderises meat: a little blitzed kiwi in the marinade, for no more than an hour.
In the kitchen
- Halved and eaten with a spoon, skin on.
- Skin and all if it's a gold one and well washed: it's thin and edible.
- Winter fruit salad with orange, mandarin and pomegranate.
- Pavlova or tart topped with kiwi slices.
- With yoghurt, but added just before eating.
What it brings
Per 100 g, raw.
- Energy
- 61 kcal
- Water
- 83% water
- Carbs
- 14.7 g
- Sugars
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
- Protein
- 1.1 g
Stands out for
- High in vitamin C92.7 mg · 116% of what you need in a day
- High in vitamin K40.3 µg · 54% of what you need in a day
- Source of potassium312 mg · 16% of what you need in a day
- Source of fibre3 g
Data from the USDA (FoodData Central). See the full table ↗ · How we decide what stands out
Goes with
- OrangeNov–MayOranges don't ripen once picked: what you buy is what you get. So it pays to know how to choose them.
- MandarinOct–MarThe fruit you peel without a knife that leaves your hands smelling of winter. Almost all the ones sold here are clementines, a type of mandarin.
- PomegranateSept–DecA jewel box with hundreds of seeds. There's a trick to getting them out, and once you know it you won't stain your shirt again.
- AppleAug–FebIt's harvested in late summer and autumn, but cold stores keep it on sale all year. In season, freshly picked, it crunches differently.