The kiwi fruit grows on hanging vines that will stretch across acres if allowed. The fruit is round, fuzzy, and looks, well, like anatomy. Without knowing what's inside, it would be easy to overlook or avoid the brown furry balls, assuming they are inedible. But, cut one open and discover a vibrant green, tender flesh that contains all the sweetness of summer produce.
Just eat it, fur and all?
Never mind that the skin itself is edible, because who wants to eat fur? Well, if you are worried about colon cancer, you might want to reconsider. Maybe mix it in a smoothie or something, because the skin absorbs toxic waste from the digestive track.
On the other hand, eating the inside of the kiwi fruit should be no trouble. The flesh is quite supple, a little sweet, a little sour, and finishes with an energizing zing. That zing is the antioxidants going into your bloodstream and curing you (well, probably). Kiwis are a bonafide super food. Dr. Johnny Bowden listed kiwi as one of the nutritionally perfect foods.
Just in time for cold and flu season
Kiwis start to mature in Nov. and are at their peak in Dec./Jan. It’s a convenient time to have a kiwi around since eating them helps prevent respiratory distress, especially in children. Kiwi fruit contain fiber (even without the skin), more vitamin C than an orange, as much potassium as a banana, and a significant amount of beta-keratin (essential for eye health). When the winter cough has got you down, a kiwi fruit can pick you back up, as if by design.
And for everything a season
Fruits and vegetables have a season and a reason. Eating the kiwi during the winter months is beneficial to you and the kiwi. Eating a kiwi out of season and/or from a grocery store, presents a significant risk to your health, rather than the curative power eating kiwis is meant to provide. A kiwi sprayed with pesticides, for example, will absorb those toxic chemicals into its skin (just the skin was designed to do in the colon). But don't fret. In climates like Sacramento, you can grow your own kiwi vines and you won’t need to worry about such things. If your kiwis don’t come out perfectly round, don’t worry about it. That’s just nature—things aren't always perfect.
Easy to enjoy
Before enjoying the kiwi make sure it is ripe. It should be tender to the touch, but not squishy. A squishy kiwi is over-ripe and is better used for cooking. If the fruit is hard, it will be extremely sour. To speed up ripeness, put the kiwi in a paper bag on the counter top for a day or two. To slow down ripening, keep it in the fridge.
Cut a kiwi in half and enjoy it with a spoon, like a parfait. Slice it up and serve it alongside breakfast. Add it to a salad for a little zing, or crush it and put it over a savory meat dish. Do not put kiwi in your cottage cheese. It’s not a pineapple. If you do and don’t like the result, don’t say you weren't warned. Other than that, a ripe in-season kiwi is always the right choice.
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