These little fruit are known as Kiwiberries. They are fairly new to the market although have been available in NZ for a few years now. They are grown and packed in Te Puke which is about 20 minutes drive from us.
They are small - about an inch and a half to two inches long, hairless, smooth thin skinned and when cut they resemble a kiwifruit inside. They are very sweet and while they do have a very faint kiwifruit taste, they have a different texture.
They are delicious. We have a plant in our yard but it has not had a crop yet. They grow very much like a kiwifruit - on a vine that can grow rampantly if not carefully pruned and kept in check!
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Just a note regarding the name Kiwifruit. Years ago they were called Chinese Gooseberries and about 30 years ago the name was changed to Kiwifruit for marketing purposes.
Now, when overseas, I sometimes hear kiwifruit often referred to as 'kiwis'. This makes me cross as it is totally wrong - a kiwi is a bird, our most well known native bird, and has nothing whatsoever to do with a brown hairy fruit!
9 comments:
They sound delicious! I love the taste of kiwi fruit but not the hassle of shaving(!) or peeling them. Do you eat them hairy over there?
Do you still call them chinese gooseberries there anyway?
No almost no one ever refers to them as Chinese Gooseberries.
We usually cut kiwifruit in half and scoop out the flesh, or sometimes peel them. Being kiwifruit growers we have lots and lots of the green ones in season.
But just to be different, I prefer the gold kiwifruit. They are much sweeter and less 'tart'. We don't grow the Gold ones.
Your kiwiberries look much like our "grape tomatoes" in size and shape. They would be just perfect for my children to eat! As it is, they love kiwifruit (and yes, I'm ashamed to say that the are labelled "Kiwis" in our local grocery store). I wish we could try golden ones... we only seem to be able to get the green kind.
xo CGF
Candy - They are just the right size for children and for packing in school lunch boxes. Your children would love them. I think that they will become very popular.
You may also like the gold kiwifruit - I have seen them in Los Angeles so some are making their way across the pacific. They too are much sweeter and less tart.
I've heard of Chinese Gooseberries!
I love kiwi fruit, and all things berry, so I suspect I would like these as well.
WOW!!! What an interesting post! I learn something new here all the time! Thanks for sharing this with us, Mrinz!!!
LOL! Oh, Mrinz! At the supermarkets and grocery stores here, the kiwifruit are always labeled as "kiwis"! I know what you mean though, because when I was dating a guy from NZ, I used to say how much I loved kiwis (as in the fruit) and he'd get so cross whenever he heard anyone say 'kiwi' and not 'kiwifruit'!
Now, my question is: Can you eat the skin of those kiwiberries?
Hi Ewe and Chrissy -
The little kiwiberries have a smooth shiny skin that is very thin so is completely edible.
Gold kiwifruit have a skin similar to the green variety but maybe not quite as hairy. They are also a different shape - sort of elongated at one end.
I will post some photos of kiwigolds when I find some. The new seasons fruit will be picked around late April.
On the 'kiwis' subject -
if someone in NZ said that they had some 'kiwi's' to eat last night I think they would get carted off to the police station and charged with killing endangered wildlife!
Go to this website for lots of kiwiberry information.
http://www.nzkiwiberry.com/home.html
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