Recipe: Kai Kiwi Coolers

Hi! I’m Kiwi!

"Kia ora (KYOR-uh)! I'm a Kiwi from New Zealand, and that's how we say "hello." It's a Maori phrase, and "kiwi" is a Maori word! The Maori are the native people of New Zealand. On the outside, I'm a small, fuzzy, brown, egg-shaped fruit. On the inside, I've got sweet and slightly tart, green flesh with a white center surrounded by tiny, black edible seeds. I taste a bit like a combination of strawberry, banana, and pineapple flavors. In addition to being a healthy snack all by myself, I'm often combined with strawberry in juices and other fruits in salads. I can even be chopped up and added to salsas and cakes!"

History

• People often think the kiwi originated in New Zealand, but it actually came first from China. It was referred to as "Chinese Gooseberry" before being renamed "kiwifruit" by New Zealanders. People in the United States and Canada have shortened the name to "kiwi." 
• The kiwi was first mentioned in Chinese history in the 12th century. It was introduced to New Zealand in the early 20th century. 
• Influencers thought the former name negatively associated the fruit with the Cold War. So they renamed it "kiwifruit" because they thought it looked like the Kiwi bird. (New Zealanders call it kiwifruit rather than kiwi to differentiate it from the bird, and themselves, since people from New Zealand are sometimes called Kiwis!) See the image of the bird below and judge for yourself! Notice anything different about the bird? It doesn't have wings!
• Before the Chinese ate kiwis for pleasure, they were given to children to help them grow and women to recover from childbirth. What other fruits and vegetables have you learned about that were used as medicine before food? 
• Kiwis today are grown all around the world: China, New Zealand, North America, South Africa, Turkey, Australia, Italy, Chile, and Japan.

Anatomy & Etymology

• Kiwi is grown on vines like grapes and is a berry, the edible berry of the Kiwi vine, to be exact! A kiwi vine can grow kiwi fruit for up to 30 years!
• Kiwis are about the size of chicken eggs, and they appear totally different on the inside than they do on the outside. The skin is brown and fuzzy. Cut open a kiwi to discover a bright green flesh that tastes sweet and slightly sour, studded with a circle of tiny black edible seeds in the center. There are varieties of "hairless" kiwis. In fact, there are about 50 different species and hundreds of varieties of kiwi, but usually, you can only find one or two in markets in the United States. 
• A golden kiwi's skin is smoother than a green kiwi's, and its color is more bronze than brown. The flesh ranges from green to an intense yellow.
• The fuzzy kiwi's scientific name is Actinidia Deliciosa. It was also named "Yang Tao," which means "sunny peach."
• Kiwi is a Maori word—Maori is the Polynesian language of the Maori aboriginal people in New Zealand.

How to Pick, Buy, & Eat

• Kiwi growers rely on honey bees to pollinate the flowers. But commercially grown kiwi is hard to pollinate because the flowers don't produce nectar, something that bees love and prefer. Also, each honey bee will visit only one type of flower and maybe only a couple of branches of a single plant, so they are not efficient cross-pollinators. A female kiwifruit plant needs pollen from a male kiwifruit plant, but it might not get it because the honey bees don't bring it there. For this reason, kiwifruit farmers will collect pollen and blow it over female flowers to pollinate them, essentially mimicking what a good cross-pollinating honey bee would do! 
• A good, ripe kiwi will be soft to the touch, free of bruises and blemishes, and smooth-skinned. If your kiwi is still hard when you buy it, leave it out at room temperature for a few days to ripen. The more firm the kiwi, the more tart it will be—the softer, the sweeter.
• You can quicken the ripening process of the kiwi by placing it in a brown paper bag with a ripe banana or apple.
• We happen to think kiwis taste best, either raw or in juices, but you can cook kiwis; however, their taste and color change when heated.
• Kiwis are great in smoothies, chopped up and added to fruit salsas, salads, fish tacos, and baked into cakes. 
• Golden kiwis are sweeter than green kiwis and have a more tropical flavor, similar to mangoes. 

Nutrition

• Along with avocados, kiwis are the most nutrient-packed fruits of all.
• Vitamin C helps prevent colds and flus. Two kiwis have twice as much Vitamin C as one orange!
• Vitamin E helps our immune system (like Vitamin C does), and it is good for our eyes and skin.
• Potassium helps our blood pump through our arteries at the correct rate—not too high, not too low. It's also good for our bones. One kiwi has as much potassium as one banana!
• Peeper Keeper! Just like carrots, kiwis contain a nutrient our eyes love called lutein.
• Humans aren't the only ones who love to eat kiwis. Monkeys and deer eat them, too!
• Most people don't eat a kiwi's skin—but it's totally edible. In fact, the skin contains valuable fiber and other nutrients that are not present in the green kiwi flesh itself.