Kiwi Picking Strategies
We're wondering about picking strategies, both in terms of flavor and storage.
Any thoughts?
Peter
The following thread was started by Peter in Corralitos, Ca on October 29, 2009 at 2:21 pm PST
Hello Peter,
I've grabbed a couple of sites for your interest (below).
If you do an advanced search using .co.nz you will find hundreds of sites to browse on this as it is a mainstay of the horticultural industry.
http://www.garden-nz.co.nz/grow-your-own/grow-your-own/kiwifruit.html
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/kiwifruit/4
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz/local/news/steves-kiwifruit-deep-freeze/3687721/
The above followup was added by Nigel(NZ) on October 29, 2009 at 3:39 pm PST.
Are you growing the regular brown fuzzy 'Hayward' kiwi? I grow them in Pescadero where they are probably a bit behind yours. Ours have developed enough sugars by Oct, but are even better in Nov, and don't soften on the vine until Jan.
If you pick them while still hard you can put them in the fridge for a minimum of 10 days in a loosely sealed plastic bag (I've used zip-locks a few times and they all went bad, a plastic gracery bag, loosely tied, works great). Then you can take them out a few at a time and ripen on your counter - takes a couple of weeks. After several months, they will ripen in the fridge and you can eat directly from the stash. I've had them keep up to 6 months.
If you've had enough cold weather to trigger the ripening process on the vine, they won't store nearly so long, but you can skip the refrigerator step. Just store them in a cool area and eat them up as they soften.
They make a delicious kiwi-lime marmelade if you find you have too many soft ones all at once. My favorite kiwi fruit salad is with just banana and pineapple, nothing else - that trio really shines. And, they make a stunning sorbet.
The above followup was added by Stephanie, Santa Cruz CA on November 02, 2009 at 9:16 am PST.
Thanks for the great info.
Love the fact that they keep for such a long time. Great nutritional value from what I've read.
The above followup was added by Peter in Corralitos, Ca on November 04, 2009 at 7:28 pm PST.