The kiwi is an exotic fruit (or, more precisely, berry) produced by certain 'vines' typical of East Asia, Actinidia (of the family Actinidiaceae) and, in particular, by Actinidia deliciosa, although many varieties of this fruit are produced by other varieties or other plant genera, such as Actinidia colomikta or Actinidia arguta and Actinidia chinensis.It is known that kiwifruit are the fruit of this plant: their flesh is emerald green, very juicy, sweet, slightly acidic and has small black edible seeds that are distributed around the central light yellow part of the fruit.The skin is thin, brown and slightly hairy. Although the skin is edible, the fruit is usually peeled before consumption.The fruit is very low in calories, 44 kcal per 100 g of product: the kiwi fruit actually consists of about 84% water, 9% carbohydrates and very few traces of fat and protein.Kiwi fruits are acidic, juicy and refreshing: they can be eaten cut in half and dug out with a spoon, as ice cream or sliced thinly with lemon and sugar (for sweetening), as well as in fruit salads or on fruit spits. Kiwi can be eaten for breakfast, with muesli or yoghurt, because of its laxative properties.It can be used to make healthy fruit pies, sorbets, ice cream or ice lollipops.
Apart from food, the kiwi fruit can also be used to prepare skin care treatments, such as face masks made from kiwifruit. In addition, kiwi seeds are used to extract moisturising and soothing oil: useful for skin lightening and for psoriasis and eczema.Although the skin of many varieties of kiwi is hairy, it can be eaten because it is not harmful: just wash and rub it thoroughly, especially if it is an organic fruit.
Kiwi is native to Asia, originating in southern China, where it was cultivated about 700 years ago. It was considered a delicacy of the Chinese emperors and was used as food and as decoration.
At the beginning of the 1800s, the kiwi arrived in England and by 1900 it had spread thanks to intensive cultivation in New Zealand, where the plant found an optimal environment; according to some authors, the fruit is called kiwi because of the typical New Zealand kiwi bird.In the late 1900s. Kiwifruit also spread in Europe; it only arrived in Italy at the end of the 20th century, but was a great success. Today, thanks in particular to kiwi cultivation in Veneto, Piedmont and Lazio, our country is one of the world's first kiwi producers and exporters (along with China and New Zealand).
Kiwi fruit are harvested from September to October and can be sold on the fruit and vegetable market from November to around April, although they can be found on the fruit and vegetable market all year round, thanks to modern preservation methods.Kiwi (Actinidia chinensis) is a woody plant with vines that can reach 10 metres in height. The leaves are heart-shaped, simple, alternate, with hairy petioles, and the flowers are round, cream-coloured. From the flowers develop the well-known oval fruit, the kiwi, with delicious green flesh covered in brown hairs. It is a dioecious plant, meaning that the male and female flowers occur on different plants, so to get fruit from the female plants, the male plants must also be grown. In general, kiwis need a lot of water: they adapt easily to any climate and can afford both extremely high temperatures and severe cold. However, the fruits are afraid of autumn frost, while the sprouts are afraid of spring chill.Kiwifruit plants take between 3 and 8 years to start bearing fruit and need a mild and temperate climate with temperatures between 5 and 25 °C. Kiwifruit can be grown at lower temperatures, but in this case the harvest is worse. The kiwi plant is particularly sensitive to wind: it is advisable to grow it on pillars, just like a vine, because it is a vine. The plants must not be planted too deeply and the grafting must remain above the soil. The kiwifruit should therefore be grown in loose, deep, organic-rich soil with a neutral pH.At room temperature, kiwi fruit lasts for about five days; if kept in the fridge and in a plastic bag, they can last longer.
If you want to speed up the ripening of kiwis, you can place them near apples, bananas or pears.The environment in which kiwifruit are selected, measured and packed for further retailing of kiwifruit must be free of ethylene and gases that could accelerate their ripening.Kiwifruit has unique properties: it is a very "rich" fruit that can be used in various diets. In fact, it is rich in vitamin C (85 mg / 100 gr), potassium, vitamin E, copper, iron and fibre. Thanks to the antio kiwi make the skin more elastic and reduce wrinkles.
