Kiwis add flavor and color to winter
January 22, 2008
Posted by CindyW in : Fresh Look , trackback
Somebody will be furious with me, but I will say it anyway.
Honestly, Dark Days Eat Local Challenge is not much of a challenge for people who live in Northern California, since the mild weather here is suitable for growing all sorts of fruit and vegetables through out the year. This was brought home to me when I stared into our bag of 40 kiwis freshly purchased at our local farmer’s market this weekend.
Since my insane family seems to live on this fruit in the winter, I dug around for some kiwi facts and would like to share some here,
Apparently the kiwifruit originated in China and was known as the Chinese gooseberry. At the turn of the 20th century, the first seeds were brought out of China by missionaries to New Zealand. New Zealand fruit growers then renamed it for their national bird and cultivated it further. Several plants were sent to the Chico Plant Introduction Station in California and exist to this date (1).
The first commercial kiwi vines were planted in California in the 1930’s, but kiwis didn’t become a popular consumer item until the early 1960’s when they were put on supermarket shelves as “exotic fruit”.
In a normal year, the kiwi season in Northern California runs from November to May. My kids quickly latched on to kiwis after they ate apples, pears and oranges for two months.
Nutritionally, kiwis are gems. At 50 calories per average fruit, it packs in a lot of vitamins and fiber. It provides a rich source of vitamin C. By weight, its potassium is almost the same as a banana. It also contains vitamins A and E. I don’t like the fuzzy texture of the skin. But if you do, the skin is a good source of flavonoid antioxidants.
Odd facts 1: Kiwi plants are relatively free from problems. But there is an odd problem - the trunks have a catnip-like aroma which cats love to rub against.
Odd facts 2: Though kiwi-strawberry is a popular flavor combination, their growing seasons overlap at most a couple of weeks, even in California. Kiwi season ends right around the time strawberries come into their full juicy glory.
Odd fact 3: Do people really have to invent a specialized utensil for each food? Kiwi spoon, huh? How about use your everyday spoon (2).
Anyway, enjoy kiwis (sans the kiwi spoon of course) this winter, especially if you live in northern California!
CindyW at Organicpicks
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1. http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/kiwifruit.html
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwifruit
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Comments»
Oh yum!! I have to say, the kiwi spoon does come in handy. We got one as a freebie, and it’s nice because you can slice and spoon with the same little tool. Convenient if you’re not packing any other utensils with your lunch. Not essential, but sort of fun!
I actually completely agree with you. I’m doing the Dark Days Challenge too and, while it is pretty easy for us Californians, I like it because it pushes me to branch out and not just make the same thing every night. Really, here in California, there’s no reason not to eat local.