I think you need a sharp knife instead of a peeler (although you probably have a better peeler than I do). I'd say about quarter inch slices. They keep OK but to be really tidy, you could just peel ahead of time and slice them right before serving. Wash after peeling of course--that fuzz seems to get everywhere.

I love kiwi season! If I had the space I'd plant a pair of vines...

Cut them in halves. Serve them with tea spoons. You can scoop the meat out like with an hard-boiled egg.

Or peel them with a veggie peeler.

They are sweet if they are ripe, or they will be kind of sour.

You can prepare them in advance. They do not discolor after cut.

dcarch

I do the cut in half and eat out of the kiwi cup thing. It's more fun that way because most people aren't familiar with that method. I use grapefruit spoons.

Beau was a hit a VPK for the letter "K" week when his word was Kiwi and he demo-ed how to eat a kiwi with a spoon.

I do both ways. And trust me a peeler with turn a ripe kiwi to mush trying to go through the tough skin.

"Kiwi, not the bird--"

I just remembered. Kiwi was originated from China, where it is known as gooseberry.

Now how do you get kiwi from goose?

dcarch

I have a kiwi every morning before breakfast and have tried the vegetable peeler which, if the kiwi is ripe, removes too much of the fruit. I find the peeler only works when the fruit is hard, that is...not yet ripe enough to be sweet. So I've been using a small, sharp paring knife to peel them and that seems to work best. I've also tried cutting them in half and using a spoon, but I prefer eating them the skinless way.

Slice about the same thickness as you would a cucumber.

SharonCb

Great, thanks! I think for this time I'm going to peel and slice, the idea being "finger foods". Plus I think the slices will be pretty among the sections of blood orange. Next time I buy these though, I'm going to try the scoop method, it sounds like more fun!

I might just try the peeler on the first one then if it's not gonna work, I'll switch to a knife. I bought eight so if I mess one up I'll just eat it myself.

And speaking of ripe... how do I know if it's ripe? I just picked eight kiwis, no idea how to pick them so I just grabbed them. They are in my fridge now.

Will they feel softer when ripe? How soft? Should I take them out of the fridge if I feel that they need to ripen?

Boy, I really know nothing about these things!

as a side note, dcarch, good question! I found this on wikipedia:
Also known as the Chinese gooseberry, the fruit was renamed for export marketing reasons in the 1950s; briefly to melonette, and then by New Zealand exporters to kiwifruit. This latter name comes from the kiwi  a brown flightless bird and New Zealand's national symbol, and also a colloquial name for the New Zealand people.

On a related but different tact, I never eat kiwi because they make my mouth sore, as does pomegranite.

Am I the only one?

Annie

I've not had that experience with either kiwi or pomegranite. However, I will not eat fresh pineapple, it makes me feel like it's cutting the inside of my mouth.

I peel kiwis with a knife...it works better for me than a peeler. Such a wonderfully versatile fruit!

When I visited New Zealand last a year ago, I saw many many orchards of kiwis. I didn't know how kiwis grew, so was surprised to see the trees upon which kiwis grow. Here's a link to info about NZ's kiwi orchards.

http://www.hickerphoto.com/kiwi-orchard-16648-pictures.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: NZ Kiwi Orchards

May if a kiwi is rock hard then it's not ready to eat.

When there's a little give under a gentle hand squeeze, it should be ready to eat. They can be very sour when not ripe.
A squishy one is overripe. You have to peel and taste to get accustomed to knowing when they are ready.
Find one that's a little soft and give it a try. They are lovely when just at the right point of ripeness.

SharonCb

Thanks Sharon. I actually tried to pick the ones that were firm but not super hard. I might just take them out of the fridge and let them sit on the counter for the next two days. This is certainly a learning experience for me.

I love kiwifruit! I eat them out of hand, but they make the prettiest garnish for cakes and desserts, especially a pavlova with strawberries.

Choose fruit of a good shape, light to medium brown and furry. It should yield to gentle pressure when squeezed. Eat when slightly soft. The skin is edible. Kiwifruit become sweeter after being picked.

I use a small paring knife to peel them - once you get the knack of it, it's quite easy. I cannot imagine eating the skins!! I even peel apricots because I can't stand the furriness!

But there's another method I haven't yet tried.

Slice off both ends and use a dessertspoon (in your case it would have to be a tablespoon) to push the flesh from the skin.

Some ways to use kiwifruit:

Kiwifruit goes well in fruit salads, pavlova, ice cream cake and punches.

Stir sliced kiwifruit into pasta, chicken and turkey salads.

Eat sliced kiwifruit with low fat cheese and crackers.

Use kiwifruit slices in a green salad.

Mix chopped kiwifruit into pancake or waffle batter then top with additional slices.

Use kiwifruit as a substitute for tomatoes in sandwiches, salads or salsa.

Kiwifruit Sorbet
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
4 kiwifruit, peeled
5 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon rind

Combine water, sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved. Puree the kiwifruit in a blender to make 3/4 cup puree. Add lemon juice, rind and sugar mix. Pour into a shallow metal pan and freeze for 1 hour or until firm but not solid. Spoon into a chilled bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Return to freezer and freeze for 2 hours.

I love kiwis, especially with strawberries. (They'll look divine with your blood oranges!) Their texture is very similar to strawberies, and the feel when they're ripe is much the same. Yes, do take them out of the fridge and let them ripen on the counter. I'd stick them in a paper bag, just to hasten the process along so they'll be just right in a couple of days.

One restaurant served the kiwis sliced and unpeeled. It was OK, but gotta say I would prefer them peeled.

Annie, interesting. Two of my children can't eat kiwis due to scratchy throat. 26 yo DS reacts that way to a lot of stone fruits but eats them anyway. Once on vacation he started having trouble breathing after eating an apple, but was OK as soon as we got some benedryl into him. He also can't eat raw celery, though cooked it's OK.

If I remember correctly, the kiwi egg is sometimes greenish in color.

Thankfully, I've never had a problem with pomegranates, or it would be a sad day for me.

But pineapple, with its high acid content, can sometimes wreak havoc in and around the mouth.

Btw May, I like to make a kiwi and orange salad to help get me through the dead of winter. Basically what you had in mind, except it's topped with candied orange peel. But, it's just as good and refreshing without it. Another favorite is an orange, kiwi and jicama salad.

I'm still on a quest for decent blood oranges. The few I've stumbled upon this winter, looked wrinkly and past their prime, but I haven't quit looking.

Sol

"Posted by solsthumper ---But pineapple, with its high acid content, can sometimes wreak havoc in and around the mouth.
-----------
I'm still on a quest for decent blood oranges. The few I've stumbled upon this winter, looked wrinkly and past their prime, but I haven't quit looking.
Sol"

There is a kind of pineapple that is not acidic. I am not sure of the name. You don't find them often. They are roundish and small in size. Very sweet.

Italian neighborhoods has the best blood oranges.

dcarch

I like them in wedges, like tiny watermelons. Kiwis are a vine fruit, and you need both male and female varieties to get a crop. They grow here in SoCal.

Here is a link that might be useful: Growing Hardy Kiwi Vines

Thanks all for the replies and advice. I was able to peel them with a peeler. They were just exactly ripe so I'm glad they sat on the counter for a couple of days. They weren't overly ripe nor hard and sour.

And next to the blood oranges, they really looked good. I did take pictures of that and the other food at my party and will post them in the next couple of days.

The fresh pineapple problem is not from acid. It's an enzyme. A protein-digesting enzyme. The pineapple is digesting the inside of your mouth!

That, incidentally, is why fresh pineapple is the one raw fruit you can't add to Jello. The enzyme attacks the protein in the gelatin.

I love the taste of kiwis, but everytime I eat one, it has a very metallic aftertaste to me. I have given up trying to eat them because the aftertaste lingers for quite awhile. Not sure what causes it, but it must be something unique to me because I have never heard anyone else having this problem.
My kids love them and eat them with the spoon method.
Lisa