Kiwifruits are tiny oval fruits about 7 centimeters long and weighing about 115 grams. They have a brown cover with a green inside and a soft consistency and a fresh taste reminding of berries, watermelons and banana, but it has its own sweet bitter flavor.
First cultivated in China, the kiwifruit (named Yang Tao) was brought to New Zealand at the beginning of the 20th, when the missionaries brought it back with them. Several years later, the commercial use started to spread. In the ’60 the fruits were known as Chinese Gooseberries.
A year later, the fruit appeared for the first time in a restaurant in the U.S.A. and it was noticed by an American producer that saw a great potential for the fruit in the U.S.A. market. They began importing the fruits a year later changing the name into kiwifruit due to the resemblance of the fruit’s skin with the bird from New Zealand.
Today, the biggest producers of kiwifruit are: Italy (with 0.48 million metric tones), New Zealand (0.28), Chile (0.15), France (0.08) and Greece and Japan (both with 0.04).
When you pick up the fruits make sure they are a bit soft when you squeeze them (they are sweeter because they are fully ripened) but not too soft as it means they gone bad. Their skin should not have any cut or black spots.
If you do pickup fruits that are not fully ripened yet, you can keep them at a normal temperature in a paper bag next to a banana or an apple so they will ripe faster, away from sunlight.
Kiwifruits can be eaten raw. Simply peel off the skin or cut it in half and eat the flesh with a spoon. It can also be added to green salads, fruit salads, with yogurt or along with chicken or fish.
Kiwifruit has the property of protecting the DNA from damage caused by oxygen, protection offered no only by Vitamin C and beta-carotene but also because of the numerous flavonoids with antioxidant activity.
The Vitamin C is known to be the most important antioxidant that dissolves in water and it helps neutralizing free radicals that are bad for the cells because they provoke cancer. It also prevents diseases such as osteoarthritis, arthritis and asthma, colon cancer, atherosclerosis, and certain heart disease. Vitamin C is also vital for the immune system preventing ear infections and is also known for the protection that it offers against asthma, helping the respiratory system.
Another important vitamin found in kiwifruits is Vitamin E that also acts as an antioxidant protecting the body against free radical that causes damage.
The dietary fiber is known to help a lot of conditions such as high level of cholesterol reducing heart related diseases. Fiber also removes toxins inside your colon so it prevents colon cancer. It also helps lowering high level blood sugar in patients that suffer from diabetes.
In kiwifruits, beside Vitamin C and E, you can find an important amount of minerals such as potassium and magnesium and copper. These vitamins and minerals protect the blood vessels and the heart. Eating kiwifruits everyday can protect you against a number of cardio vascular diseases.
Fruit facts summary:
- 95% of daily value of Vitamin C
- 10% of daily value of dietary fiber
- 7% of daily value of potassium
- 6% of daily value of copper
- 5% of daily value of magnesium
- 4% of daily value of Vitamin E
- 4% of daily value of manganese
- Has antioxidant properties
- Prevents colon cancer
- Protects against asthma
- Keeps the hearts healthy