Talk:Kiwifruit

Question

Out of interest, why isn't it grown in the UK? EAi 23:50, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Sorry this one's been unanswered so long - the plant grows well in Britain, but the summers aren't hot enough to ripen the fruit properly. You could probably get some ripe fruit after a hot summer like 2003, but most years they wouldn't ripen. It needs a similar climate to walnuts, apricots, quinces, etc., with a reliable hot summer. - MPF 6 July 2005 08:45 (UTC)

Um, no. Kiwifruit is picked in the winter, and matures on the vine long before summer arrives. Harvested kiwifruit is kept chilled not just to enhance keeping qualities, but to prevent premature ripening as well. Moriori July 6, 2005 09:13 (UTC)

It is the previous summer which isn't warm enough for maturation, between the flowering and the winter of harvest. They have been tried, and they don't ripen here. As an example of the difficulties they face in the British climate, today (early July, the middle of summer) it is 12°C (yes, today is colder than average, but the July average here is only 18°C). Where Actinidia is native in China, mean summer temperatures are 25° to 30°C or more. It is if anything surprising that the plant survives here at all. - MPF 6 July 2005 11:47 (UTC)

Stray word

The page had " chinensis" at the top, under the table code but before the article. I suspect it ran over from the species list. If it's not an error and should go back, then please add it back.  :-) --KQ

Name history

"However, New Zealand growers began calling it the kiwifruit in 1962 to give it more marketing appeal, and in 1974 the name kiwifruit was adopted as the trade name."

Wasn`t the USA fight against everythink what may be communist?
So was the fruit renamed from chinensis to a neutral name because of this hysterie?

"Originally called Chinese gooseberry, the fruit was renamed by exporters to avoid confusion with the green gooseberry and to identify it more closely with New Zealand."
http://www.showcook.co.za/kiwi_tart.htm
At least it seems that exporters, some spoke that it was the New Zealands economic ministery which renamed it. --RobertMichel

Page name

I think this page should be moved to Actinidia - only one species in the genus is called 'kiwifruit', and even that only usually in the fruit production & sale industry. Few gardeners use 'kiwifruit' when growing Actinidia species as ornamentals. The name is also rather confusing, as it suggests a New Zealand origin for this East Asian genus. Anyone object to my doing so? MPF 14:36, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)

images

What happened to Image:kiwifruit.jpg? It seems to be deleted/missing. Image:Kiwifruitlg.jpg is still there... --Joy [shallot] 19:43, 15 Oct 2004 (UTC)

I guess someone killed it for that other image (which, I'm sorry, I think is inferior). Oh well. Koyaanis Qatsi 06:24, 16 Oct 2004 (UTC)

"the kiwi bird"

Just a wee note on "the kiwi bird"... One would never talk about the blackbird bird or the sparrow bird, so maybe this could be changed to "the kiwi, a bird from New Zealand" (or whatever)

How do you eat kiwi fruit?

Just wondering, I've noticed a lot of people eat it in different ways. I eat it whole

I peel it and slice it, or, if I'm more hungry than patient, peel it and eat it in two bites. Koyaanis Qatsi 14:48, 14 Feb 2005 (UTC)

An old girlfriend taught me a simple but clever method which keeps your hands clean, and requires no utensils. Use your thumbs to bruise a continous layer under the entire skin, remove a small circle of skin at the distal end, and squeeze gently. --Pekinensis

Sometimes it's difficult to peel, but if you use a potato peeler and draw it up the fruit towards the thicker, tougher end, where the stalk was attached, it peels more easily. I added this hint to the main page. But, note, the skin has valuable properties! Fenton Robb 10:32, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

It depends of the maturity : if the fruit is still strong, I peel it like an apple and eat it by hands or sliced in a plate. If the fruit is limp, I cut it in two and I scoop out with a small spoon. Here are two schools in my family : those who cut it like on the picture in the article, and me, who cut it lenghtwise (easier way to scoop out) ! Gwalarn 12:09, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

In the text we see : "Kiwifruit can be eaten whole, like an apple" : does it mean with the skin ? Gwalarn 12:18, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

ZESPRI

Everything on the ZESPRI website shows the word in captitals, so I've change the article. --MJW 62.25.102.1 13:10, 17 Feb 2005 (UTC)

ZESPRI again

The main page at the ZESPRI website is titled "Kiwi Fruit from ZESPRI International, New Zealand Kiwifruit - Recipes, Organic Fruit & Nutrition", and uses the word "kiwifruit" four times in the page text. This does not seem to be an attempt to do away with the term "kiwifruit", as the names section currently implies.

Pekinensis 18:29, 17 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Size discrepency

Kiwifruit are most certainly not 4.5 to 5.5 cm around. I have one in my hand right now and I measured it at 15 cm around and 5.5 cm ACROSS.

Zespri is not always in caps

Despite MJW's assertion above, everything on the website does NOT show the word in all caps. See [1], top right corner. Millions of kiwifruit are exported from New Zealand each year with Zespri labels on then, with only the Z capped. Have a look at the bottom photo on our own Kiwifruit article for evidence of this. Moriori July 6, 2005 02:25 (UTC)

question!!

the teacher of my fraind sayed what the kiwi is maked with genetic enginner, it is true? please sorry me because my englich is bed because i am from Peru