In Season: Kiwis to brighten the winter months

It’s hard now to remember a time before kiwifruit became widely available in the United States, but that was in the mid-1970s.

Before the 1970s, kiwis could sometimes be found at specialty shops, accompanied by a robust marketing campaign by New Zealand growers, but they were rare and exotic. As the name of the fruit indicates, it was New Zealand that originally made kiwis into a staple fruit during the winter months.

Kiwis ripen in November and December in northern, temperate climates, and today, about 90 percent of the kiwis we enjoy here are grown in California.

When California plantings of the varieties called Hayward and Chico came on line in the early 1980s, it was California, not New Zealand, that captured the American market. Since then, the Hayward variety has become the standard of excellence for green-fleshed, fuzzy kiwis.

I asked Professor Adel Kader of the Department of Pomology at UC Davis which variety of kiwi he thought had the best flavor, and he replied, “Hayward is the main variety of green-fleshed kiwifruits grown in California and other production areas. When ripened properly, it tastes very good.”

Kiwifruit is a native of the Yangtze River Valley of northern China, although various other species of its large, vigorous, woody vines can be found growing in forests around China, Indonesia and India.

It grows beautifully in our San Francisco Bay Area, although occasionally, unseasonably mild winters may not give the vines enough winter chill for them to flower well. And kiwi vines are either male or female, meaning that all species and cultivated varieties need a male pollinator for fruit to form on the females.

They are exotic no more, of course, having taken their place among the wealth of fruits we enjoy. Their sweet-tart impression, bright emerald color and flavor reminiscent of gooseberries and strawberries makes them a welcome addition to winter mixed-fruit medleys.

Their edgy acidity makes them a nice contrast with bananas and a fine canapé can be made of a slice of banana dipped in lemon juice (to prevent discoloring) under a triangle of peeled, sliced kiwifruit, topped with a blueberry or raspberry.

Their pretty color makes slices of peeled kiwifruit perfect for topping tarts and cheesecakes, and chunks of sweet, ripe kiwi can be added to plain organic yogurt, such as the excellent Clover and Straus brands we find locally.

As for nutrition, kiwifruit has good stores of vitamin C. Three ounces provide almost twice the daily requirement for an adult.

Another type of kiwi - the golden kiwi - is becoming more available of late. The fruit is imported from China and New Zealand, is virtually fuzzless, and pure golden yellow inside.

This species fruits better in the warmer zones of California where there’s not enough winter chill for Hayward. I haven’t seen it yet in our local markets, but I keep an eye out for it.

Besides the fuzzy kiwis we find in the store, there are more cold-hardy types, notably vines of Actinidia arguta, which can withstand continental winters.

Recently it’s been developed from a novelty into an economically important crop. The fruits are small, about the size of large table grapes, and the skins are edible and fuzzless.

It was an enthusiast’s crop, planted around North America by backyard fruit growers, until Mark Hurst of Hurst’s Berry Farm in Sheridan, Oregon, planted a large acreage and began to market the small fruits as “Baby Kiwi” in the late 1990s.

These fruits are in season from September through November.

In California, kiwifruit ripens in November or December and can be held for months in controlled storage. They are hard and unyielding to finger pressure until they ripen, when they have a slight give under light pressure. If you find only hard ones, a few days to a week on the windowsill should relax and sweeten them, as their starches change to sugar as they ripen.

This sorbet is immoderately delicious. You’ll need an ice cream maker for this dish. I use Krups’ “Le Glaciere.”

Kiwi-Strawberry-Lime Sorbet

Makes 1 quart

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

2 pints fresh strawberries, de-stemmed

4 peeled and rough chopped kiwifruit

3 limes (juiced)

Make a simple syrup by bringing the water to a boil, adding the sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved, and then letting this mixture cool to room temperature.

In a blender, whiz one cup of the simple syrup with the strawberries, kiwis and lime juice until they make a smooth puree.

Transfer to the ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

I find the Glaciere makes a rather loose sorbet, so I transfer the finished sorbet to a covered plastic container I’ve cooled in the freezer, and then put the sorbet into the freezer overnight so it’s firm and very cold for serving.

Jeff Cox is a Kenwood-based food and garden writer. Reach him at jeffcix@sonic.net