Wizzley

What To Do With Kiwi?

by Tiggered

How to use kiwi in cooking? What to do with bulk quantities of kiwifruit?

Kiwi is good for you. It is jam-packed with vitamin C, fibre and other useful nutrients.

That, at least, is what my Mum used to tell me when she was force-feeding me with fresh kiwi fruit.

Inevitably, today I'm not the greatest kiwi fan in the world. I can tolerate a slice or two - trauma does not run that deep - by generally I avoid it if I can.

Unless, that is, I chance upon a really good kiwi bargain.

You can probably guess what's the next chapter of my little story: due to a spontaneous shopping decision, I'm faced with a large pile of the wretched fruit and a burning question:

What to do with kiwi?

Photo source

Kiwi basics

You're probably already familiar with the basic kiwi mechanics:  you have to peel it to get at the green stuff.  If you're having your fruit raw, you can always cut it in half and spoon the flesh out (that's my Mum's favoured method - I shudder at the very thought).  

Kiwi slices are actually quite pretty, so they are often used for decorating fruit desserts.  One warning:  like pineapple, fresh kiwifruits make it impossible for jelly to set.  They just don't like pork gelatin (apparently, it's all enzymes' fault).  You can still use algae-based jelly.

Kiwi is popular in fruit salads, it is also often whizzed up in smoothies - you know, the lovely green colour.  

Kiwi slices on sandwiches are not that famous, but unexpectedly delicious.  My favourite combination:  ham, cheese, lettuce, bell peppers, kiwi, ketchup.  Yum!  Generally, I think of kiwi as a tomato substitute (at least when we're talking sandwiches).  

Photo source

Kiwi in savoury dishes

Kiwi is more suitable for dessert than the main course, but so is peach.  No need to add that both can be used in savoury dishes.  

I chose chicken for my kiwi experiment (recipe below), but you can just as well use it with pork, beef, lamb, turkey or even fish - and that's main courses only!  There's also kiwi sauce (how about this one?), kiwi salsa, kiwi curry, not to mention innumerable kiwi salads (here, or here, or here - to give you only a few).  

Photo by Tiggered

 

Kiwi chicken with potato puffs and carrot salad

Kiwi chicken with potato puffs and carrot salad

Prep time 20 min  -  Total time 90 min
Ingredients for 2 servings
4 large potatoes  • 1 egg  • 1 tbsp ketchup or tomato puree  • 1 tbsp butter  • 2 chicken breasts  • 1 kiwifruit  • 3 tbsp grated mozarella  • 4 carrots  • 1 apple  • 3 tbsp natural yogurt  • 1 tbsp mayonnaise  • salt and pepper

1. Potato puffs

Peel, boil and drain potatoes. Cool slightly, then mash with egg, butter and ketchup/tomato puree. You can skip ketchup if you wish, I add it mainly for colour. Season to taste. Take spoonfuls of potato mash and place them on a baking tray (you can use ice-cream scoop to make your puffs prettier - I don't have one). Bake for about 20 minutes in medium heat.

2. Carrot salad

Grate carrots and apple into fine shreds, mix with yogurt and mayonnaise. The salad shouldn't need any extra seasoning, but your taste buds are the ultimate judge

3. Kiwi chicken

Beat chicken breasts flat with meat mallet (I sliced one lengthwise instead, but I ended up with tiny portions), sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slice kiwifruit thinly, places slices on the chicken. Sprinkle with grated mozarella (other cheeses should work, too). Wrap with aluminium foil (leave some space between cheese and foil - it sticks) and bake in medium heat. After 20 minutes or so, unwrap the foil and bake for another 10 minutes until cheese turns brown.

Recipe:   5.0/5 Stars (1 Votes)

What to do with kiwi? Make popsicles!

Kiwi in sweet stuff

Oh my, where should I start...  The world is full of kiwi dessert recipes.  

Quick and easy:

Greek yogurt and kiwi parfait

Kiwi trifle

Kiwifruits with lime syrup

Slightly fancier:

Kiwi fruit cake

Kiwi muffins

Kiwi sorbet

Elaborate:

Kiwi cheesecake

Strawberry kiwi daiquiri cupcakes with kiwi filling and rum frosting

Kiwi layer cake

I didn't have exact ingredients for any of the above, so I had to design my very own kiwi dessert - recipe below.

Photo by Tiggered

 

 

Chocolate sponge cake with ricotta and kiwifruit

Chocolate sponge cake with ricotta and kiwifruit

Prep time 20 min  -  Total time 50 min
Ingredients for 12 servings
3 eggs  • 3/4 cup sugar  • 140 g plain flour  • 1 tbsp cocoa powder  • 50 g dark chocolate  • 1 tsp baking powder  • 5 kiwifruits  • 250 g ricotta cheese  • 4 tbsp honey
1. Sponge cake

1. Sponge cake

Beat egg whites until fluffy, add sugar then egg yolks. Mix flour, cocoa, baking powder and finely grated chocolate, then add to the egg mixture. Pour into a springform tin, bake in 180 degrees centigrade for about 30 minutes (until a wooden stick inserted into the cake comes out clean. I use a knitting needle for that purpose).

2. Ricotta cream

Mix ricotta with honey. That's all, I'm being fanciful when I call it 'cream' :)

3. Assembling the cake

Once the sponge cools, cut it in two layers. Spread ricotta on the first layer, arrange kiwi slices on top. Cover with the second layer of cake. Repeat the ricotta/kiwi routine. Chill for about an hour and dig in.

Recipe:   5.0/5 Stars (1 Votes)

What else can you do with kiwi?

I have a plan to make some kiwi jam tomorrow, I'll be sure to report how it goes.  I'm not yet sure which recipe to use, but I'm aiming at something without commercial pectic, so I'm likely to end up making kiwi-apple jam.  If jam is not your thing, you can always go for kiwi chutney or kiwi confiture.

Update:

I did make the jam!  It worked!  I'm glowing with pride.  See, I'm not a particularly good jam maker.  You definitely wouldn't like to try my blackberry/apple jam-like concoction (is jam supposed to behave like syrup?  I don't think so) and as to the rowanberry jelly... Let's just not go there, ok?

I tried, you see.  I always studied online recipes, read all I could find about extracting pectin from apple cores, desired setting temperatures and the likes.  All the fuss for nought, my jam-making was disastrous each time.  Until the kiwifruits arrived...

In my desperation, I decided to forgo all the fancy recipes and stick to the simplest method on the books:

Just fry the hell out of the bastard.

It worked!  It worked briliantly!  My jam is 100% jam-like and absolutely delicious!  

So yes, when in doubt, just turn the heat on :)

Kiwi and banana jam

Prep time 20 min  -  Total time 40 min
Ingredients for 12 servings
12 kiwifruits  • 2 small bananas  • 1 cup sugar  • 1 tsp strawberry jelly powder

1. Prepare the fruit

Peel kiwis, cut each fruit into six pieces. Into the pot it goes. Add sliced bananas.

2. Jamming :)

Fry on high heat until fruits turn into fruit pulp (with some chunks floating in it). Add sugar and jelly powder. Fry on high heat for another 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Be sure to protect yourself from hot splashes!

3. Into the jar it goes!

Once your jam sets (you're supposed to pour a drop of jam onto a cold plate - if it solidifies, it's good. I used my nose to determine the setting point - once the fruit stops smelling like fruit and start smelling like jam, you're done), pour it into clean jars, twist the lids on, turn upside down until the jam cools. This is NOT a sure proof way of preserving jam, but it's always worked for me.

4. Tips and afterthoughts

The above quantities yield two standard-sized jam jars.
I'm not sure if jelly powder is strictly necessary. I have a funny feeling that my jam would've set anyway.
Recipe:   5.0/5 Stars (1 Votes)

More recipes by Tiggered

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A foolproof recipe for a quick, easy and delicious apple cake.
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Updated: 04/08/2013, Tiggered
 
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Tiggered on 02/11/2014

At least that's super extra healthy for him :)

VioletteRose on 02/11/2014

Kiwi popsicles look great. As of now, my son's favorite fruit is kiwi, and he prefers the most sour ones. Toddlers are funny, isn't it?

Tiggered on 10/22/2012

Ah, if the Sun could be bottled! Congratulations :)

BardofEly on 10/22/2012

The homegrown ones were actually smaller and not as good but they were in a garden in Wales! I was just pleased with the achievement.

Tiggered on 10/22/2012

Worth trying. I'm sure there's a hell of a difference between homegrown and store bought kiwi, too.

BardofEly on 10/22/2012

Leave them until they go soft. The skin comes off easily then but I eat it anyway..

Tiggered on 10/22/2012

I bet that's the healthiest way, but it's too sour for me :)

BardofEly on 10/22/2012

I eat them whole, skin and all, after cutting off the hard bit at the bottom where the stem would have been. I got in the South Wales Echo when I used to live in Cardiff for having grown kiwi fruit in my back garden and from seed.

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