| Radiant Kiwi Spawns Beautiful Babies | |
by
Judy Sobeloff, from the November 2004 newsletter
From a distance, they look a little like potatoes, benign and benevolent. Not content to sit on the sidelines showing off their dazzling emerald-green midriffs, kiwifruit can pack a wallop, tenderizing meat and curdling dairy products. Don't let that stop you from getting close to one.
Originally hailing not from New Zealand but from China, the kiwi began as yang tao, "strawberry peach," a name changed by Europeans to "Chinese gooseberry." In 1962 New Zealand growers changed the name to "kiwifruit," possibly "in response to anti-Communist sentiments implied by Chinese gooseberry." While the hairy exterior of the fruit is reminiscent of the kiwi bird (a small, flightless, and presumably hairy bird native to New Zealand), New Zealanders (who also refer to themselves as kiwis) "do not take kindly to the fruit being referred to as a kiwi, preferring kiwifruit" (homecooking.about.com).
For the record, kiwifruit can be eaten with or without its fuzzy peel. While they are commonly sliced in cross-sectional rounds, peels still on, my favorite eating method is that of Co-op deli manager, Amy, who after gently removing the top, skins them alive, I mean, scoops and lifts the whole green egg-shaped kiwifruit right out of its peel in one fell swoop with a spoon. Amy does karate, too, but her skinning method isn't as difficult to master as it sounds.
The latest kiwi news is the recent arrival at the Co-op of smooth-skinned mini kiwis. Is it just me, or does it seem lately that half the people you know are pregnant? And now apparently the kiwifruit is, too, spawning these adorable baby hybrids that look like green grapes with tiny brown twist ties on each end. Munching them out of hand like grapes, I found the baby mini kiwis a little sweeter and less tart than regular-size kiwis: incredibly tasty, a real treat.
Jonna, newly three, and I used the standard kiwifruits in kiwi muffins, which were great, surprisingly subtle and flavorful, and in kiwi ice cream. The ice cream, which Jonna described as "the best treat I ever had," initially looked unappealingly like tarter sauce, with little tasty, gooey kiwi clumps, but after additional freezer time settled down to a more uniform consistency. Fred, in a separate tasting session, called the ice cream "unbelievable, the best ice cream I ever had," and implored me to go out and give it to other people, "who will all start freaking out."
Kiwifruit ice cream was so good I had to make kiwifruit sorbet, too, more low tech and accessible as it doesn't require an ice cream maker. Improvising wildly, I substituted sugar water for the scourge of corn syrup and went to sleep instead of beating the slushy sorbet with an electric mixer. (Impress your friends! Net expenditure of hands-on time: five to ten minutes.) The result the next morning looked like sludge one might scrape off one's tires in the thick of winter, but the taste was fantastic, like the distillation of kiwi mixed with watermelon. There's something to be said for eating sorbet in slabs like sliced bread instead of the usual old way, anyhow.
So, this winter, remember the underlying message of the hairy brown kiwi: dazzling beauty can be found beneath the surface in any person, any situation.
KIWIFRUIT MUFFINS (adapted from homecooking.about.com)
3/4 cup white flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup kiwifruit, peeled and chopped (2-3 kiwifruits)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
Mix white flour, baking powder, cornmeal, whole wheat flour, and sugar in a bowl. In another bowl beat eggs, oil, and milk. Gently stir kiwifruit into wet mixture. Add dry mix to wet mix and stir until just combined. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 400 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes. Yield: 12 muffins.
BEN & JERRY'S KIWI ICE CREAM (adapted from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book)
6 ripe kiwis
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups heavy or whipping cream
Peel the kiwis and mash them in a bowl until pureed. Stir 2 tablespoons sugar into the fruit, cover, and refrigerate 1 hour. Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and whisk to blend. Stir in the kiwis. Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following manufacturer's instructions. Yield: 1 quart.
KIWIFRUIT SORBET (adapted from homecooking.about.com)
1 1/4 cup water
4 kiwifruits, pared
3/4 cup sugar
5 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp grated lemon peel.
Combined water and sugar in saucepan. Cook and stir until sugar is dissolved. Puree kiwifruit in food processor or blender. Add lemon juice, lemon peel, and sugar mixture. Pour into shallow metal pan and freeze. (Optional: after freezing one hour or until firm but not solid, spoon into chilled bowl and beat with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Return to freezer, freeze 2 hours or until firm enough to scoop.)
Judy Sobeloff's computer went kaput the day after the November election, yet she writes stalwartly on.
|
Copyright: Copyright on articles, recipes and
images are jointly held by the Moscow Food Co-op and the respective contributors,
except were otherwise noted.
|
For additions or corrections to this page, please contact the Webmaster.
