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Expert tips on how to eat, store, freeze, and ripen juicy kiwis
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Kiwi fruits are sweet, tangy, juicy, and slightly soft when they’re perfectly ripe. But if you picked some hard kiwi fruits at the store or from your own tree, you might be wondering what you can do to get them to ripen at home. Luckily, kiwi fruits continue to soften and sweeten up when you simply leave them on your counter at room temperature! In this article, we’ll go over how to ripen kiwi fruits , how to tell if they’re ripe , and how to store them in the fridge or freezer so they last for longer, all with the help of personal chef Markeicha Dulaney and the culinary experts at Marrow Private Chefs. Keep reading to find out more!
What is the fastest way to ripen kiwi fruits?
Place unripe kiwi fruits in a paper bag with a banana or apple. These fruits produce ethylene gas, which tells the kiwis to ripen. Simply leave the bag on your kitchen counter at room temperature, keeping it away from light or heat. Most firm kiwi fruits will ripen in 1 to 2 days.
Steps
Section 1 of 6:
Ripening Kiwi Fruits
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Set the kiwis you want to ripen on the counter at room temperature. Kiwi fruit continues to ripen after it’s picked—if you bought some firm, unripe fruits, they’ll soften and sweeten up at home. Just place the kiwis in a bowl on your countertop and keep them away from direct sunlight and heat, as this can cause them to rot quickly or get discolored. [1] X Research source
- How long does it take the kiwis to ripen? Most firm kiwi fruits will ripen on the counter in 3 to 5 days if stored at room temperature.
- Most kiwi fruits that you find in the grocery store, like the green and golden flesh varieties, ripen perfectly fine off the vine.
- If you're growing your own kiwi fruit plant , check the variety you have to determine whether you should leave your fruit on the vine until it's ripe or harvest it while it's hard.
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To speed up ripening, place the kiwis in a paper bag with a banana or apple. The quickest way to ripen a firm kiwi fruit is to store it near fruits that produce ethylene gas, like bananas, apples, and pears. This exposes the kiwis to more ethylene, which tells them to ripen faster. Simply place the kiwis in a paper bag with the other fruits and keep them on your counter at room temperature. [2] X Research source
- How long does it take the kiwis to ripen? Most firm kiwi fruits will ripen in 1 to 2 days when kept in a paper bag with a banana or other fruit that produces ethylene gas. [3] X Research source
- Keep the bag out of direct sunlight and away from heat sources, as this can cause the fruits to rot quickly.
- Do not place the kiwi in a plastic bag. This can reduce air flow and trap moisture, causing the fruits to rot and grow mold.
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Section 2 of 6:
How to Tell If Kiwi Fruits Are Ripe
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Press the kiwi fruit lightly to see if it has a little give. According to Dulaney, the best way to tell if a kiwi fruit is ripe is to give it a gentle squeeze with your thumb. If the kiwi is mostly firm with a little give and softness, it’s perfectly ripe.- Avoid kiwi fruits that are very soft or mushy, advises Marrow Private Chefs, as this is a sign that they’re overripe and will go bad quickly.
- Remember, if you pick a kiwi that’s very firm and unripe, it’ll soften and sweeten up if you leave it on your counter at room temperature.
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2Smell the kiwi for a sweet, fruity scent. When kiwi fruits ripen, they have a noticeable and pleasant fruity smell. If the scent is very faint or nonexistent, the fruit is probably unripe. And if the kiwis smell fermented, sickly sweet, or slightly sour, they’re most likely overripe and starting to rot. [4] X Research source
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Make sure the outside of the kiwi fruit is unblemished. Look for a kiwi fruit that doesn't have any dark spots, bruises, mushy areas, or tears in the skin. The fruit should be plump and round without any wrinkles, flat spots, or sunken areas. [5] X Research source
- Most kiwi fruit varieties that you find in the store have brown, fuzzy skin. However, there are some varieties that have red or green skin.
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Check that the seeds are black. If you have a lot of fruit to spare, cut a kiwi open and look at the seeds. A kiwi is unlikely to ripen if its seeds are still green or yellow—the seeds must be black. Black seeds indicate the kiwi has enough sugar to ripen properly. [6] X Research source
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Eat the ripe kiwis within 1 to 2 days. Make sure to eat the kiwi fruit when they're at their peak ripeness, or within about 1 to 2 days when left on your counter. Because kiwis continue to ripen at room temperature, they can get overripe and start to rot quickly.
- Enjoy your kiwi fruits plain as a tasty snack. Or, add them to fruit salads and smoothies . You can even make kiwi jam !
- If you’re not ready to eat your ripe kiwis, don’t worry—we’ll cover how to store them in the fridge to preserve them for longer!
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Expert Q&A
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QuestionWhat parts of a kiwi am I able to safely eat?Marrow Private Chefs are based in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. It is a chefs’ collaborative comprised of an ever-growing number of chefs and culinary professionals. Though regionally influenced primarily by coastal, traditional southern, cajun, and creole styles and flavors, the chefs at Marrow have a solid background in all types of cuisine with over 75 years of combined cooking experience.You can safely eat the whole thing, but the skin isn’t particularly enjoyable, so it is common to peel it before eating.
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QuestionAre hard kiwi fruit sour?Community AnswerYes, they are.
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QuestionCan I eat the skin of a kiwi?Community AnswerYes, the whole thing is edible.
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Tips
- Kiwi fruits are good sources of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins C and E, potassium, magnesium, and copper. Kiwi fruits have few calories, are high in fiber, and contain no fat or sodium. [13] X Trustworthy Source Cleveland Clinic Educational website from one of the world's leading hospitals Go to sourceThanks
- Kiwis must be exposed to ethylene gas after they’re picked to start the initial ripening. If the growers and shippers don't begin to ripen the fruit, the starches aren't converted to sugars quickly enough, and the fruit shrivels.Thanks
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Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about preparing food, check out our in-depth interview with Marrow Private Chefs .
- [14] X Research source
References
- ↑ https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/fd/kiwi.asp
- ↑ https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/fd/kiwi.asp
- ↑ https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/preserving-kiwifruit
- ↑ https://www.allrecipes.com/how-to-tell-if-kiwi-is-ripe-8363112
- ↑ https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/fd/kiwi.asp
- ↑ https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/em-9322-growing-kiwifruit-your-home-garden
- ↑ https://www.allrecipes.com/how-to-store-kiwi-8364272
- ↑ https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/fd/kiwi.asp
- ↑ https://www.southernliving.com/how-to/cook/how-to-cut-a-kiwi
- ↑ https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/preserving-kiwifruit
- ↑ https://extension.oregonstate.edu/food/preservation/preserving-kiwifruit
- ↑ https://health.clevelandclinic.org/can-you-eat-kiwi-skin
- ↑ https://health.clevelandclinic.org/kiwi-benefits
- ↑ https://extension.oregonstate.edu/lane/sites/default/files/images/sp50832.pdf
About This Article
Article Summary
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To ripen kiwi fruit, start by making sure you buy kiwis that are unblemished and firm to the touch for best results. Then, place the kiwi fruit in a bowl on a countertop and wait 3-5 days for them to ripen. To speed up ripening, place the kiwi fruit next to an apple, banana, or pear, which will expose them to ethylene. To check if your kiwi fruit are ripe, press your thumb against one to see if it gives under the pressure. When they're ripe, eat them quickly so they don't rot. For advice on storing kiwi fruit in the fridge and freezer, keep reading!
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Reader Success Stories
- "I kept wondering why local grocers were selling the kiwis so green. I figured I would look up how to ripen them. Since there is a process, that must be why growers think consumers will buy them unripened." ..." more
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"I kept wondering why local grocers were selling the kiwis so green. I figured I would look up how to ripen them. Since there is a process, that must be why growers think consumers will buy them unripened."
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"I got a great deal on 2 lbs of kiwi, but none were ripe. This helped me ripen some faster and slow some down so I didn't have to eat them all at same time. Love the info that they can be frozen also!"
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"Thanks so much. This was a great help. I won't cut each fruit open to see if the seeds are black and thus able to ripen, though, as I suspect this would open the fruit to decomposition."
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"I didn't know that I could put other fruit that I already had along with the kiwi to speed up the process, or that they could last so long in the fridge and freezer. Thanks!"
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"Learned how to ripen kiwis on the vine in the UK. Didn't realize the seeds had to be black to be successful, great tip to cut one open to find out."
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