HOW DO I RIPEN KIWI FRUIT?
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Did You Know
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How To's
Zespri Kiwifruit are nutrient-dense fruits, packed full of flavor and versatile enough to be prepared in a number of ways — from energy-boosting breakfasts to smooth, refreshing desserts. Before you can enjoy kiwifruit, however, it’s got to be ripe.
How do you know when a kiwi is ripe?
Generally speaking, store-bought Zespri SunGold™ kiwifruit will be ripe and ready to eat when you purchase it. Zespri Green kiwifruit, however, might be firm to the touch. You can check if your green-variety kiwifruit is ripe in the same way you would peaches or avocados:
Hold the kiwi in the palm of your hand.
Gently press the fruit.
If it gives a little, it is ripe, ready, and at its best.
“Ripe” can mean different things to different people. A store-bought kiwifruit might be perfectly ripe for one person, but not quite ready for someone else. Fortunately, Zespri Kiwifruit’s versatility means you can easily control the ripening process.
Speed Up the Process
If you bought Zespri Green kiwifruit that is too firm, simply leave the fruit in a bowl at room temperature and nature will do the rest. Firm green-variety kiwifruit can take 2-3 days to ripen.
Need the ripen kiwifruit a bit faster? Place the kiwi in a paper bag alongside other fruit to help speed up the process. Other fruits, like apples, oranges, bananas or pears.
Zespri SunGold™ kiwifruit gets softer — and sweeter — as it ripens. But careful not to leave them out at room temperature for too long.
Keep Your Kiwifruit Longer
If you want to keep your kiwifruit longer, you can easily slow down the ripening process by storing the kiwifruit in the refrigerator — just don’t forget to keep them away from other fruits. We mentioned before that other fruits, like apples, oranges, bananas and pears, give off ethylene, which speeds up the ripening process of kiwifruit.
If you buy Zespri Kiwifruit in large quantities — and why wouldn’t you! — choose fruit that is firmer to the touch and keep them in the refrigerator.
Reminder of Storing Kiwifruit
You can keep the fresh in your Zespri SunGold™ and Green kiwifruit for about two weeks by storing them in the fridge.
If your kiwifruit gets too ripe before you can eat them, or if you want to keep them for longer, you can pop them in the freezer until you’re ready to make delicious smoothies. Freezing your kiwifruit means you’ll always have kiwifruit on hand when you need one.
No matter how you like your kiwifruit — be it a bit firm or super tender — it’s all about the taste. And Zespri Kiwifruit has plenty of great taste to spare!
