Kicking it with Kiwi Berries

Have you seen this delightful tiny fruit? Kiwi berries are the fuzz-free cousins of the kiwi, but the grape-sized fruit can be popped into your mouth just like a grape. That’s right…no peeling needed!

The baby kiwis are sweeter than the kiwi we know and love. The skin of the cocktail kiwi can range in color from green to purple (unlike a regular kiwifruit), but when you cut them open they look exactly the same as a kiwi with a bright green interior and tiny edible black seeds.

Kiwi berries are a super fruit! High in fiber, vitamin A and calcium, but kiwi berries are especially good source of vitamin C. In fact, the fruit has 5 times as much vitamin C as an orange. Kiwi berries can be purchased year-round but are in prime season through the end of summer.  A perfect treat for the warm summer months!

You can find the cute fruit in plastic cartons in the berry section in upscale markets like Whole Foods. Remember that the color will vary, but as long as they don’t look mottled or wrinkly they are ready for you to enjoy. However, the miniature kiwis tend to be more expensive and taste almost identical to regular kiwis so you may want to enjoy them when you need a visual pop.

Here are some tasty ideas to get you started:

• You’ll definitely be on a salad kick with this fresh greens recipe that features kiwi berries.
• Throw the baby kiwis into a Greek yogurt parfait.
• Puree your kiwi berries for this tilapia recipe with kiwi berry sauce.
• It is smoothie season and this mixture of yogurt, berries and honey is the perfect recipe to add kiwi berries.
• Add the grape-sized berries to your cheese plate for a surprising treat.

Are you going to be on a kiwi berry kick? Have you ever heard of this fruit before?