Kiwi Berry, Ho!

On Wednesday, I had a Columbus-and-the-New-World, Galileo-and-the-moons-of-Jupiter, Benjamin-Franklin-and-electricity-kind-of moment. Granted that my moment was of considerably smaller scale, I was still pretty excited when amidst the farmers’ market’s apples and concord grapes, its strawberries and cherry tomatoes, I found a new kind of fruit. On Wednesday, I discovered the kiwi berry. Unwilling as I was to leave my new discovery behind, I purchased a little carton of the smooth, green, grape-like berries, brought them home, and as the farmer’s market sign had instructed me, patiently waited until they were very soft and wrinkly. In the meantime, I turned to Wikipedia and discovered that the kiwi berry grows on a vine native to Korea, Northern China, and Siberia. The vine is very hardy and able to survive temperatures well below freezing, but it has not yet been widely commercialized because the fruit has a short shelf life and an unpredictable ripening pattern. Wikipedia also told me that the kiwi berry should taste just like an extra-sweet kiwi.

When my kiwi berries were finally ripe, I was excited to do a taste test of my own. Biting the little berry in half, I was immediately blown away by how similar its taste was to that of it bigger cousin. Judging on flavor alone, it was as if I had discovered nothing new. Even more remarkable was that the inside of the berry looked just like the inside of a miniature kiwi. Despite these similarities, however, I feel in love with the little berries because while the bigger kiwifruit is equally delicious, the tiny berries are so easy to eat. This coming Wednesday, I plan to return to the Beechwood Orchards stand and rediscover my new world. If you’d like a little hump day adventure, I recommend you come along.