Don't peel the kiwi!

Kiwifruit

The kiwifruit or the kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) is native to Southern China and it is a commercial crop in several other countries, such as Italy, New Zealand, France, Greece and so on.

The kiwifruit is an excellent source of vitamin C and dietary fiber, but what is really interesting is the fact that the kiwi's skin is, in fact, edible.

Not only is the kiwifruit's skin edible, but its nutritional value is actually important:

• the vitamin C intake is greatly increased if the kiwi is not peeled;
• the skin apparently contains three times the quantity of dietary fiber than that of the peeled fruit;
• the skin is a good source of flavonoid antioxidants (epidemiological studies have shown that flavonoid intake is inversely related to mortality from coronary heart disease and to the incidence of heart attacks).

I began to eat less and less meat until it occurred to me that I actually became a lacto-ovo vegetarian and that I should, therefore, study nutritional data and find meat replacements. One of the interesting things I found out about kiwifruit is that it has recently been shown that it is a natural blood thinner: two or three kiwis consumed daily for about a month significantly thin the blood, reducing the risk of clots. I just wish I'd had known this one month prior to the hand surgery I had to undertake as a result of a stupid and dangerous deep cut. Oh well.

You can slice the kiwi like this

The kiwifruit's skin is actually very thin, so the only thing that might bother you if you try to eat it unpeeled is the somewhat thick fuzz it is covered in. As I see it, the best way to proceed is the following:

• wash the kiwi really well;
• scrub it with a towel (if you are lucky, then some of the fuzz might fall off);
• cut both ends of the fruit (they are not tasty and are difficult to chew);
• slice the kiwi as in the following picture and enjoy!

By eating thin slices, you will probably not even realize that they are covered with fuzz.