OFF THE SHELF
Golden kiwi sweet, mild — and ready to eat right away

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

The flavor of golden kiwi has been compared to mango and melon, but it's not particularly pronounced. Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

So peel it or scoop out the creamy flesh: This kiwi is sweeter, milder and slightly less seedy than the green version. The flavor has been compared to mango and melon, but it's not particularly pronounced. More kid-friendly, we suspect. The shape is more elongated, closer to a fig shape than that of the green kiwi varieties.

Ripe kiwifruit, whatever the color, should be slightly soft to the touch. If it's hard as a golf ball, keep shopping.

The kiwifruit, Actinidia deliciosa, belongs to the berry family of fruits. The Hayward variety, the one sold here under the Zespri brand, is descended from a wild Chinese vine nurtured in New Zealand in the early 20th century. It's a hardy variety that has proven successful in commercial plantings. The fruit was developed by natural cross-pollination with select gold kiwi vines and grafting with vigorous green kiwi vines. No genetic modifications were made, according to the zesprikiwi.com Web site.

Kiwifruit is rich in vitamins C and E, potassium and fiber. In 1997, green kiwifruit was determined by a Rutgers University study to be the most nutrient dense of the 27 most popular fruits tested; golden kiwi has a similar nutrient profile, according to the Web site.