How To Store Kiwi Fruit To Last Longer

Storing food or fruit items is the best possible way to enjoy them even after several days or months of their harvesting or ripening. In the case of Kiwi, people have been practicing several storage techniques and the methods of storing kiwis majorly depend upon their level of ripeness.

Storing techniques may slightly vary for ripe, unripe, and cut kiwis.

a. Storing Unripe Whole Kiwi

If you have brought unripe kiwis from the market or kiwi farm, it would be good if you allow them to rip on their own, keeping them isolated on the kitchen counter or any preferable location that does not receive direct sunlight.

Your kiwi can last for about a week if stored on the counter, provided with the essential requirements. Kiwis if exposed to the direct sunlight, their ripening process speeds up, causing them to spoil very quickly.

More to that, you should store whole unripe kiwis at room temperature away from edible items such as tomatoes, mangoes, and pears. Such fruits are found to release ethylene gas, causing kiwi to ripen very quickly and encouraging early spoilage.

b. Storing Ripe Whole Kiwi

Sometimes you purchase ripened kiwis but don’t get enough time to consume them right away. In such cases, you can make use of your refrigerator and store your kiwis for some more days. The refrigerator allows you to enjoy your favorite kiwi for some extended days by slowing down the natural ripening process.

Your refrigerator can assist you in keeping kiwis fresh and sweet for about 10 days but only if you place them following the right method. Keep in mind that kiwis are very responsive to ethylene gas produced by some of the fruits.

Unless you want to stimulate or accelerate the ripening process of your kiwis, you have to be careful that kiwis are not exposed to such fruits inside your fridge.

In many cases, you cut the kiwi for the intended purposes but the whole of the slices are not used up. The remaining slices often get dumped or wasted but you needn’t need to throw them into the kitchen garbage, you can simply store them in the refrigerator.

Your fridge can store sliced kiwis for a couple of days without getting them spoiled. However, you should not forget to place them inside an air-tight bag or plastic bag before placing them in the refrigerator.

Cut kiwis can’t last for longer days than that of whole, unsliced kiwis but still, you can take them for up to 2-3 days more if stored correctly in the refrigerator.

If it comes down to storing kiwi for extended periods for more than 3-4 months, you can make use of the freezer. Freezing the slices of the kiwi is considered the best way to store kiwi if you are to enjoy them even after several months of harvesting and cutting. 

The sweetness and texture of the frozen kiwi, however, may slightly differ from the one you get to taste at the right consuming time but still, there will be some preserved taste which you can enjoy in the off-season.

• Begin by peeling and making appropriate slices of the chosen kiwi.
• Grab a baking sheet and place the cut kiwis evenly on it.
• Place the sliced kiwis along with a baking sheet in the freezer for the intended period, or until you get to know the sliced kiwis are completely frozen.
• Pick an air-tight container and place the frozen kiwi into it.
• Store the tightly sealed container inside the freezer.
• You can enjoy the flavorful kiwis for several months.

Dry kiwi has been one of the popular snacks these days. People are found to enjoy munching soft, sweet, and sour dried kiwi fruit just like they do with candy.

You can enjoy the flavor of kiwi fruit whenever you want it, you just have to perform a few basic drying processes to dry fresh kiwi fruit. Scroll down to learn the drying procedure:

a. Dehydrator to Dry Kiwi

Here's what you need to do while drying kiwi using a dehydrator:

• Pick the fresh kiwi fruit, peel and cut it. Make sure to cut it into equal-sized slices, or any preferable size you wish for.
• Place the slices in the dehydrator trays evenly, allowing enough space for air circulation.
• Put the trays in the dehydrator and run the machine. It has been suggested to dry kiwi at about 52ºC for 10-12 hours or until you find them completely dry and wrinkled.
• It would be best to use the advanced dryer to dry your kiwi which has the function of tray rotation. This way you can dry your kiwi evenly from all the sides.

b. Oven to Dry Kiwi

Alternatively, you can go for an oven as well to dry your kiwi. Begin by placing the kiwi slices on the baking sheet evenly and place them in the oven. Make sure to perform drying at the lowest possible temperature.

Since the oven induces very high heat, it won’t take much time to dry all of the kiwi, 3-4 hours might be enough but you have to constantly check for the progress. If possible, leave the door of the oven open for the first couple of hours, allowing room for the moisture to escape.

Avoid Other Fruits

You should keep in mind that some fruits like mangoes, pears, tomatoes, and so on produce ethylene gas. Kiwis are highly sensitive to such gas and in response such gas triggers the ripening process of the kiwi.

Therefore, unless you want to speed up the ripening process, you shouldn’t keep your kiwi fruits close to other fruits that produce ethylene gas, or else your kiwis will get spoiled very quickly, and storing practices will all go in vain.

Freezing Whole Kiwi

Well, if you are to store the whole ripe kiwi, as mentioned earlier, you have to go for refrigeration but never choose to freeze them. Freezing the whole kiwi won’t give you the anticipated result, instead, it might damage the ripe kiwi.

Apart from that, you mightn’t be able to consume the frozen whole kiwi just like that of the sliced frozen kiwi.

You know that freezing is the best long-term storage approach for your kiwis but do you know whole kiwi shouldn’t be stored in the freezer? Yes, keep in mind that the whole Kiwi is not meant to be stored in the freezer. Only the sliced kiwis are best to get frozen.

Avoid Direct Sunlight

Sunlight is another sensitive element for the kiwi. Kiwis upon receiving direct sunlight or high heat will ripen pretty quickly, being prone to spoilage. When deciding where to store kiwi fruit, you have to be very careful while choosing the location.

You have to look for one that receives decent airflow at room temperature and is away from direct sunlight exposure. This way, you can provide a decent environment for your kiwis to last for the intended periods.

Avoid Extreme Cold

While storing ripened whole kiwi or sliced kiwis in the refrigerator, you have to look for the one that is the warmest. This means it would be good to go for a fruit drawer in your refrigerator to store kiwi.

Exposure to extreme cold is not good for the kiwi, your kiwi after harvesting requires moderate temperature if you are to ensure balanced texture and sweetness. Therefore, it is vital to place kiwis inside a suitable refrigerating or freezing bag that is air-tight while storing them in a conditioned environment.

Professionals and researchers have suggested that consuming kiwi skin is completely safe and healthy. If you are someone looking to consume the best out of kiwi fruit in terms of health benefits, you should try eating whole of the kiwi including both skin and flesh.

A study published in the National Library of Medicine in 2020 gives a projection on the beneficial effects of consuming the skin and flesh of SunGold Kiwifruit. Therefore, you shouldn't get confused about whether kiwi skin can be eaten or not.

Kiwifruit skin can be eaten and you must eat them if you are seeking additional nutritional benefits from the fruit.

a. Picking Ripe Kiwi

Skin Color and Texture

If you are looking for properly ripened kiwis, perfect to eat right away, your first inspection should be of their skin color and texture. Whether you are growing kiwi on your own or visiting the market to purchase, look for the one with brown and fuzzy skin with no signs of bruises or wrinkles.

A variety of Kiwis are available in the market. You have to decide first what sort of Kiwi you need. If you want something that can be eaten right away, go for a ripened one without bruises or mold. If the chosen kiwi is wrinkled or has dark unusual spots on its skin, it is not a good kiwi.

Firmness

Applying gentle pressure can easily distinguish a perfectly ripened kiwi from an overripened one or a damaged one. Pick the chosen kiwi and hold it on your palm. Gently apply pressure with your fingers and thumb to check for firmness.

If the chosen kiwi is perfectly ripened, while applying pressure it should slightly feel soft and should give a bit. But keep in mind it shouldn’t feel too soft to give it all, if such a case arises, you should know the picked kiwi is either overripe or pulpy.

Smell

The smell is another element to look for carefully while choosing and purchasing kiwi from the market or farm. If you are looking for a ripened kiwi, it should give off a fruity smell with a touch of sweet fragrance.

However, if the kiwi is overripened or mushy, it is more likely to give off an acidic and pungent smell. Therefore, when choosing a kiwi to buy, do not forget to sniff it. No matter what the retailer says or does, you can trust your nose while choosing the perfect Kiwi to buy.

b. Picking Unripe Kiwi

Skin Color and Texture

Unlike ripened kiwi, unripe kiwi has a slightly different skin color and texture. You may find it greener in coloration from the outside with comparatively less hair than the ripened ones.

Apart from the coloration, you should look for the one that does not have any bruises and dark spots like that of the ripened ones. The skin surface should be even with a green hue if you are looking for a kiwi that has still some time to ripen.

Firmness

Unlike ripened kiwi, unripe kiwi should not give it off easily. Pick and hold the kiwi on your palm and gently apply pressure with your fingers and thumb just like that of the ripened ones and check for its firmness.

If you are looking for an unripe kiwi, it should be firm but not soft. While giving little and gentle pressure from outside with your fingers, if the chosen kiwi doesn’t give off easily, it can be considered an unripe kiwi. You can bring it home and ripen it at your convenience.

Smell

Unlike ripened kiwi, unripe kiwi doesn’t give off any sort of distinguished smell. It is because it hasn’t had much time to accumulate sugars in it. Therefore, while sniffing, if the chosen kiwi has a citrus smell, it is more likely to be a ripened one but if it doesn’t give off any sort of smell you are most probably picking an unripe kiwi.

The period up to which kiwi can last without getting damaged and spoiled depends on how ripe your kiwi is. Ripened kiwis, if allowed to remain at room temperature at any of the preferable spaces of your house, are found to last for a couple of days without getting spoiled. But the unripe kiwis in the same environment can last for about a week.

Similarly, if you decide to refrigerate your kiwis, ripened and unripe will have two different results. Unripe kiwis, since they are yet to reach the maturity stage of ripeness, can last for more than a month inside the fridge but ripened ones won’t last more than 10-12 days.