How to skin a kiwi (fruit)?

March 27, 2013 6:19 PM

I feel like there must be a trick to peeling a kiwifruit quickly and beautifully. What is it?
posted by colin_l to Food & Drink (23 answers total)

Best answer: peeling a kiwi with a spoon.
posted by koroshiya at 6:24 PM on March 27, 2013 [3 favorites]

If you're eating it as-is, cut it in half and scoop out the fruit with a spoon, like eating a grapefruit. If skinning it from the outside, use a potato peeler.
posted by headnsouth at 6:25 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

Why wouldn't you eat the skin?
posted by rikschell at 6:28 PM on March 27, 2013 [4 favorites]

Cut in half and eat with a spoon.

I don't like to eat the skin because kiwi skin, with its greater surface area (lots of hair) would like absorb more pesticides.
posted by KokuRyu at 6:29 PM on March 27, 2013

I do them like avocados. Hold a knife right up the blade so only a mm extends past your fingers. Score the fruit into segments. Then use the edge of the knife to peel off the segments.
posted by pompomtom at 6:29 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Why wouldn't you eat the skin?

I can think of presentation or preparation reasons for peeling a kiwi, but I will second that the skin is delicious. I wouldn't have guessed that until someone suggested it to me, though. It looks like it would be dry and inedible, but it's tangy and flavorful. Plus, it's less messy to eat with the skin on. I just cut off the ends that might be a bit nobby.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:30 PM on March 27, 2013 [4 favorites]

Surely immersing them in boiling water briefly and then putting them into cold would do the trick. I can't say I've done that with kiwis, but it works well with peaches.
posted by sunshinesky at 6:35 PM on March 27, 2013

If you don't mind it not being whole, a quick way to peel a kiwi is by cutting the ends off and cutting the fruit it in half, then using a spoon to quickly trim off the skin from the inside by running around the circumference of the fruit portion, but just under the skin. It gives you two quickly peeled halves of kiwi.
posted by SpacemanStix at 6:45 PM on March 27, 2013

Hold the kiwi end up, the other end on the cutting board. Now cut straight down near the edge, eventually turning the circular kiwi into a hexagonal kiwi. Then slice horizontally into hexagonal medallions. This is how pastry chefs do it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:26 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

i always use a potato peeler
posted by bricksNmortar at 7:29 PM on March 27, 2013 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks! I'm intrigued by this "eating the skin" idea. Must try it!
posted by colin_l at 7:30 PM on March 27, 2013

Please report back if you think it's awesome. It's always fun to see people try it, because it seems very counter intuitive, based on its look and texture.

And I promise it's not a setup.
posted by SpacemanStix at 7:39 PM on March 27, 2013 [1 favorite]

I always use a veggie peeler. I'm confused as to why you wouldn't have tried this. It works perfectly, although they get a little slippery. Hold it in a paper towel.
posted by Youremyworld at 7:44 PM on March 27, 2013

It's a little messy, but: if you stick your thumbs into the end of a kiwi, you can split it clean in half. From there, you can eat with a spoon, but at that point, you might as well just turn the halves inside out and push the fruit out of the skin.
posted by i_am_a_fiesta at 8:00 PM on March 27, 2013

Assuming it is ripe and not too "green" the skin should come off very easy but it will be too soft to use a peeler effectively. Chop off the end and use that as a starting point to start peeling with a sharp knife. You should be able to make a spiral cut without losing too much fruit. Trying to eat the kiwi when it is too solid will generally result in an overly bitter fruit. A perfectly ripe kiwi melts in your mouth with its sweet goodness.
posted by JJ86 at 8:01 PM on March 27, 2013

Just eat the skin. Give it a rinse if you're concerned about pesticides, as you would any other fruit. Sometimes I bite into it whole, like an apple; other times I peel the skin off with my teeth, eat it, and then eat the flesh. Either way, the contrast between the tart, furry skin and the sweet, seedy flesh is delicious.

Sometimes I eat the ends, too, if there's no bin around in which to deposit them! Nose to tail fruit.
posted by goo at 8:46 PM on March 27, 2013

Best answer: One tip on eating the skin: If you get the fruit moist and rub with a paper towel, it takes down the fuzziness factor considerably. I don't mind it myself, but it's what we do when we're feeding whole kiwis to kids for the first time--works great.
posted by yellowcandy at 8:48 PM on March 27, 2013 [3 favorites]

I always use a veggie peeler. I'm confused as to why you wouldn't have tried this.

Have tried it, and it doesn't work because the thick, hairy kiwi skin clogs up the peeler real quick.

My method, derived from years of practice and experimentation, is the spiral cut described by JJ86.

Or if you're really hungry and can't wait, just cut it in half and gauge out the meat with your spoon.

But never eat the skin. I've also known guys who ate entire peanuts, shell and all, and they said it was great fiber but no thanks.
posted by Rash at 10:56 PM on March 27, 2013

Response by poster: Interesting. From Wikipedia:

The fruit and skin contain flavonoids, actinidain, and adhered pollen, which may produce irritation in the mouth and throat of some allergic individuals.

As someone with Oral Allergy Syndrome, I'll be interested to see if the skin affects me the same way apples and cherries do.
posted by colin_l at 2:31 AM on March 28, 2013

I use this peeler (must be the serrated kind) and have gotten all the skin off with no clogging.
posted by hmo at 7:52 AM on March 28, 2013

Yah, everyone has always looked at me like a freak because I eat the skin. Yellowcandy is right about giving it a good rough drying with a towel to help de-fuzz it some, but otherwise, good eating.
posted by k5.user at 8:13 AM on March 28, 2013

I also eat kiwis, skin and all (except for the little nubby ends). I saw someone doing so years ago, and tried it myself. I didn't bother de-fuzzing the kiwi, and while it was odd at first, I agree that the skin is tasty. I'm allergic to many pollens and dust, and I've never experienced any negative reactions.

Then again, I also eat cupcake and muffin wrappers along with the baked goods, if the wrappers are the relatively thin paper sort. They're tasty, and only a bit chewy.
posted by filthy light thief at 11:31 AM on March 28, 2013

Response by poster: So follow up for the curious

Eating them with skin on is delicious. But I'll never do it again because it seriously triggers the Oral Allergy Syndrome.

koroshiya's video technique works a wonderful treat!

Thanks all!
posted by colin_l at 5:24 PM on March 28, 2013 [1 favorite]