Preserving Kiwi

[Mom5farmboys]

I have a huge cold weather hardy kiwi vine, its about 20 years old and this is the first year we have gotten fruit on it. It is just loaded. I was thinking about what I could make out of all that fruit.

Cold weather hardy kiwi fruits are small (about the size of a large grape) with smooth green edible skins. Kind of like a miniature kiwi. I was thinking about freezing some whole, making jam, and then maybe trying to can some whole with a light sugar syrup over, and also maybe pureeing the fruit with a little bit of sugar and canning that, for use in smoothies or over biscuits, or ice cream.

I would welcome any suggestions or recipes you may have. Thanks!

[sbemt456]

Mom I planted cold hardy kiwi here in Kentucky this year for the first time. The instructions that came with them said it takes about 3 years to produce. And that you must have a male plant for every 4 females so I have a total of 5. They are growing and look really good. Regular kiwi will keep fro several weeks i the frige, I will be watchin this thread for any ideas on what to do with them also. Just wondering, do they taste like regular kiwi?

Have a great day!

stella

[Mom5farmboys]

Stella,

We had a few fruits last year, only enough to just get a taste of them. I think they are sweeter than regular kiwi fruits, but other than that the taste and texture are similiar. The skins are tender and you don't have to peel them either, which I like.

Terri

[CanNerd]

I haven't seen any modern recipes for hardy kiwi's, but I would just use the regular Kiwi Preserves recipe in the Ball Blue Book and cut back to taste on the sugar since the hardy kiwi is sweeter.