Local Kiwis and Recipes

While you may have written off this tropical treat as a faraway fruit, turns out that Saanich has similar growing conditions to New Zealand—home of the kiwi! Read on for recipes and reasons why local kiwis make an excellent winter choice.

We are lucky to have Stuart of Peninsula Kiwi to be growing these tart delights on Vancouver Island and providing the FarmHub with his harvest. On a November afternoon, we got to drop by the kiwi farm to check out the almost-ripe fruits of Stuart's labour.

We learned a lot about the different types of kiwis that he's growing and the low-input growing methods used. Kiwis are an extremely ecological choice compared to bananas and oranges which are often grown using chemically-intensive practices and travel very far distances to get to our plates. Kiwis even have double the amount of Vitamin C of oranges, which is why some of us refer to them as "local green oranges"! Some more food for thought:

Maybe you eat kiwis on the regular already, or maybe you removed them from your diet when you couldn't find them locally. Either way, here are some exciting ideas to switch up your winter meals!

No-Bake Kiwi Cheesecake

The secret to this show-stopper is that it's surprisingly simple! We can imagine this as a perfect potluck contribution or the end to a special family meal. The best part is, you can tell your fellow eaters that the kiwis were grown just up the road!

Recipe and photo by foodsguy.com.

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1 cup ground graham or digestive cookies

• 4 oz butter, room temperature

For the cream:

• 15 oz cream cheese

• 1 ¼ cup heavy cream

• ½ cup powdered sugar

• 1 kiwi fruit, peeled, mashed

• 1 tbsp gelatin powder + 3 tbsp water

For the topping:

• 2 kiwis, peeled, sliced

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter and crushed graham cracker (or digestive) cookies. Stir until you have a wet sand-like texture.

2. Press the cookie crust mixture into an 8-inch spring-form pan lined with parchment paper. Cool the crust for 20 minutes in a fridge.

3. In the meantime, make the filling. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese, heavy cream, and powdered sugar.

4. In another bowl, combine gelatin and water and let it bloom for 10 minutes.

5. Place the gelatin in a sauce pot and melt over medium heat. Whisk the gelatin into the cream cheese.

6. Before serving, top the cake with kiwi slices.

7. Slice the cake and serve.

Spiced Kiwi Chutney

There couldn't be a more unique and mouthwatering addition to a festive holiday platter than this bright kiwi apple chutney! Eat with charcuterie, rich meat dishes, or use it as a lovely gift for someone else. Recipe and photo from CookTogether.com.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar

• 1 cup muscovado or soft brown sugar

• 1 tsp salt

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• 1 pinch of cayenne pepper

• ½ cup onion, thinly sliced

• ½ cup raisins

• ½ lemon, zested

• 1 ½ cup of chopped kiwi pieces

• 1 cup diced green apple pieces

• 1 clove of garlic, minced

Directions:

1. Peel 6-8 kiwis and 2 green apples, then cut them into 1 cm pieces. Measure out 1 cup of apple pieces and 1 ½ cups of kiwi.

2. Put the vinegar, sugar, salt, ginger and cayenne pepper into a heavy-based pan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low temperature until you get a thick syrup. Add the apple, onion, raisins, and lemon zest. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the kiwi pieces, bring to a boil and turn off the stove. Put a lid on and allow to cool.

3. When completely cool, spoon the chutney into sterilized jars.