How do I remove kiwifruit skin without losing a lot of the fruit's flesh?

Question

Is there a way to loosen the skin from the flesh before peeling a kiwifruit with a paring knife or peeler? I'm not a deft hand with a paring knife, and I suspect that it's time to buy a peeler with a sharper blade, but any tips on peeling technique with regard to kiwifruit would be welcome.

Answer 1

I normally cut the fruit in half then use a grapefruit spoon (serrated tip) to scoop the fruit out of the flesh.

Answer 2

I use a potato peeler to peel it. I cut off the top then peel down in strips. with a good peeler you can save most of the flesh this way. I use a 'Y' style peeler.

Answer 3

I know a way that is amazing. You just cut off the 2 ends like regular and use a regular spoon to wedge between the skin and the meat of the fruit. Work your way around and then you can just "plop" the meat of the fruit out. I'm not going to take credit for somebody else's work so here is the link with the video. How to cut and peel a kiwi fruit.

Answer 4

I find it easier to peel when it's already sliced

EDIT .. and will make for excellent garnish.

but usually when i'm using kiwi in a presentation, I use a small pairing knife and ribbon around the kiwi

Answer 5

I chop the two ends so you have a kiwi cylinder and then lay the kiwi on it's side and make a small slice into it and keep the knife parallel to the cutting board as close to the bottom and just let it roll until it goes a full 360 degrees and the skin is off.

Then you can cut as desired.

Answer 6

I'm having trouble finding one online, but there is a serrated blade that is curved sideways used for cutting pineapple. Because it curves sideways, it can cut more skin off and less meat off a round piece of fruit than a knife with a straight blade.

It's very similar to this: http://www.bbqproshop.com/melon-and-fruit-knife.html

Answer 7

They sell peelers that are specifically for soft fruits and veg - peaches, tomatoes, and kiwis generally feature on the packaging. My chef-daughter has one and reports they do a nice job. Among other things they are wicked sharp and if you use one on a potato you will probably cut yourself.

That said, I cut the ends off so my ordinary peeler can "get started" under the kiwi skin and have no trouble peeling them that way. I'm not a big uni-tasker fan.

Answer 8

Using a peeler or a spoon around the skin is fine for a truly fresh Kiwifruit straight from the vine

Most people purchase Kiwifruit that has been stored and shipped long distances in special chillers, and are then chemically ripened before final point of sale. These Kiwifruit will often have minor bruising (mushy texture) directly under the skin, so using a knife to remove reasonable slabs of skin and bruised flesh is the ideal way

Answer 9

Has anyone tried using a melon baller? If you follow the tip about cutting it in half and then using the melon baller, I would think you could get quite a bit out easily. (Note, I have not actually tried this...)