by John Gugie

Created on: May 15, 2008   Last Updated: June 16, 2008

Kiwi is a fun fruit that has become very popular in recent years. They are used in many drinks, deserts, and other recipes. Everyone recognizes kiwi by their resemblance to miniature coconuts (approximately three inches long) and the inside is cool-looking with its lime green and white flesh and tiny edible seeds. Once you get past its interesting appearance, kiwi has a sweet, tangy, yet mellow taste, like a mix of banana, pineapple, and strawberry.

Kiwi fruit originated in China as macaque peaches. Other names have included Macaque pear, Vine pear, Sunny peach, Wood berry, Hairy bush fruit, Unusual fruit, and Wonder fruit. Kiwi did not pick up their current name until they were brought to the U.S.

When Kiwi were first brought to New Zealand by missionaries in the early 20th century, they were called yng to or "Sunny peach." New Zealanders thought they tasted like gooseberries and renamed them Chinese gooseberries in 1960.

There are conflicting accounts of how and when Chinese gooseberries were renamed kiwifruit in the U.S.

In one account, a New Zealand company, Turners and Growers, began exporting kiwi to the U.S. in the 1950s as melonettes because Chinese gooseberry had bad political connotations at the time. An American importer, Norman Sondag, thought that melonette was a bad name because melons had higher taxes. In June 1959, Jack Turner suggested the name kiwifruit.

In another account, Chinese Gooseberries showed up in an U.S. restaurant in 1961. An American produce distributor began importing them in 1962. Demand was high and the name was changed to kiwifruit, in honor of the kiwi bird whose brown feathers look like the kiwifruit skin. Kiwis, a national symbol of New Zealand, are flightless birds with fuzzy feathers and long beaks.

The fruit are called just "kiwi" in Europe, North America and South America but, in other parts of the world, they are known as Kiwifruits.

Kiwis are rich in many vitamins, flavonoids and minerals. They contain nearly as much potassium as bananas and more Vitamin C than oranges. It is also rich in beta-carotene, Vitamins A, Vitamin E, magnesium, copper, phosphorous, carotenoids, and polyphenols.

Flavonoids are believed to protect our cells from oxidative damage and our DNA from damage.

Studies by the Archives of Ophthalmology found that eating fruits containing high amounts of Vitamin C, A, and E help to reduce by 36% the risk of developing ARMD (age-related macular degeneration), which is the main cause of vision impairment in adults.

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