4 Ways to Eat a Kiwi

When you're hungry for a nutritious snack, kiwi provides a sweet treat that is permissible on just about any dietary plan. Best of all, there are at least four ways to eat kiwi fruit.

One of the best ways to eat kiwi fruit is to enjoy it au naturel. Toss a couple of kiwi in a hard-sided container in your gym bag so they don't get bruised, and you're all set to enjoy them after your workout. With minimal prep required, you can enjoy a ripe kiwi in much the same way you would a whole apple.

It's easy to select the perfect fruit, even though all kiwifruit looks pretty much the same from the outside. Make sure your whole fruit doesn't have any blemishes, and that it gives slightly to the pressure of your thumb, to ensure its ripeness. If your kiwifruit isn't ripe enough, hurry the process along by storing it overnight or for a few days in a ziplock bag with an apple or a banana, advises the California Kiwifruit website.

There's no problem with eating the skin of the kiwifruit, California Kiwifruit advises. Just be sure to wash it before biting in, as there's no telling what it has touched. It's packed with nutrition and triples the fiber dose compared to devouring the fruit skinless. It's also where much of the Vitamin C content lies, according to California Kiwifruit.

Read more: Can You Eat the Skin of a Kiwi Fruit?

Use a sharp knife to slice the kiwifruit into rounds, and savor one delicious slab at a time. The slightly bitter flavor in the skin contrasts with the sweet flesh to roll out a palette of taste for your tongue to enjoy.

For a frozen treat, insert a stick or bamboo skewer through the skin on one side of the fruit. Place it atop parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and pop it into the freezer for a couple of hours. These frozen pops make a healthy alternative to sugary commercial ice pops for the kids — or you — on a hot summer day.

If you're not in the mood for the skin, slice the kiwi lengthwise into two identical halves. Take a spoon, and scoop out the sweet meat from one half at a time. You can always save the skins to add to your compost bin, and put the nutrients back into your gardening soil.

If it's the sweet inner flesh you're after, peel the kiwi fruit. Make sure it's not overly ripe, as the softer the meat, the messier the skinning process will be.

Go the traditional route, and tackle the fruit with a paring knife. Slice the fruit in half, crosswise. Run the knife around the fruit, just under the skin, to loosen the flesh. Pinch the base of the skin, and the ripe kiwifruit half will slide right out of the skin.

Alternately, slice the ends off the fruit, and slip a spoon just under the skin with the indented bowl of the spoon facing the fruit. Slide the spoon around the fruit to dislodge the skin, advises Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

After you've removed the skin, you're ready to slice or chop it, and add it as an ingredient to your favorite recipe. Try a dessert pizza topped with sliced kiwi, strawberry slices and blueberries riding atop a cream cheese sauce on a healthy cookie crust.

Is there a sale on kiwifruit at the grocery store? One of the best ways to eat kiwifruit is to freeze it to enjoy when it's out of season. Place slices on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with a little sugar to keep the fruit firm and store in a freezer bag once frozen, advises Oregon State University's Extension Service. Just don't add it to gelatin without boiling it first, as the unheated protein in this fruit will keep things liquid.

Read more: How to Eat Noni Fruit

Kiwi jam is easy to make and a time-saving way to enjoy eating kiwi in the morning, by using it as a topping on a piece of whole-grain toast, or spooning it into yogurt. Because it is high in acid and low in natural pectin, you'll need to add pectin to get a jellied consistency.

Make freezer jam from fresh fruit to preserve that sweet kiwi taste. Add 4 cups of sugar to 2 1/2 cups of peeled, crushed kiwifruit. Dissolve 1.75 ounces of pectin in 3/4 cup of water, and boil for a full minute before adding it to the fruit and sugar mixture. Ladle into containers, let sit 24 hours, and store in the freezer up to three weeks.

You can also cook 4.5 cups of kiwifruit with 1.75 ounces of pectin, stirring it constantly until it comes to a rolling boil. Add 7 cups of sugar and let it boil for a full minute before removing from the heat. Skim off the foam and ladle into sterilized jars — then process in a boiling water canner for five minutes.