Hello! Today we will tell you about a plant called
Chinese Actinidia, but most people know it as the exotic "kiwi" berry. Few of the consumers
of the original in taste and seemingly "fluffy" berry associate it with China - the homeland
of the blooming liana, which was destined to produce this miracle, which tastes like
gooseberries, strawberries, melons and pineapples at the same time.
Cutting a unique fruit into slices, probably few people thought, "How does a kiwi grow?
What should be a branch that can withstand a considerable number of such large berries?
What does a kiwi look like in the wild and have people always had the opportunity to
enjoy a wonderful berry?" We will try to answer all these questions in this video.
By the definition of botanists, kiwi is a berry. The correct and scientifically grounded
name of the plant sounds like Chinese gourmet actinidia. So it is more than fair to classify
kiwi as a feminine noun and to call it "she" in the third person.
But, on the other hand, no one has canceled the name given to his masterpiece by breeder
Ellison - Chinese gooseberry. To call him it is somehow illogical and even absurd. It
was the New Zealand breeder Alexander Ellison who named these fruits the kiwi for their
external resemblance to a small bird that lives in New Zealand.
Kiwi or actinidia gourmet, is a selection fruit of the wild Chinese liana, bred in New
Zealand at the beginning of the 20th century. In the wild, this large woody liana with leaves
falling for the winter can still be found in the subtropical forests of southern China.
In nature, the vines of Chinese actinidia reach 10 meters in length, climbing high into
the crowns of trees. No wonder the first company to offer Chinese
gooseberries to the world market was called Kiwi, its logo depicting this flightless bird,
whose body resembled an oval covered with brownish down.
The products sold by "Kiwi" were associated with the emblem among the ordinary buyer - the
similarity is striking. So the fruit acquired the bird's name, which stuck to it forever.
Probably everyone already understands that gourmet actinidia, often called the Chinese
gooseberry, has nothing to do with the gooseberry widely known in Russia. The plant belongs
to the Actinidaceae family, which is formed only by a single genus, which, in addition
to Actinidia deliciosa, also includes more than 50 species of other plants. Many members
of this family produce edible fruits. The most famous representatives of the family
are Actinidia guta (kokuva, kivai, acute actinidia, Japanese, or Siberian gooseberry), Actinidia
polygama, as well as Actinidia hotomikta, which is widespread in the Primorsky Territory,
Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Actinidia gourmet is a woody climbing liana,
reaching a length of 10-15 m. The shape and size of the leaves are determined by the variety
and can be oval, heart-shaped and round. White or slightly pinkish, unusually attractive
and emitting a delicate pleasant aroma, kiwi flowers reach a diameter of 4-5 cm.Plants
are dioecious, female and male flowers grow on different plants, therefore, when laying
a garden, both are planted in a certain ratio. As already mentioned, to see how kiwi grows
in nature, you need to go to China. At home, the plant has preserved its original and beautiful
wildness. She continues to be famous for amazing flowers that turn into unsightly thirty-gram
fruits. But on the plantations of cultural kiwi, everything is completely different.
Here all the branches are densely hung with fruits, the berries weigh at least 75 grams,
and the largest ones reach a weight of about one hundred grams.
Those who believe that kiwi grows on a tree are right, because the vine that gives birth
to the Chinese gooseberry is tree-like. Outwardly, it looks like a stunted tree that requires
constant support. And the fact that the fruits grow on a liana, and not on a full-fledged
tree, also affects their classification and classification as berries. Vines simply bend
under the weight of large fruits hanging from branches in abundant bunches.
People often ask whether kiwi grows in Russia, which is famous not only for its temporary,
but also for its climatic zones? Of course, kiwi grows in the subtropics of the country.
First of all, this is the resort Krasnodar Territory, the climate of which is quite suitable
for growing high-quality exotic berries, which are not inferior in parameters to those of
New Zealand and Italian. But the most interesting thing is not this,
but the fact that in the Ussuri taiga, local residents sometimes find wild kiwi, the one
that they said that it was small and tasteless. But, having tasted the berry, the locals cannot
boast, they argue that kiwi, both aromatic and sweet, is in no way worse than cultivated.
And this is not surprising. After all, everything is unusual in the Primorsky Territory. There,
after all, the tropics coexist peacefully with the harsh taiga, plus the mysterious
China is nearby. You can grow kiwi in the Black Sea regions
of Ukraine. Successfully fruiting amateur plantings of this vine also exist in Transcarpathia.
In Kiev, the Chinese actinidia sometimes bears fruit in some particularly successful years,
but it freezes significantly in frosty winters. In Belarus and central Russia, growing kiwi
is possible only in greenhouse conditions. The historical homeland of the kiwi is southern
China, namely the forests in the valley of the Yangtze and Qiang rivers (hence the Chinese
name for the plant yang-tao). The plant and its fruits were first mentioned in medieval
Chinese literature only in the 15th century. Then, judging by the lack of any information
in the Chinese sources, they forget about him. The burst of interest in Actinidia chinensis
is due to botanical expeditions organized by Europeans. The plant became famous in Europe
in the middle of the 18th century, when Pierre Le Chereau d'Incarville discovered, described
it and sent samples to France to the botanist Bernard de Joussy.
Later, in 1847, an English botanical expedition led by Robert Fochine brought plants from
China to England. To Robert Fochina, kiwi owes its first trivial name to the Chinese
gooseberry. At the beginning of the 20th century, Actinidia chinensis entered the United States.
In 1906, Alexander Ellison receives seeds from his friend in China and grows from them
the first plants in New Zealand. However, until the 20s of the XX century, the liana
plant was perceived exclusively as decorative. She bloomed magically and only this attracted
Ellison's attention. And the fruits then were nondescript, small and completely tasteless.
The breakthrough and the beginning of the commercialization of the crop date back to
1937, when New Zealand amateur gardener Jim McLowlin, deciding to allocate a large plot
of land for Chinese gooseberries in the Bay of Abundance, established the first "industrial
plantation of the Bruno variety with an area of about 1 hectare.
Thus, New Zealand, where the fruits acquired their modern look, became a second home for
the Chinese gooseberry. Soon the culture gained popularity domestically, and in 1953 its world
presentation took place in the United States, and in the same year, regular supplies of
fruits to the North American market began. Since 1959, the designation of the "Chinese
gooseberry" fruit has been replaced by another one associated with New Zealand. The fruit
became known as the kiwi-kiwi after the kiwi swamp bird, the symbol of New Zealand. Over
time, the name was shortened, and the fruit itself became, perhaps, better known than
the bird that gave it its name. No other fruit has had such tremendous success; in the 20
years since its appearance on the international market, it began to be grown on all continents,
and its cultivation area has increased 200 times.
Kiwi flowers bloom from the first half of May to mid-June, depending on the climate
of the region where the plantation is located, the flowering of the bush lasts about two
weeks. Due to the fact that male and female flowers are located on different specimens,
it becomes possible to reliably determine the sex of plants only during flowering. Lianas
of seed origin usually bloom 5-7 years after sowing the seeds, grown from cuttings and
cuttings a little earlier, already by 3-4 years. Female kiwi flowers are arranged in
small groups. In the center of each female flower, a large pistil with an asterisk-like
stigma is clearly visible. The stamens surrounding it are underdeveloped, so self-pollination
is impossible. Whitish male kiwi flowers are collected in
clusters of several pieces on one peduncle. Kiwi is pollinated by bees and other insects,
so the flowers are very honey-bearing. Inside the male flower, numerous stamens with pollen
are clearly visible, and the pistil is underdeveloped and does not have an "asterisk".
The fruit of the kiwi is a juicy berry covered with a slightly hairy brownish skin, under
which a delicious and aromatic pulp is hidden. Outside, the fruits are unsightly, like potatoes,
the skin is rough and usually not used for food. It is cleaned before use. However, it
turns out that you can eat kiwi with a peel, but only first you need to get rid of the
villi. The seeds of kiwi are very small and numerous,
they are not felt when eating, so there is no need to remove them when peeling this fruit.
They are located in a juicy green pulp along the white columella, which is the axis of
the fruit. There are about two hundred to six hundred of these small black seeds in
one fruit. Fruits are oval in shape, slightly larger
than a chicken egg, weighing up to 100-150 grams. We most often sell kiwi with soft green
flesh. Sometimes kiwi without hair is brought to us. This is a "bald" fruit called GOLD.
Its fruits are tastier than "furry" ones, but also much more expensive. There are yellow
fruits. They are also sometimes called "yellow" or "golden" kiwi. Kiwis have their own unique
delicate sweet and sour taste and aroma, vaguely reminiscent of a mixture of gooseberries,
strawberries and melons. This taste appeared thanks to the selection work that was carried
out throughout the twentieth century. The right time to start harvesting is very
important to ensure high quality fruits and long-term storage. Fruits are harvested when
they are physiologically ripe, but firm enough and have not reached the consumer's degree
of maturity. Fruits harvested prematurely do not gain the
required amount of soluble sugars, shrink during storage and do not acquire the taste
and aroma inherent in kiwi. With a late harvest, the fruits do not lose their flavoring qualities,
but their keeping quality is sharply reduced, which leads to a limitation of the period
of fresh fruit consumption. By the appearance of the fruit, it is rather difficult to determine
the time when the harvest begins. An experienced gardener can, with a fairly high degree of
probability, determine the ripening time of fruits by barely perceptible external signs.
On an easily detachable stalk, dark green pulp, shedding of villi with light friction,
etc. Kiwi fruits have advantages over the fruits
of such succulent subtropical crops as peach, persimmon, figs, since they allow them to
be harvested in late autumn, and are stored for a long time even in room conditions.
The later removed fruits remain dense longer, and in ripe state are characterized by a higher
mass fraction of dry substances. In order not to damage the fruits, they are
removed with gloves. Immediately after picking, the fruits are placed in special canvas bucket
bags, the same as when picking apples. The geography of cultivation, as well as the
use of modern storage and transportation technologies, make it possible to meet the demand for kiwi
throughout the year. In addition to New Zealand, major suppliers
of kiwi to the international market are Italy, France, USA, Chile, Australia and Spain.
Kiwi is imported to the Russian Federation mainly from Italy in November-June, and in
smaller quantities from Greece, New Zealand, Chile, USA and France. In New Zealand, which
accounts for about one third of all world production, kiwi is cultivated on the northern
island in the Bay of Plenty. Kiwi is grown on an area of 18 thousand hectares and receive
230 thousand tons a year. Italy, with an average annual harvest of 220
thousand tons of kiwi, is currently the second largest producer of these fruits in the world.
Commercial production of kiwi began in the country only in 1977, but more than 20 thousand
hectares have already been allocated for culture. The optimal storage conditions for fruits
are a temperature of about 0 ° C and a relative humidity of 90-95%.
If it is necessary to store the fruits for a long time, it is necessary to observe the
commercial proximity and do not place fruits that emit ethylene (apples, pears, etc.) near
the kiwi, do not allow joint storage of fresh batches with the remnants of old ones (ripe
or overripe kiwi fruits), and also remove mechanically damaged and diseased fruits from
storage chambers. In addition, the premises must be periodically ventilated. Under such
storage conditions, the natural loss after 3 months will not exceed 1%.
Kiwis are used in food both fresh and processed. Fresh fruits are used as a snack or as part
of fruit salads and side dishes, as well as for tenderizing meat. Kiwis are processed
into compotes, jams, confitures, marmalades, jellies, as well as juices, nectars and other
drinks. Fruit wines and liqueurs are made from them. Puree and frozen kiwi products
are used by the food industry in the production of ice cream, yoghurt and a variety of confectionery.
Kiwi is an excellent filling for cakes and pies. The berry is dried and made from it
candied fruits. In conclusion, a few words about the beneficial
properties of kiwi and the limitations of its use.
It is advisable to eat kiwi 30 minutes before meals or an hour after eating.
On the day, the norm is the use of two or three fruits.
Do not use more, because there is a risk of an acute allergic reaction.
It can be accompanied by swelling of the tongue, dermatosis of the pharynx, and asthmatic dyspnea.
In principle, kiwi allergy is not uncommon, and some people have this kind of intolerance
to this berry. If you wash the kiwi thoroughly, then you
can eat the fruit with the skin. The peel is rich in vitamins and antioxidants.
European scientists believe that it will help cure dysbiosis.
It is not very pleasant to eat a berry with a peel, but it
can be peeled with the blunt side of a knife. Often people suffering from cancer add this
berry to their daily diet. In addition, kiwi helps to relieve some of
the heaviness in the stomach, especially for people undergoing medication or suffering
from heartburn, etc. If you regularly consume kiwi, you can significantly
reduce the risk of hypertension, as well as thrombosis. This is due to the fact that the
trace elements contained in this berry strengthen the walls of blood vessels, as well as capillaries.
But this is not all that is worth mentioning. If you
have excess salt in your body, then you can safely eat kiwi.
This will help get rid of them over time and eliminate kidney stones.
By the way, kiwi is one of the few fruits that can be eaten by diabetics.
It is worth drawing your attention to the fact that kiwi cannot be eaten with stomach
ulcers, as well as high acidity. However, do not completely exclude kiwi from
the diet. In any case, it is recommended to eat these
delicious fruits at least occasionally. The benefits and harms of a product are determined
only by how much or how little you eat.