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up vote 24 down vote favorite

What should I do with the kiwi peel?
I've got no problem with its taste and feel
and eat them whole when I'm by myself.
Is it in any way bad for my health?

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1  
My grandmother cuts them in halves and eat the pulp out of the skin with a spoon. Just a tip. – johnny Feb 7 '11 at 17:55
@Johnny: That's what I used to do, but lately I've been too lazy to go to the kitchen for a knife and spoon. – Tim N Feb 7 '11 at 18:07
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+1 for use of poetry – TFD Feb 8 '11 at 1:09
@Johnny: I use a grapefruit spoon, works even better! – Manako Feb 8 '11 at 17:53

3 Answers

up vote 6 down vote accepted

It is perfectly safe to eat the peel in and of itself. You will need to make sure that you wash it properly, as it may be dirty. But beyond that, it's simply a matter of taste. A lot of people don't like the flavor / texture of the peel and so remove it.

From a site devoted to kiwis:

Kiwi fruit skin is definitely edible, and there's a lot of different theories about eating it.

Kiwi fruit skin contains high levels of flavonoids, insoluble fiber and antioxidants: these substances all have a beneficial effect on your body's metabolic functions (flavonoids and antioxidants) and on your digestive system and cardiovascular apparatus (insoluble fiber).

Common sense, however, should be practiced in this respect: while raw kiwi fruit skin contains these beneficial substances, it also tends to contain more than 99,95% of of the pesticides in that particular fruit (if they have been used), which largely outweighs the benefits from flavonoids and antioxidants.

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According to your quote, eating the peel would result in eating 2 000 times more pesticides. Perfectly safe? – Tim N Feb 7 '11 at 13:50
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perfectly safe "in and of itself", yes. It's only IF the kiwifruit you are eating has been treated by pesticides that you may choose to weigh up the pros and cons of ingesting the pesticides. – KimbaF Feb 7 '11 at 13:58
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Sounds like a case where buying trusted organic is well worth it. – Kara Marfia Feb 7 '11 at 14:56
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Also, washing fruit tends to remove a large amount of pesticides, at least on smooth skin like apples. It might be a little trickier for a hairy skin like a kiwi. – Erik P. Feb 7 '11 at 15:40
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I doubt if much if any pesticides would be left after a few rainfalls. And Kiwifruit are generally not treated with pesticide during the latter part of their growing cycle. Most are basically organic – TFD Feb 8 '11 at 9:00
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up vote 7 down vote

In New Zealand the export Kiwifruit brand is called Zespri. The have fully organic and close to organic orchards. Most of the spraying happens early in the growing cycle, so by the time you buy it it has been rain washed many times. I have family friends whom have export large Kiwifruit orchards and it is a very organic process once the fruit has formed

See http://www.zespri.com/sustainability-home/growing-zespri-on-orchard/kiwigreen.html

The green Kiwifruit is very fuzzy and not nice to eat, the gold Kiwifruit is designed to be eaten skin and all. Kiwi Grapes (bunches of baby Kiwifruit) are also designed to be eaten skin and all

Kiwifruit in New Zealand is considered a scoop fruit though (same as tamarillos, fejoas etc), and you don't see many locals eating the skin

The good part of the skin (Exocarp) is not just the dry outer layer, it is the thin living layer immediately behind that. You'll eat that by scooping the fruit out, not so much by cutting it out

For serving speed we normally cut of the ends, halve, and then place half cut down and slice off the skin working around fruit. Then slice into small discs and serve

Sliced kiwifruit

During picking season the huge surpluses are feed to the beef cows skin and all :-)

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So NZ-ers usually eat whole kiwifruits? It's nice to know that it's a common practice. – Tim N Feb 7 '11 at 22:23
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Ummn, no. As I said "you don't see many locals eating the skin". Sliced or scooped is the norm. We can't generally afford the Gold or Grape varieties, we export them all :-) – TFD Feb 7 '11 at 23:46
Mmmmm, grape kiwifruit. And you've got me pining for feijoas! Hurry up, autumn! – calico-cat Feb 8 '11 at 3:18
Sorry, I was referring to "the gold Kiwifruit is designed to be eaten skin and all". Should have read a little more carefully. But then again, how come natives don't eat the skin if it's supposed to be eaten? – Tim N Feb 8 '11 at 9:05
We can't generally afford the Gold varieties, they are the skin edible type. The green variety skin is not good for eating (too furry). I guess we are just used to peeling them all because of this – TFD Feb 10 '11 at 7:29
up vote 0 down vote

I have been thoroughly washing and eating kiwifruit for over 20 years and find the skins vary in texture and flavour if both are good I eat them

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