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I just read today that Kiwifruit is used to tenderize meat. I wanted to make some fruit chutney anyway, normally I'd go for mango, but why not use kiwifruit fruit this time?

I read that the actinidin is responsible for this process but as far as I know it is denaturized cooking the Kiwifruit, thus I need the raw Kiwifruit.

So how should I prepare the raw Kiwifruit and the meat (I wanted to use chicken), how long should I let the meat marinade and how should I cook or fry the meat afterwards?

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As this is my first question here and I normally don't cook (talking/writing) english, feel free to edit the question if I got some words/tags wrong. – Informaficker Jan 3 at 20:45
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Freeze the kiwi. When rock hard, beat the heck out of the chicken with it. – Chris Cudmore Jan 3 at 21:08
OK, I suppose I got my vocabulary wrong here… :P – Informaficker Jan 3 at 21:10
@ChrisCudmore before or after butchering? – JoeFish Jan 3 at 21:29
@Informaficker no, it's a very well-formed question. Better than many from native English speakers that I've read. Chris was just being a little silly. – JoeFish Jan 3 at 21:41
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3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

Yes Kiwifruit contains Actinidin, which is a great meat protein tenderiser

But it tastes crap, it is not a good accompaniment for meat, especially chicken. It is way too sweet tasting, sort of like serving chicken with fruit jam (preserve), if you like that, go for it!

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@TFD- Pork is often served with sweet sauces or fruit. Besides- isn't it illegal for you to speak badly of kiwi fruit? Don't you lose the ability to vote or something? – Sobachatina Jan 3 at 23:07
@Sobachatina Yep, lots of fruits go well with meats, but not usually very sweet or sweetened fruits. What Kiwifruit, some idiot imported a Kiwifruit disease, all our vines are dead now. Back to sheep – TFD Jan 4 at 1:25
up vote 2 down vote

Without supplying a recipe, my best suggestion would be to blend/puree the kiwis with whatever other seasonings you would want to accompany the chicken and then split that amount in half. Use the first half to marinate the chicken (I would go for overnight at most) and then use the other half to cook into a chutney or glaze to get the nice rounded flavors that come from cooked fruits.

I think it would be a nice glaze with some spice added (cayenne, habanero, serranos) and some other aromatics.

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up vote -1 down vote

Kiwifruit can be used for tenderising all meats but from what I have read you only leave it for one hour before cooking...otherwise you end up with mush...overnight may leave you with a chicken protein shake

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While I've never tried this experiment, I rather doubt that kiwi can denature meat faster than the human digestive system... – Aaronut♦ Mar 3 at 14:24

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