Hayward variety
Developed by New Zealand horticulturist, Hayward Wright in the 1920's, this kiwifruit variety is broad-oval in shape with slightly flattened sides. The skin is a light greenish-brown and is covered with fine silky hairs. Beneath this covering lies emerald green flesh filled with small black edible seeds and has a very good keeping quality.
Hayward Kiwifruit is sold primarily as a fresh fruit but can be processed into jam, used to produce juice or wine and can be frozen. Cooking wise, it is used extensively in desserts, but can also work well in savoury dishes. For best flavour, Hayward Kiwifruit should be allowed to soften slightly.
A power house of nutrients
Today, nutrition guidelines emphasise the value of eating a wide variety of foods as a key to healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables are particularly important to our health for the maximum intake of nutrients and protective components.
New research reveals that the brighter and deeper the colour of a fruit or vegetable, the greater its disease fighting properties.
Green and Gold Kiwifruit are a great example. Rich in colour, they offer a powerhouse of nutrients. Perfect for a quick breakfast or a snack-on-the-run, simply cut the kiwifruit in half and scoop out the delicious, nutritious flesh.
Look out for New Zealand Gold and Green Kiwifruit in the fresh produce section in most supermarkets and selected green grocers from June onwards. Gold Kiwifruit season concludes in early September while Green Kiwifruit can be purchased until late November.
Big on nutrients Big on taste
Research has shown that Green and Gold Kiwifruit pack more punch than any other fruit. In an analysis of the ability of 27 most popular fruits to provide the recommended amounts of nine essential nutrients - Protein, Vitamin A, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folate, Vitamin C, Calcium & Iron - Kiwifruit won! The results showed Kiwifruit to be the most nutrient dense fruit followed by Paw Paw, Orange, Mandarin & Strawberries.
So bite for bite it pays to enjoy a Kiwifruit everyday. Whether you choose the delicious tangy flesh of Green Kiwifruit or the sweetness of Gold Kiwifruit with its exotic mix of melon, peach and citrus flavours, you too are a winner.
There are even more reasons to add Kiwifruit to your diet. Kiwifruit is heart friendly, the natural way to increase your nutrient intake and acts as a friendly immune booster during the dreaded winter months.
Markets outside of New Zealand and Australia:
Currently, under the New Zealand Kiwifruit Export Regulations Global Fresh can only export kiwifruit to Australia. However certain regulations provided under the Act, the controlling body Kiwifruit New Zealand (“KNZ”) can approve collaborative marketing arrangements which permit the export of kiwifruit to other markets, so long as the exporter can demonstrate the program benefits the New Zealand industry.
Categories:
Conventional - delicious and ready to eat - in 10kg loose pack or prepack formats
NutriClean® - having met pesticide residue free regulations for the USA markets (by special order)
Certified Organic - environmentally friendly fruit produced to Biogro® New Zealand certification
Brands:
Bayfresh®, Mr Kiwi™ and "JACE"
Kiwifruit
Produce Information & Availablity
Firstly some background on the origin and health attributes of this furry little fruit...
Actinidia deliciosa is the botanical name of the green fleshed variety of kiwifruit. Although the product dates back to the Tang Dynasty and known as the Chinese gooseberry, New Zealand seized on the opportunity to rename the product to kiwifruit to capitalize on future marketing potential for the product.
Commercial plantings began in New Zealand in 1940 and in the 1970's large scale plantings occurred in the Bay of Plenty.
Green kiwifruit is a nutrient dense fruit containing more vitamin C than orange, around 20% more folate than bananas, strawberries or oranges, good levels of potassium, magnesium and dietary fibre and a low fat source of vitamin E.
Some key attributes of kiwifruit are:
The soluble fibre (pectin) in green kiwifruit helps manage healthy cholesterol levels
The antioxidants in green kiwifruit act like bodyguards to protect cells from free-radical damage
Vitamins C and E in green kiwifruit help boosts the body's defence system and immunity
The folate in green kiwifruit is essential for women planning pregnancy and during pregnancyGreen kiwifruit is a low kilojoule, nutritious snack.
The potassium in green kiwifruit aids fluid balance, muscle contraction and nerve transmission.
Take heart
Green or Gold Kiwifruit can be eaten to your heart's content as they contain:
Vitamin E to help protect the oxidation of cholesterol in the blood. Kiwifruit is one of the few naturally occurring low fat sources of vitamin E.
Potent phytochemicals such as carotenoids to protect body cells from oxidative damage.
Folate to assist in decreasing levels of homocysteine, a substance that can attack artery walls.
Soluble fibre (pectin) that acts as a cholesterol lowering agent.
A very favourable sodium to potassium ratio that is important for heart health, particularly blood pressure control.
Very rich in nutrients but low in kilojoules - great news for waist watchers!
Nature's multivitamin
Many people, especially those over 55 years of age or those with a pre-existing medical condition, need to be mindful of drug and supplement interactions. While the choice in vitamin and mineral supplements can bamboozle, the best choice is so often nature first.
Your body is designed to process food. And foods like Green and Gold Kiwifruit are packed with nutrients along with special plant or phytochemicals. These naturally occurring antioxidants interact within the fruit in complex ways that are not reproducible in a pill or supplement. In fact, Kiwifruit contains many natural substances that science hasn't even named yet and you're unlikely to find these goodies in a capsule!
Immune booster
Kiwifruit is one of the only low fat sources of vitamin E and a rich source of vitamin C. In fact, Gold Kiwifruit has twice the vitamin C of an orange. Both are essential vitamins during the winter months when they assist your immune system and protect you against ills, chills, viruses and bacteria that can leave you wrung out by mid winter.
The great news is that both Gold and Green Kiwifruit are in plentiful supply during the winter months while Green Kiwifruit continues to be available well into December. So, as the body's natural defence mechanism, give your immune system a friendly boost with Kiwifruit!
A lusciously juicy secret
As most fruits contain little protein, nutrition scientists were surprised to find the building blocks of proteins (amino acids) in Kiwifruit, more specifically the amino acid, arginine, that acts as a vasodilator to help blood flow. Arginine has been used in the treatment of impotence, so you can certainly say that the Kiwifruit can zest things up in more ways than one!
Supply:
NZ Kiwifruit supply is available from mid May and is stored through until November in both conventional and controlled atmosphere conditions.
Our parent company JACE Group (visit www.jacegroup.co.nz) operate 2 leading production and post-harvest sites in Auckland and the Bay of Plenty, which combined process approximately 7 million trays of kiwifruit annually. Auckland Pack & Cool and Mount Pack & Cool combined represent around 12% of the total New Zealand crop.
The Class 2 grade of fruit that is generated from this throughput is marketed by Global Fresh primarily in Australia and the domestic market.
To fill the December to April supply window, Global Fresh has connections to source kiwifruit from premium suppliers in Italy, France and California.
