Duck, duck, goose

The Chinese gooseberry, commonly known as the kiwifruit, is a bit of an odd duck. It looks hairy and dull on the outside, but the soft flesh within is bright green or yellow.

The California kiwifruit season runs from October to May, although it’s primarily a fall and winter fruit. I got some in my CSA box recently and had an ’80s flashback to eating raspberry-glazed chicken with kiwi. Fortunately, it faded and I found more 21st-century uses.

Both Ettore’s European Bakery & Restaurant and Freeport Bakery slice kiwis onto fruit tarts, where they contrast colorfully with berries. Magpie Caterers Market and Cafe uses them in fruit salad, but leaves the skin on.

Chef Ed Roehr says, “It’s like eating the skin on an Anjou pear.” Local blogger Catherine Enfield (www.munchiemusings.net) puts kiwifruit—skin and all—into smoothies for extra fiber. Keep an eye out at the farmers markets for kiwi vines, too. They’re beautifully loopy when dried.