10 Types of Kiwi Fruit (With Pictures)

Kiwi fruit is a unique-looking fruit that many people adore for its intense flavor and scent. While the kiwi fruit is entirely specific on its own, there are vast differences in the taste between the kiwi varieties. Some kiwi types are much harder to acquire since they don’t bear fruit all year round, although if you come across a specific rare kiwi variety, you will want to know which one it is.

In the article below, you can read all about the most popular kiwi varieties, those that are commonly found in stores and those a bit rarer. Each type is unique and carries a remarkable flavor that most people will love.

The 10 Types of Kiwi Fruit

1. Green Kiwi

Green kiwi is the most widespread type of kiwi fruit. This type of kiwi is the most common because the plant produces fruits throughout the year, making this fruit available at all times. It has a strong sour taste, although the sweetness prevails. It has excellent benefits for health, especially the digestive system since it is thought to have high fiber content. It is oval in shape and has a fuzzy brown surface. The inside of the green kiwi is green, as the name suggests, and is filled with black edible seeds.

2. Golden Kiwi

The golden kiwi is a bit rarer than the green variety, although these two types are closely related. The most significant difference between them is the color of the flesh—the flesh of the golden kiwi is bright yellow with a few black seeds. The outside surface is golden brown, much smoother, with only a few hairs. This type of kiwi fruit tastes tropical and is only produced from May to January, unlike the green kiwi, which bears fruit throughout the year.

3. Saanichton Fuzzy Kiwi

You will most commonly find fuzzy kiwis in the store year-round. There are many representatives of the species, such as Hayward kiwi or Meander, although the Saanichton is the most common. The center of this fruit is much hardier than that of Hayward, while Hayward is only hardy in places with mild winters. These kiwis require a male for pollination.

4. Dumbarton Oaks Kiwi

Dumbarton oaks kiwi looks like a miniature pumpkin because of its unique shape. It has a light green color and a ribbed texture. The skin is smooth, and since these types of kiwis are medium-sized, they can be eaten whole. Dumbarton oaks kiwis are very sweet and delicious. These kiwis can be extremely easy to harvest, especially when the smooth vines are grown along a railing or a fence.

5. Jenny Kiwi

The jenny kiwi is a hybrid of the kiwi plant that is self-pollinating. The vines of the jenny kiwi bloom in spring in yellow flowers with a pleasant fragrance. At the end of summer, this kiwi fruit variation will begin to bear juicy fruit. The jenny kiwi has sweet-tasting fruit with a fuzzy green surface and a green flesh with edible black seeds.

6. Arctic Beauty Kiwi

The artic beauty kiwi is a variant that is extremely hardy and can handle the coldest temperatures. Even though this plant is very tolerant of the cold, it needs a lot of sun exposure and regular watering to thrive. It has no specific requirement of the soil type, although it requires a male plant for pollination and bearing fruit. The arctic beauty kiwi has regular green leaves, which become white and pink at the beginning of spring. It is much smaller than other kiwi plants, although equally delicious and attractive.

7. Purple Kiwi

The purple kiwi has a truly unique and eccentric look, with a purple hairy surface and reddish flesh. The plant’s stems are hairless, growing green leaves with blue undersides. To produce the fruit, the male and the female vines are needed, and to determine which plant you have, it is best to wait until the spring when the plant flowers. This plant is native to China, specifically to only three provinces of China. If you decide to grow purple kiwi plants, you should know these fruits are edible, although they have a short life; therefore, they are not suitable for commercial production.

8. Bruno Kiwi

The Bruno kiwi is another variety of fuzzy kiwi fruit that is dark, elongated with a brown surface and green flesh. This kiwi variety produces large crops and grows to be very vigorous. The Bruno kiwi is ideal for growing in areas where the frost comes late because this plant blooms much later than other varieties. This plant requires full sun exposure, along with well-drained but moist soil.

9. Blake Kiwi

Blake kiwi is similar to all other kiwi varieties, although it starts to bear fruit one year before all other types of kiwi plants. The vines that bear fruit grow vigorously, similar to the bruno kiwi. The blake kiwi bears sweet and delicious fruits, much smaller than other kiwi fruits. Since this plant ripens a month before other plants, it is ideal for cooler summer regions.

10. Hardy Kiwi

The hardy kiwi is the closest relative to the kiwi fruits you can find in your local stores. The hardy kiwi’s vines grow fast, spread over trees and shrubs, and can handle colder climates. These kiwis enjoy full sun exposure throughout the day and well-draining soil. The fruits are small and edible; you could eat them whole, like a grape, without even peeling them off.

Conclusion

Each kiwi type offers a specific taste that is different from all others. Still, they have similarities in appearance, and they all carry that sweetness and sourness they are adored for. After learning about the different kiwi varieties, you can look for one of them in your area to experience the drastic flavor differences yourself.

Featured Image Credit: idaun, Pixabay