|
| Hello My girlfriend and I just moved into a new house in southeast Vancouver BC where a Portugese woman has left a beautiful garden with well established kiwi plants. We've been picking the fruit for the last day or two but fear that they have been damaged by frost. Can the fruit still be used for freezing, juicing and making smoothies and preserves if they have suffered through a week of frost that we have just gone through here in the lower mainland? (lows of -1 to 3ish for the past week) Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by larry_gene USDA8b-OregonPDX (My Page) on Sat, Nov 15, 14 at 23:07
| If your lowest temperature was -3C (27F) for multiple hours, that could damage a kiwi, cut one or two open to see. |
|
| Thanks for the quick reply Larry. We did cut one open, tasted a bit sour and the texture seemed a bit off. I guess my main question is: Will they store well if they've been damaged? We're hoping to store boxes of them and use as the weeks/months go on but we're worried they will not store well and go bad if they've had a week of frost prior to storing.
|
|
- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Sun, Nov 16, 14 at 22:11
| Joshua, if the fruit has enough sugar it should take down to about 25F with no problem. If they are not ripe put them in a bag in the fridge. When they start to soften they are getting ripe. Scott |
|
- Posted by Fascist_Nation USDA 9b, Sunset 13, (My Page) on Mon, Nov 17, 14 at 17:16
| Kiwis will respond to ethylene oxide so tossing a couple of apples into a paper sack will help them ripen. My experience is 2-4 days. After 4 days, it they aren't ripe they won't ever be. If they are actually damaged plant enzymes will be released from broken cells and will decompose the fruit. [kiwi wine] Smoothees don't care what the consistency of the fruit is neither does any other puree that can be used for leather, jams or flavoring. Puree can be frozen until needed or add enough sugar to stabilize it. |
This post was edited by Fascist_Nation on Mon, Nov 17, 14 at 17:19
|
- Posted by scottfsmith 6B-7A-MD (My Page) on Mon, Nov 17, 14 at 20:11
| FN, I don't fully have the season to ripen my fuzzy kiwis and I tried many ripening techniques. The only way that worked reliably for fruit that didn't have enough time on the vine was to leave them in the fridge for several months. They always turned soft and edible; some years they were very sweet and other years less so, but always edible. When I did counter ripening for these under-ripe fruits they would go from hard to rotten with no stop in between. You may never have had to pick your fruits so early since you have a longer season. Scott |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Fruit & Orchards Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
