The Kiwi is Not Just a Fruit!
Facts and funnies about the bird and the people of New Zealand
If you haven’t tasted these potassium-rich, fiber-filled fruit you are missing out on a treat! (The skin can be eaten too although it is not as palatable.) Their name ‘Kiwi’ is synonymous with that enviable Covid-free country deep in the south pacific where I was lucky to have been born.
Now ensconced in Canada, I have discovered, over time, that many of you haven’t the foggiest idea that a kiwi is actually a beautiful bird unique to New Zealand. Or that we are nicknamed kiwis’ not because we are fuzzy and green, but because of our spirit and grounded attributes, similar to the bird.
For the record, the kiwi(fruit) is not actually native to New Zealand despite having a name that insinuates it is. The association with the country was promoted after seeds were imported from China in the early 1900s and New Zealand became one of the major worldwide exporters of it, fifty years later.
These days, if you want to purchase an authentic New Zealand-grown kiwi, they are branded as ‘Zespri’ to distinguish them from other cultivators.
The kiwi bird, however, is distinctly down-under home-grown. They are part of the ratite family because of their inability to fly. The bird is quite remarkable in how…
