Cocktails with Fresh kiwi fruit
Kiwi is a small, brown-skinned fruit with bright green, black-seeded flesh.
How it's used
Peel it with the edge of a spoon and press gently: the flesh gives up its juice at once. Hard muddling grinds the black seeds through the drink. It brings a green, tropical tartness. In a sour, keep the lime: kiwi has tartness but not enough to hold the drink alone. Green kiwi contains actinidin, a protein-digesting enzyme. It clots dairy and will stop gelatin from setting, so keep fresh green kiwi away from cream and gelatin.
Substitutes for Fresh kiwi fruit
Golden kiwi
Replaces a green one fruit for fruit. It is sweeter, so add a squeeze of lime if needed.
Kiwi purée
Use 40–50 g for half a fruit, 70–110 g for a whole one.
Kiwi berry
Don't use it in a cocktail with cream: its enzyme breaks down proteins. For flavor alone, it works.
Storage
Firm fruit ripens at room temperature and ripens faster next to a banana or an apple. Ripe kiwi keeps a few days refrigerated. It is ready when the fruit yields to a thumb the way a ripe peach does.
