How to Freeze Kiwi

Peeling and Slicing Your Kiwi

Check your kiwis to make sure they are ripe. Kiwis can deteriorate during storage, so it’s important to preserve them in the best condition possible. Look for kiwis that are completely ripe, meaning they depress slightly when squeezed. If a kiwi is hard, give the fruit some time to ripen before freezing it. The size of a kiwi plays no role in how ripe it is. To ripen your kiwis faster, place them inside a paper bag.

Slice off each kiwi’s stem. A kiwi’s stem is located on the top of the fruit and typically looks like a small wooden patch. With a paring knife, cut off the stem and the immediate skin surrounding it, revealing the fruit inside. To preserve as much of the kiwifruit as possible, try to make your cut less than .25 in (0.64 cm) thick.

Place a spoon underneath each kiwi’s skin. With the stem removed, look for the seam where the kiwifruit meets its skin. Take a spoon and push it into this seam with the curved side facing out. The goal is to push the skin up, not take chunks out of the kiwi itself, so do your best to avoid carving the fruit.

Turn the spoon to peel off the skin. When the head of the spoon is completely inside the kiwi, slowly turn the utensil around the entire fruit. This will cause the skin to pop up, creating a gap between it and the kiwi. When you’re finished, the kiwi should slide out of the skin with little effort.

Cut your peeled kiwis into multiple slices. For the best possible freezing results, make your kiwi slices as thin or thick as you would if you were using or eating them today. If there’s any skin still left on your kiwi, peel it off now. Whole kiwis often swell and tear apart during the freezing process, a problem kiwi slices don’t have.

Preparing the Freezer Tray

Cover a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Pull out a flat tray or baking sheet that’s small enough to fit inside your freezer. Clean off the tray if necessary, then line it with a piece of parchment paper or non-stick plastic wrap. Look for parchment paper at discount and grocery stores.

Place your kiwi slices on the sheet. The individual slices should not touch each other, but you can set them incredibly close to preserve space. If necessary, pull out additional baking sheets to store all your fruit slices.

Coat the kiwis with white sugar (optional). To better preserve the color and flavor of your kiwi slices, you can coat them with a thin layer of standard, granulated white sugar. To do so, grab the sugar with your fingers and sprinkle it over the fruit, letting it spread out evenly. For every 1 imp qt (1,100 mL) of kiwi slices you have, plan to use about 8 oz (230 g) of sugar. In place of sugar, you can use a store-bought fruit preservative powder.

Cover the kiwi slices with parchment paper. To help pack in moisture, lay a sheet of parchment paper or non-stick plastic on top of your kiwi slices. Press down on the paper to make sure there is no space between it and the fruit. If you’d like, wrap the entire sheet in protective paper to cover up any additional air holes.

Storing Your Kiwi

Clear out a spot in your freezer that is large enough to fit your baking tray. Try to make this spot as flat as possible to keep your kiwi slices from losing juice or sliding into each other.

Place your kiwis in the freezer until they are completely frozen. For small kiwi slices, expect the freezing process to take between 4 and 6 hours. For larger slices, it may take up to a day or, in some cases, even longer. Remove the tray when the kiwis are firm and no longer depress when squeezed. To speed up the freezing process, remove as many items from your freezer as possible.

Transfer the kiwis to a freezer-safe bag. For long-term storage, kiwis need to stay in a container with as little air exposure as possible. The cheapest solution is to place the slices inside a freezer-safe bag, press out excess air with your hands, and seal the bag shut. For a better but more expensive solution, try running your slices through a vacuum sealing device. Since they are now firm, you no longer need to keep your kiwis from touching.

Store your kiwi slices in the freezer for up to 12 months. Place a label on your kiwi container listing the fruit’s initial freeze date, then place it anywhere inside your freezer. Good kiwi slices should last for up to 1 year, but examine the fruit every month to check for mold and rot.

Do not thaw your kiwi slices before use. When defrosted, frozen kiwi slices often become mushy and undesirable. To avoid this, use your kiwi slices as smoothie ingredients, meat tenderizers, garnishes, and other cooking elements that work well when frozen. For dishes where melted kiwi is necessary, like gelatin, boil the fruit before use to keep its enzymes from changing.