Preserving Kiwi’s

Let’s preserve kiwi! 

Tip: not a fan of kiwi skin because of the fuzz? You can use a sharp knife or a wet towel to scrape it off before use!

Dehydrating:

For slices: cut into relatively thick slices (about 1/4 inch thick)  and arrange on a dehydrator tray. Dehydrate at 135° for 8-10 hours or until they are no longer soft when you press them between your fingers.

For Fruit Leather: Purée kiwi with or without added herbs. Strain about 1/3 of the liquid out and pour onto lined dehydrator sheets. Smooth into a square and dehydrate at 135° until pliable but no longer sticky to the touch.

For the skins: dehydrate until skins snap.

- For an oven: use lined baking sheets and set to your lowest possible temperature. Your baking time will vary greatly based on temperature and thickness, but flipping often and opening the oven to release steam will help speed up the process.

Freezing: I only froze kiwi juice, but you can freeze the purée as well! Because of the high natural sugar content these ice cubes will be sticky even when completely frozen.

Kiwi-Basil Jam with Lemon (for waterbath canning)

3 Pounds Kiwi, Skins Removed

3 Cups Sugar*

1 Lemon, Zested and Skin Removed

1 Large Sprig Basil (6-8 Leaves)

* If you’re not canning, feel free to reduce sugar content to your liking!

Add kiwi, lemon, zest, and sugar into a sauce pan and bring to a simmer for 5-10 minutes or until kiwi and lemon start to fall apart. You can leave this as chunky or smooth as you like. (For a uniform texture you can blend it!)

Add in basil and continue to simmer until jam is to your thickness preference. I went for about 20 extra minutes. You can test thickness by taking a spoonful and popping it into the freezer for five minutes!

Remove from heat, transfer to jars, and enjoy! If you’re water bath canning, process for ten minutes.