Saturday, June 27, 2009

Kiwi Fruit

Turns out they're from China, where they're called "sun peaches," but were taken to New Zealand, where they caught on. The first imports of the fruit to the U.S. were from New Zealand. At first, they were called "melonettes" but marketers wanted to give it a name that immediately conjured up New Zealand, so they borrowed the Mauri word kiwi, which, of course, is their word for the chicken-sized bird native to New Zealand.

Oh, and they grow on a vine that looks a lot like grapevines.

So there you have it. I guess we are going to move to New Zealand and tend a kiwi vineyard when Jared is nine!

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