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I've been buying ripe sungold kiwis (from New Zealand) and green kiwis (from Italy) for at least 5 years, and have noticed that sungolds never sting, while the green ones sometimes do.

Why? Are they different cultivars or varieties? Which is the correct term, BTW?

Cascabel
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  • Why does your title assume that the country matters rather than the type of kiwi? – Cascabel Dec 15 '18 at 20:08
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    What do you mean by "sting"? – FuzzyChef Dec 16 '18 at 00:31
  • @Cascabel I don't know enough about the cultivars to identify by cultivar. –  Dec 16 '18 at 00:59
  • Greek: your edit didn't take somehow. – FuzzyChef Dec 16 '18 at 01:47
  • You don't need a scientific name or anything. "yellow" and "green" kiwis would take a far clearer title than countries. The two have different color, different skin texture, different flavor... it's a pretty meaningful difference. (I also don't know for sure what you mean by "sting.") – Cascabel Dec 16 '18 at 02:19
  • @FuzzyChef I edited the title. For details: https://www.quora.com/Why-does-my-tongue-feel-weird-after-eating-kiwi. I'll update this later. –  Dec 16 '18 at 02:45

2 Answers2

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The "sungold" kiwifruits are certainly a specific cultivar of kiwi. I don't know enough to tell you if all the green kiwis you are buying are from the same cultivar or not.

Also, notice that cultivars of the same plant are rarely "pure" enough to always have the exact same chemical characteristics, and sometimes even a pure cultivar will express different levels of a given chemical in different growing conditions. For an example of the first, I have observed peppers from the same seed stock, sown in the same bed, to have different heat, sometimes it can even happen that two different fruits of the same plant have different heat. For the second, a watermelon's sugar content will be very dependent on the amount of sun received during growth.

Kiwifruit contains an enzyme which attacks protein, and that's what produces the stinging - your mouth's proteins are being injured. The levels in kiwi are much lower than in fruits like pineapple though, so frequently the effect is not present at noticeable levels. I don't know of a very special reason why they are never noticeable in the sungold variety, it's possible that it was bred for this purpose (along with the higher sugar content) or just that it is an evolutionary spandrel.

Erica
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rumtscho
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Actinidain is responsible of that itch you mention. Actinidain is an enzyme present in kiwi fruits. The levels varies on cultivars.

Actinidia deliciosa (the most common cultivar of green kiwi fruit) has higher levels of actinidain than Actinidia chinensis (golden kiwi fruit).

roetnig
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