What is the difference between kiwi fruit and mihoutao (kiwifruit)?

If we are to explain this, we cannot be too theoretical. I want to approach it from a practical angle and talk to fellow gardeners, because they share too many similarities, and their differences are not easy to put into words. The editor can only try their best to make it clear to fellow gardeners.

The three pictures below are photos of kiwi fruit

From a botanical perspective, kiwi fruit and mihoutao are the same fruit, just like Red Fuji apples and other varieties of apples are all apples, but because the varieties differ, their appearance, taste, price and so on will all differ.

From the perspective of how everyone currently buys fruit in China, kiwi fruit generally refers to imported kiwifruit; they do not call it mihoutao, they call it kiwi fruit (such as New Zealand kiwi fruit), while our domestically grown kiwifruit is called mihoutao, and the price is much lower.

The difference between kiwi fruit and mihoutao mainly has to be figured out from appearance and taste. Mihoutao is a bit sour and astringent, while kiwi fruit is sweeter than mihoutao, especially the newly released yellow-fleshed kiwi fruit, which is even sweeter. Also, kiwi fruit feels a bit firmer when eaten, while mihoutao feels a bit softer when eaten. Mihoutao

must be fully ripe to taste good, sweet and sour and very tasty; kiwi fruit, however, should be eaten while still firm, fragrant and sweet.

In terms of appearance, kiwi fruit is very round and smooth, and looks very nice and refined, but the mihoutao we usually buy looks rough in appearance, which is like the difference between a goddess and a tomboy. Also, when we get mihoutao, we all know that the skin of mihoutao has a lot of fuzz, relatively hard and coarse fuzz, but kiwi fruit is different: the fuzz on kiwi fruit is very fine and soft, and the surface is also very smooth.

The three pictures below are photos of mihoutao

There is also the size. Kiwi fruit is very uniform in size, perhaps because of export requirements, carefully selected to be the same size. But mihoutao is rather rough in size, with big ones very big and small ones very small.

Another thing is to look at the price. In most cases, one kiwi fruit costs as much as one jin of mihoutao, which shows how big the price gap is.

So to distinguish kiwi fruit from mihoutao, we need to judge comprehensively from appearance, taste and so on. After all, sometimes foreign varieties can also be introduced and grown domestically, but due to regional climate issues, there will still be some differences in taste.