kiwi berries

Pick Your Own Kiwi Berries in the Netherlands

Forget everything you thought you knew about kiwis. Kiwi berries are the adorable, fuzz-free, bite-sized cousins of the standard brown kiwi, and they’re growing on farms across the Netherlands. Imagine a grape-sized fruit with the sweet, tangy punch of a kiwi, but with a smooth, edible skin so you can pop them like candy. Yes, please.

The Picking Experience

On a sunny day between late August and October, gather your friends, family, or just your best basket and head to a “pluktuin” (pick-your-own farm). You’ll find vines heavy with these little green jewels. The trick? Look for berries that feel soft to gentle pressure and come off the stem easily. They should be a full green, sometimes with a faint reddish blush. Leave the hard ones on the vine; they aren’t ripe yet. Because they grow in clusters, picking is a social, snacking affair. You can’t help but eat a few as you go. Just watch out—the vines are vigorous, so be ready to duck under a few leaves. The best part? No peeling, no slicing, no hassle. Just twist or snap them gently from the stem (don’t pull, or you’ll damage the vine) and drop them into your basket, taking care not to squeeze them.

Back Home: What to Do With Your Bounty

You’ll likely come home with way more than you planned. Don’t panic. Kiwi berries are incredibly versatile. Store them unwashed in a perforated bag in the fridge, where they keep for five to seven days, and rinse them just before eating. Firm ones will ripen within a day or two at room temperature.

As a Snack: The obvious winner. Rinse a bowlful and watch them disappear. Kids love them because they’re like nature’s gummy bears.

In Salads: Toss a handful into a green salad with goat cheese, walnuts, and a light vinaigrette. They add a pop of freshness and a touch of sweetness.

On Breakfast Bowls: Scatter them over yogurt, oatmeal, or granola. They’re basically edible confetti.

Freeze Them: Pop them on a tray until frozen, then bag them up. You’ll have perfect smoothie-ready berries for months.

Two Cooking Recipes

1. Kiwi Berry and Lime “Chia” Jam (No Pectin Needed)

Ingredients: 2 cups kiwi berries (halved), 3 tbsp honey or agave, juice and zest of 1 lime, 2 tbsp chia seeds.
Method: In a saucepan, combine kiwi berries, honey, and lime juice/zest. Gently simmer for 5–7 minutes until the berries soften and release their juice. Mash lightly with a fork. Remove from heat, stir in chia seeds, and let cool. The chia seeds will thicken it into a bright, seedy jam. Perfect on toast, pancakes, or as a filling for pastries.

2. Kiwi Berry and Chili Glazed Chicken Thighs

Ingredients: 4 boneless chicken thighs, 1 cup kiwi berries (crushed), 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp honey, 1 tsp sriracha or red chili flakes, 1 clove garlic (minced).
Method: Mix crushed kiwi berries, soy sauce, honey, chili, and garlic in a bowl. Marinate chicken thighs for at least 30 minutes. Grill or pan-fry the chicken on medium-high heat until cooked through (about 6 minutes per side). While cooking, simmer the leftover marinade in a small saucepan until it thickens into a glaze. Brush over the chicken in the last minute of cooking. Serve with rice or a simple green salad. The sweet-tart kiwi cuts the heat beautifully.

De Jachthoeve

fruit, flowers, berries

gelderland

De Jachthoeve in Wekerom is a pick-your-own farm with a fruit orchard and flower field. From June to November, visitors can pick their own fruit, including strawberries, raspberries, red, white and green gooseberries, red, black and blue currants, kiwi berries, honeyberries, blackberries, tayberries, boysenberries and plums. The farm also grows flowers for picking until the first frost. You pick fruit directly from the plants and pay for what you take. The farm provides picking baskets, and scissors are available for cutting flowers. The fruit is also sold in the farm shop, along with homemade jams and dessert sauces made from the orchard’s produce. If you want a larger quantity, you can call ahead to arrange it.

Tres Jolie

berries, fruit, nuts

gelderland

Très Jolie in Achterveld is a pick-your-own fruit farm specialising in small berries and fruits. The farm grows blackcurrants, redcurrants, whitecurrants, gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, tayberries (a cross between blackberries and raspberries), Japanese wineberries, and jostaberries (a cross between blackcurrants and gooseberries). Later in the season, visitors can also pick apples, pears, quinces, and kiwi berries. The farm occasionally has hazelnuts, rosehips, elderberries, sloes, rowanberries, and plums. The picking season runs from late June to early October, with different fruits ripening at different times. Blackcurrants and gooseberries are usually ready first, followed by redcurrants, whitecurrants, and blueberries in July. Raspberries and blackberries ripen from mid-July, while tayberries and Japanese wineberries appear later in the summer. Apples and pears are typically ready from September, along with quinces and kiwi berries. The farm updates its website and social media with current availability.

V.O.F. Post

fruit, berries

flevoland

At Fruitpluktuin in Rutten, visitors pick their own fruit from rows of berries, bushes and trees across a 5,000-square-metre garden. The farm grows brambles (July to October), summer and autumn raspberries (June to October), redcurrants (June to July), kiwiberries (September to October), grapes (September to October), elderberries (September to November), several varieties of apples and pears (September to October), cherries (July to early August), plums (July to August), apricots (August to September), peaches and nectarines (August to September). Pumpkins, gourds and sunflowers are also available in season.

Fruittuin van West

fruit, berries, nuts

noord-holland

Fruittuin van West in Amsterdam is a pick-your-own farm where visitors can harvest over 30 varieties of fruit from June to mid-October. The orchard grows apples, pears, cherries, plums, berries (blackcurrants, redcurrants, whitecurrants, gooseberries, blueberries, jostaberries and kiwi berries), raspberries, blackberries, tayberries, loganberries, Japanese wineberries, grapes, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, almonds, walnuts, chestnuts, pecans and hazelnuts. Each variety ripens at different times, extending the season. The farm also cultivates mushrooms and witloof (Belgian endive) year-round in its underground growing space, though these are not available for picking.

Landwinkel Nieuw Slagmaat

fruit, vegetables, berries

utrecht

Landwinkel Nieuw Slagmaat in Bunnik is a mixed farm where you can pick your own fruit, berries and pumpkins. The main crops are apples, pears, plums, cherries, kiwiberries and pumpkins. The farm also grows kiwis, though these are not available for picking. Picking is organised on set days, usually Fridays and Saturdays, with some events on Sundays. In June and July you can pick cherries; in July and August plums and summer apples; in September apples, pears, kiwiberries and pumpkins; and in October pumpkins. Exact dates depend on the weather and are announced on the farm’s website and in its newsletter. During the apple-picking weekends in September, the farm opens on Sundays as well.

Plukbos Paardenspeelwei

fruit, vegetables, berries, nuts

gelderland

Plukbos Paardenspeelwei in Velp is a small public picking garden where children and adults can gather fruit, nuts and berries directly from the plants. The garden was created in 2021 on a corner of the Paardenspeelwei, a nature playground opened in 2012 for local families. The garden grows over 40 edible species, including strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries, apples, pears, plums, hazelnuts, walnuts and quinces. There are also less common fruits such as pawpaws, persimmons (kaki), honeyberries and jostaberries. The plants are arranged in a way that encourages biodiversity and improves the soil, with nitrogen-fixing shrubs like the autumn olive (olijfwilg) mixed in.