I try hard to eat healthily, and take a couple of pieces of fruit to work every day. However, I do tend to get stuck in a bit of a rut in terms of fruit diversity because not all fruit is easy to deal with at my desk. For example, I love kiwi fruit, but eating them seems to require numerous tools and — as a result — a lot of washing up. Frankly, any fruit requiring utensils is in grave danger of being replaced by a much less healthy — but trivially easy to eat — chocolate bar.

This reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend at work in the summer. He had been bulk-buying kiwis from the market, and asked me what technique I use for eating them. When I told him that I cut then in half longitudinally and scoop out the flesh with a spoon, he told me that I was subjecting myself a lot of unnecessary work. An Indian friend of his had seen him laboriously peeling a kiwi and raised an eyebrow, dryly asking "Do you peel grapes, too?". She said that everyone she knows washes the fruit well, and then eats it — skin and all. I made a bit of a face at this point and asked him whether is wasn't a bit, well — unpleasantly furry? He reassured me that it wasn't, but I wasn't entirely convinced.

In a spirit of scientific inquiry, I did try the 'whole fruit' method once or twice, but didn't really take to it. So now I'm back to the knife, spoon and napkins technique, and longing for chocolate.