Like most Americans, even French people aren’t so familiar with persimmons. They may see them at the market, look at their curiously, but don’t stop to buy any. Or if they do, they take them home, bite into an unripe one, make a face, and toss them out.
One of my friends living north of San Francisco in Sonoma County had an enormous persimmon tree. Each fall, the leaves would drift off the tree, leaving bright orange globes of fruit dangling off the sparse branches. The beautiful, gnarled wood was quite a contrast to the smooth, brilliantly-colored orbs of fruit. (The wood of the persimmon tree is not just beautiful but it’s prized by makers of many of the finest golf clubs in the world and is considered superior to most others woods or man-made materials.)
The most common persimmon you’re likely to find is the Hachiya, a slightly elongated fruit that tapers to a point. They’re incredibly tannic and astringent when not ripe and need to be squishy-soft and feel like a full water-balloon before using. Once ripe, the sweet jelly-like pulp can be spooned out and pureed through a blender, food processor, or food mill, although some folks like to eat it as is or frozen. The pulp freezes beautifully, and in fact, I’ll often freeze some for late-winter use. To ripen Hachiya persimmons, simply let them sit on your countertop until very soft. If they don’t riped at the same time, you can store the puree in the refrigerator until the others have ripened. You can hasten the process by putting persimmons in a well-sealed container; adding an apple, which gives off a lot of ethylene gas, which will speed things up.
The other common persimmon is the Fuyu, which is squatter than the Hachiya and matte-orange. Unlike the Hachiya, the Fuyu is meant to be eaten hard and is delightfully crunchy. I peel them, then mix pieces into an autumnal fruit salad along with dates, slices of Comice pears, pomegranate seeds and yes…even some bits of prunes. Finding recipes for using persimmons can be difficult. I invented a recipe for a quick Persimmon Cake for my book Room For Dessert, which I make often for Thanksgiving. And I also like James Beard’s Persimmon Bread, a nifty recipe from his classic book on breadmaking, Beard on Bread, published over 30 years ago.
I was fortunate to meet James Beard several times when he came to dinner at Chez Panisse. In the years after he passed away, we’d get all sorts of luminaries coming through our kitchen, people like James Beard, Jane Grigson, and Richard Olney, who were really wonderful cooks and writers.
The most charming thing about this simple Persimmon Bread recipe is that Beard gives bakers an inexact amount of an ingredient: sugar. So go ahead just this one time to improvise a little. Although I recommend using the higher amount of sugar, feel free to use whichever quantity you’d like…after all, you have permission from the granddaddy of all cooks, James Beard himself.
Persimmon Bread
Adapted fromBeard on Breadby James Beard
Using the higher amount of sugar will produce a moister and, of course, sweeter bread. I often use bourbon, as I like the flavor, but cognac and brandy work well, instead. I'm often asked about making this cake without the liquor and haven't tried it, as the liquor is an integral flavor in the cake. If you want to try it with something else, perhaps black tea or root beer could take its place. But I haven't tried either.
- 3 1/2 cups sifted flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups (400-500g) sugar
- 1 cup (8oz, 225g) melted unsalted butter and cooled to room temperature
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
- 2/3 cup (160ml) Cognac or bourbon whiskey (see headnote)
- 2 cups (500ml) persimmon puree, (from about 4 squishy-soft Hachiya persimmons)
- 2 cups (200g) walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
- 2 cups (270g) raisins, or diced dried fruits (such as apricots, cranberries, or dates)
Butter 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) degrees.
Sift the first 5 dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the center then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree then the nuts and raisins.
Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes
Storage: Will keep for about a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. The Persimmon Breads take well to being frozen, too.
FAQs
Fuyu persimmons (left) are good for eating raw, while hachiyas (right) are best for baking. As I mentioned earlier, I tasted fuyu persimmons for the very first time this year, and although it was good and sweet, I didn't feel like it had a very distinctive flavor on it's own.
How do you soften persimmons for baking? ›
Just like any dried fruit, you soak them. It doesn't take long (about an hour) and you can soak them in water, in fruit juice, or in a liquor/liqueur like rum, brandy, even something like limoncello, if you want some added zing in your cookies or cake.
Are persimmons good for you? ›
Persimmons are low in calories and high in fiber – a combination that makes them a good choice for weight control. Their mix of antioxidants and nutrients – including vitamins A and C – makes them ideal for a healthy diet.
Can you freeze fresh persimmons? ›
Persimmons freeze very well, so I tend to pick as much fruit as possible to store away for the year. To prepare your fruit for the freezer, rinse off the skin of the fruit and lightly pat dry. This is a delicate process as the fruit can be very soft.
What does baking soda do to persimmons? ›
When persimmons are beaten to a pulp, tannins form complexes with carbohydrates, causing the pulp to stiffen to a gel-like consistency. When baking soda is added, a reaction with the moist and slightly acidic persimmon creates carbon dioxide (CO2), which also plays a role in encouraging the pulp to thicken.
What not to mix with persimmon? ›
Potato and persimmon: if you eat them together very often they can form kidney stones.
Why is my dried persimmon turning white? ›
The fruit slowly dries and the sugar in the fruit comes to the surface, and the fruit flavor concentrates. The outside of the fruit turns white from its own sugar looking a bit like white mold. It's not moldy; it is purely the sugar from the fruit itself rising to its surface.
How do you get the astringency taste out of persimmons? ›
Treatment with freezing temperatures is a potential method of removing astringency of persimmon, without deterioration in the fruit quality.
Does freezing persimmons remove astringency? ›
The process of tannin insolubilization was greatest for slowly frozen flesh. Such adhesion of soluble tannins to fragments of cell walls and plasma membranes may be a factor that reduce astringency in persimmon fruit frozen slowly during and after thawing.
Do persimmons spike blood sugar? ›
Foods rich in soluble fiber, like persimmons, slow carbohydrate digestion and sugar absorption. This helps prevent blood sugar spikes. A study from 2016 involving 117 people with diabetes showed that increased consumption of soluble dietary fiber led to significant improvements in blood sugar levels.
Ingesting massive amounts of persimmons can cause bezoars to form. A bezoar is a hard mass that can lead to gastric obstruction. A diospyrobezoar is a subtype of bezoar. Diospyrobezoar are specific to persimmons.
Are persimmons a laxative? ›
The fruit is easily chewable and has a delicious flavour, but it is not recommended for diabetics, obese and sufferers of gastroduodenal ulcer. Persimmons have a creamy and sweet pulp and have laxative, diuretic and hepatoprotective.
How many persimmons can I eat a day? ›
How many persimmons can you eat a day? A. It is better not to eat more than one persimmon or 100 g of fruit in a day. Excessive consumption of persimmons may lead to intestinal blockages, nausea, vomiting, or constipation.
Can dogs eat persimmons? ›
Persimmons are safe for your dog to eat and are full of vitamins C and A. However, the seeds and pit can cause intestinal blockage leading to various digestive problems. The seeds and pit aren't toxic, and they must be removed if you feed your dog a persimmon.
Will persimmons ripen if picked green? ›
The flesh will soften in time when the fruit is stored at room temperature. If persimmons are harvested before their size and color are fully developed, they will never fully ripen.
Which is better Fuyu or hachiya persimmons? ›
Fuyu and Hachiya: Knowing the Difference
Hachiya (left) and Fuyu (right) are both locally grown persimmons that have beautiful cinnamon notes, perfect for fall. However, the Hachiya's texture is best when extremely ripe, almost jelly-like in texture, while the Fuyu can be eaten while hard, like an apple.
What are baking persimmons called? ›
Because of a perfectly ripe hachiya persimmon's texture, they are good for in baked goods like muffins, cookies and breads. No matter which variety you try, persimmons are sure to provide a sweet and delicious treat this fall.
What is the difference between Fuyu and hachiya persimmons? ›
How to Tell Fuyus and Hachiyas Apart. The one you can eat like an apple—Fuyu—is short, squat, and firm. The persimmon you have to ripen until it is squishy, and then you eat or use the pulp—Hachiya—looks like a large orange acorn.
Which type of persimmon is better? ›
As they ripen, they become jelly-like, just like the Hachiya variety. Fuyu persimmons are the better choice for eating raw because they're much more pleasant to eat even when they're crunchy.
