Persimmons
When I saw these little guys in the market, I thought, they probably have a tomato like taste. Nope! These things are sweet sweet sweet! Delicious on its own. These are a variety of persimmon known as Hachiya, which is a Japanese cultivar containing a high tannin content before it has ripened. Lucky for me, the persimmon I bought were totally ripe and delicious when I bought them. I could tell when I picked them up as they felt sorta squishy inside. Had I gotten unripened ones, they would have had a super bitter taste due to the high tannin content which reduces as the fruit ripens. The taste when ripe is very sweet, somewhere in the taste spectrum of plum or pumpkin or dates. It really is quite a treat.
I could enjoy these as is for a treat without ever needing to find a more creative use for them. They are THAT good. But, in the interest of the blog, I decided to look up the culinary and medicinal uses of the persimmon. Here’s what good ole Wikipedia has to say:
Culinary uses
Persimmons are eaten fresh or dried, raw or cooked. When eaten fresh the peel is usually cut/peeled off and the fruit is often cut into quarters or eaten whole like an apple. The flesh ranges from firm to mushy and the texture is unique. The flesh is very sweet and when firm possesses an apple-like crunch. In China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam after harvesting, ‘Hachiya’ persimmons are prepared using traditional hand-drying techniques, outdoors for two to three weeks. The fruit is then further dried by exposure to heat over several days before being shipped to market. In Japan the dried fruit is called hoshigaki (???), and in Korea it is called gotgam (hangul: ??). In both places it is eaten as a snack or dessert and used for other culinary purposes. In Korea, dried persimmon fruits are used to make the traditional Korean spicy punch, sujeonggwa, while the matured, fermented fruit is used to make a persimmon vinegar (???) that is believed to have a wide variety of holistic properties. The hoshigaki tradition traveled to California with Japanese American immigrants. A few farms still practice the art, which is being revived in part through the efforts of Slow Food USA, which describes the technique on its site and provides links to producers. [5] [6] In some areas of Manchuria and Korea, the dried leaves of the fruit are used for making tea. The Korean name for this tea is ghamnip cha (???).
The persimmon also figures prominently in American culinary tradition. It can be used in cookies, cakes, puddings, salads and as a topping for breakfast cereal. Persimmon pudding is a dessert using fresh persimmons. An annual persimmon festival, featuring a persimmon pudding contest, is held every September in Mitchell, Indiana. Persimmon pudding is a baked pudding that has the consistency of pumpkin pie but resembles a brownie and is almost always topped with whipped cream. Persimmons may be stored at room temperature (20°C) where they will continue to ripen. It is also a native plant in Brazil, South America, where it is referred to as the Caqui.Ethnomedical Uses
* In traditional Chinese medicine the fruit regulates ch’i
* The raw fruit is used to treat constipation and hemorrhoids, and to stop bleeding. As such, it is not a good idea to consume too many persimmons at once- they can induce diarrhea.
* The cooked fruit is used to treat diarrhea and dysentery
So, after reading this, I decided I would just try to introduce the persimmon into the cabbage leaf wraps I have been eating lately. So, I cut up some red onions, tomato, jalapeno pepper, and garlic, added a spoon full of hummus, a sprinkle of sun flower seeds (or as I like to call them FUN FLOWERS…actually that is a lie, I never say that), a tiny splash of balsamic vinegar all wrapped up in a cabbage leaf. Here’s a picture of the finished product:
The persimmon blended so well with the jalapeno and hummus flavors. Something about the opposition of flavors made them work very well together, similar to how hot chocolate + cayenne pepper is surprisingly yummy). The tomato flavor was somewhat overshadowed in the mix and the red onions worked, but I am guessing something like ginger might be a better fit. The sprouts worked pretty well but something about the texture was a bit off. I’d like to experiment with other sprouts that better compliment the almost jelly like texture of the super ripe persimmon. The tatse of the garlic worked well with the hummus, jalapeno and persimmon as well, but I could take it or leave it depending on what else was in the wrap. I will definitely experiment using my remaining 2 persimmon is similar fashion. I was going to juice them, but I almost feel that would be a waste because the texture goes together so well with the sweet taste. All in all, this is a new favorite for me. I will definitely be including persimmon in my future shopping trips.
Christy Kuratomi
Hello,
I enjoyed reading about what you did with the persimmons you bought, but I have to tell you that the type in the top photo, and the type that it seems like you have in the salad is called fuyu, not hachiya. Fuyu can be eaten when they are hard or soft, but hachiya have to be feel like a water balloon to the touch to be ripe enough to eat.
I wanted to let you know what type you got, in case you want to find them again sometime. I work at my husband’s family’s orchard in Granite Bay, CA, where we have many types of persimmons. We also make hoshigaki from peeled hachiya persimmons.
Take care,
Christy
Anonymous
Hey thanks Christy, this is all new territory to me. If it is a fuya persimmon and not a hachiya, then I’d better let ShopRite know they are labeling their produce incorrectly! LOL! I am not sure, they was super duper ripe by the time I bought them, overflowing with gushy goodness when I cut them open, so it is hard to tell if it was bitter when it was less ripe. I will have to search for them in another market and see what I find. Thanks for the comment!