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 serve a multi-purpose use. They're best eaten raw or sliced and added to salads, cereal, smoothies, but they are also suitable for baking and roasting. Hachiya persimmons, on the other hand, boast a creamy, jelly-like consistency best for baked goods such as muffins, cookies, bread, and puddings.
What is the difference between fuyu and hachiya persimmons? ›
Hachiya persimmons tend to be a little larger than Fuyu and are more acorn shaped. The main difference between Hachiya persimmons and Fuyus is that Hachiyas are extremely astringent until they are completely soft and ripe. If you bite into a hard, unripe Hachiya, you'll never forget it! Talk about mouth puckering.
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.
Can you freeze persimmon pulp? ›
And if you do not mind the natural texture of ripe astringent persimmons, you can simply freeze the ripe pulp as is to consume later as a frozen treat.
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 do I feel weird after eating persimmons? ›
When you consume a persimmon, the tannins interact with the proteins in your saliva, causing them to coagulate. This coagulation can create a dry, sticky feeling in your mouth, similar to the sensation you may experience when consuming an unripe banana or an overly ripe banana.
Why do persimmons give you cottonmouth? ›
In your mouth, the tannins from a not-ready-for-prime-time persimmon bind with the proteins in your saliva to create that unpleasant and lingering sensation of having just taken a big swig of shredded cotton balls. Tannins, which also give strong tea and wine their particular mouth feel, are complex substances.
Which persimmons taste best? ›
Persimmons have a mild, delicately sweet flavor. Fuyu persimmons are sweet unripened but grow even more richly sweet as they ripen, with slight cinnamon undertones. While horribly astringent when unripe, ripened Hachiya persimmons are intensely sweet with almost a honey-like flavor.
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.
They are also a good source of fiber and manganese. If the taste wasn't enough, people should steer clear of unripe persimmons because the tannins, stomach acid and indigestible plant material can form a bezoar: a hard mass that can lead to gastric obstruction and surgery.
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.
How to puree persimmons for baking? ›
A food mill will make faster work of this if you have a large persimmon harvest. Or you can put the fruit with the peel in a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Including the peel adds fiber. Most recipes call for one or two cups of persimmon puree, so I freeze the pulp in one or two cup containers.
What is the best way to preserve persimmons? ›
This can be done in a variety of ways, but the easiest way is to freeze them. 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.
How to get the seeds out of persimmons? ›
You will want to wash them gently (use a colander) and trim off the stems. And now comes the tedious task! With a knife and a spoon, start cutting away the seeds from the flesh. Once you do this for a while, you'll find yourself just using your fingers and the knife.
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.
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 best persimmon variety for Texas? ›
Eureka has proven to be the best commercial variety in Texas. Hachiya is a productive, large, cone-shaped, seedless persimmon with bright orange skin. The tree is vigorous and upright. Hachiya has been an outstanding Texas variety since as early as 1984.
What are Fuyu persimmons used for? ›
Furthermore, Fuyu persimmons can be tossed into salads, fruit salads, cheese plates, a great topping for yogurt, oatmeal (or morning quinoa), dry them, bake with them, or just eat as-is.
