Wondering around supermarkets in Italy, France, The Netherlands and Switzerland last month and this I found sometime light orange and sometimes dark, almost red orange fruit which I’d seen before, but never tried.
What fruit was this? Should I know more? Obviously they were popular as they seemed to be everywhere. And indeed, investigation revealed that sales have risen steeply. Persimmons contain twice as much fibre as apples. Main producers are China, Korea and Japan. The fruit has a sort of mixed pear, date and brown sugar taste.
The first thing to know about persimmons (scientific name, diospyros) is that there are two main types, astringent and non-astringent.
The astringent types:
The most common astringent type is the Hachiya (acorn-shaped) but there are many others. These are disgusting unless completely ripe and the sweet jelly-soft flesh is almost bursting through the thinning skin. However, they are worth the wait which can be expedited by leaving in sunlight and leaving them in a fruit bowl with other fruit such as apples, pears, and bananas, or wrapping with the other fruit in a paper bag. Why? The other fruit all give off ethylene, a gas which breaks down the cellular walls of the fruit. Once ripe they can be kept in the fridge.
The non-astringent types:
These have a squashed shape a bit like a tomato. Because they have less tannin than the astringent type you can eat them while still firm. The most common type is the Fuyu, but there are other specialist types such as the Tsurunoko (aka ‘chocolate persimmon’) which has a dark brown flesh, and the Maru (aka ‘cinnamon persimmon) which has a spicy flavour.
How to eat persimmons:
You don’t need to peel them. The non-astringent type can be eaten like an apple, the ripe astringent type should be cut in half – then you can spoon out the flesh with a teaspoon.
Things to do with persimmons:
In salads (non-astringent types) – Martha Stewart suggests a watercress and hazelnut salad
In salads (sweet, astringent types) – mix the sweet persimmon with tart pomegranates and bitter endive
In salads based on pearl barley, quinoa, job’s tears, or farro
In pies (non-astringent types)
To make a fruit tart (astringent types)
In cakes (non-astringent types)
In a chocolate bread and butter pudding (astringent types)
Drizzle with honey and lime juice then grill with mascarpone
Serve slices, warmed and topped with mozzarella and sprinkled with dry fried sage and chopped dry-fried pecans
Serve, as you might peaches, with bresaola or melon
Serve halved and roasted astringent types with roast pork (replacing the sweetness of apple sauce) and a mustard-sauce-tossed chopped chard or spinach.
In granola or muesli (non-astringent types)
Peel, slice and fry in butter and cinnamon (non-astringent types), or bake, like an apple with brown sugar and cinnamon. Serve either with ice cream
wrap a rasher of bacon around a quarter of an astringent type and grill or bake – a sort of persimmon on horseback
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