Pick A Peck Of Pretty Persimmons

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Written By Meagan Mckenney

They’re round, they’re shiny, they’re intensely orange!

 
 

And nothing quite says “autumn” like the sight of these beautiful glowing orbs lighting up the bare branches of the orchard.

What on earth are we talking about? No, we don’t mean pumpkins, although those are festive too.  We’re talking PERSIMMONS, of course! Be sure to read or scroll all the way to the end for a compilation of flavorful recipes!

BUT WHAT IS A PERSIMMON, REALLY?

Surprise! It’s a delicious berry.

This unique, orange, edible fruit attracts all kinds of wildlife, like possums, raccoons, skunks, deer, birds, humans, and more. It looks a little like a tiny smooth skinned pumpkin, it’s eaten somewhat like a tomato, and it’s larger in size than a golf ball, so it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that persimmon fruit is in fact a type of globular berry. 

WHATS IN A NAME?

The common name “persimmon” is derived from the Powhatan (Algonquian) words:

putchamin, pasiminan, or pessamin, meaning “a dry fruit”.

This comes from the same Proto-Algonquian root word: -imin ("fruit, berry") as does the Unami word, ximin‎. 


The species name: “Diospyros” is often said to be a combination of the ancient Greek words "dios" and "pyron" -  meaning divine fruit , wheat of Zeus, God’s pear, or Jove’s fire. However, “dio” is also a very common affix attached to plant names, and we have heard that in classical Greek, the compound dios + pyros interestingly means "fruit of the nettle tree".

Depending which variety of persimmon you have, you may also hear them called:

American persimmon
(Diospyros virginiana)

  • Native persimmon

  • Common persimmon

  • Wild Persimmon

  • Eastern persimmon

  • Florida persimmon

  • Possumwood

  • Possum apples

  • Simmon

Asian persimmon
(Diospyros kaki)

  • Japanese persimmon

  • Chinese persimmon

  • Oriental persimmon

  • shi (柿) in Chinese

  • kaki (柿) in Japanese

  • gam (감) in Korean

  • haluwabed (हलुवाबेद) in Nepali

  • Sharon Fruit (named originally after Sharon Plain in Israel) is a trade name for non-astringent D. kaki fruit.

WHAT TYPE OF PERSIMMON TO GROW?

Want to grow persimmons at home? You’re in luck! They are pretty easy to grow here in the Pacific Northwest. Before choosing which type you would like to plant, you will want to know the difference between the most commonly cultivated species, figure out what flavor profile you would like, and last - choose a variety.

SPECIES & VARIETY

  • There are a number of different species of persimmon.

  • Within each of those species, there are many different varieties.

  • Some varieties are named. Named varieties were grown using a cutting and will bear fruit that is exactly like the tree it came from.

  • Others are unnamed, or ~ “seedling” varieties. If you see a tree with the label, “seedling” it means it was grown from a seed and its fruit will not be an exact copy of the tree it came from.

THERE ARE TWO DIFFERENT SPECIES YOU WILL SEE GROWING MOST OFTEN IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST:

Diospyros kaki
Asian persimmon

&

Diospyros virginiana
American persimmon

While there are more than two species, those are the two you are most likely to encounter at a specialty garden store, or find for sale at a farmers market. The next thing you need to know, is that persimmons are usually broken down into two categories, and these will help you decide which you would like to buy or grow.

ASTRINGENT VS. NON-ASTRINGENT

These assignments will affect their flavor, as well as the way they are ripened and eaten. But don’t be scared off by the word Astringent. The astringent types do ripen to be sweet and intensely flavorful, they just need a bit more time and attention.

Diospyros kaki
ASIAN PERSIMMON

ASTRINGENT:

  • Astringent Asian varieties are commonly grouped together and referred to as “Hachiya”.

  • Hachiya is also the name of a specific variety of persimmon. So if you read a recipe that calls for a Hachiya persimmon, it usually means that you can use any astringent variety of Asian persimmon.

  • Flavor & Ripening: Until perfectly ripened, (or dried) almost all astringent varieties are very unpleasant tasting. Only after the tannins break down and the fruits become very soft, is the intense flavor and sweetness is revealed. These persimmons should have a custard-like, almost mushy texture before they are ready to be eaten fresh. Many describe the flavor of astringents to be complex and a bit like maple syrup.

  • An exception to this ripening rule is when it comes to drying. Under ripe astringent persimmon does have a very popular use as a dried delicacy called Hoshigaki, which is air-dried, under-ripe, hand-massaged astringent kaki persimmons. You can find instructions for Hoshigaki near the end of this post. 

Diospyros kaki
ASIAN PERSIMMON

NON-ASTRINGENT:

  • Non-astringent Asian varieties are commonly grouped together and referred to simply as “Fuyu”.

  • To make things a little confusing, Fuyu  is also the name of a specific variety of persimmon. So if you read a recipe that calls for a Fuyu persimmon, it usually means that you can use any non-astringent variety of Asian persimmon.

  • Flavor & Ripening: Non-astringent varieties have a lower tannin content, which makes them much less astringent, and as long as the fruit has colored up, it should be sweet enough to eat even when it is still firm. So firm or soft, they should be sweet either way.

  • The sweetness of these persimmons is said to be mellow and is compared to that of cantaloupe or sugarcane. Some people think the flavor of non-astringent varieties isn’t as rich as astringents, but we will let your own tastebuds be the judge!

Diospyros virginiana
AMERICAN PERSIMMON

ASTRINGENT:

  • All varieties of American persimmon fall into the astringent category, and the same rules mentioned above for astringent Asian persimmon apply here. You want it to be mushy before eating fresh.

  • A common practice of Indigenous Americans, was to preserve astringent American persimmons by dehydrating them. The flesh was ground to a pulp, mixed with meat & fats, and turned into a long storing winter survival food called Pemmican.

POLLINATION REQUIREMENTS

Now that you have an idea what species of tree you would like, and whether you want to try an astringent or non-astringent variety, lets find out if you can get away with planting just one variety or not, shall we?

One variety or more? Will you need a separate pollination partner in order to get fruit?

Asian persimmons are self-fruitful.

Some hold “perfect” flowers (one flower containing both male & female parts) and others hold distinctly separate male and female flowers on the same tree. In either case, they will bear fruit without a second variety to cross pollinate. In the HOEC arboretum, all of the Asian varieties we grow exhibit “perfect” flowers.

Wild American persimmons are not usually self-fruitful.

They can be either dioecious, (meaning male and female flowers are produced on separate trees), they can be partially self-pollinating, OR they can be self pollinating.

If you want to make sure to choose a self pollinating variety, you’ll need to go with a named cultivar, because many of those named varieties for sale in popular nurseries ARE self-fruitful and they can be grown without a second pollination partner. But don’t just trust the tag! it is always a good idea to look it up yourself or ask someone knowledgeable about the pollination habits for each specific variety.  If you choose an un-named native seedling however, you will probably want to add a second variety in order to get a full harvest.

FUN FACT

The flowers on a persimmon tree may contain either male parts, female parts, or both. Occasionally, a tree may even change the sexual expression of it’s flowers from one year to the next. Sometimes a “female tree” will produce male flowers and vice versa. The type of flowers on the tree will have an effect on it’s ability to pollinate itself (or not).

  • Male flowers: usually appear in small clusters of three, are smaller than female flowers, and often have a pink tinge.

  • Female flowers: appear singly and are larger than male flowers. 

  • Perfect flowers: contain both male & female parts. All four of the varieties we grow in the HOEC arboretum do express these perfect flowers.


LEARN A NEW WORD: “PARTHENOCARPY”

Have you ever eaten a seedless fruit? The next time you eat a seedless watermelon, banana, or……persimmon, you can thank parthenocarpy!

Parthenocarpy is a reproductive strategy where a female flower produces fruit even without a male pollination partner around. Pretty neat, right!?

The way you can tell if your persimmon fruit was produced using this process, is to check and see if they are seedless. If so, it means they were produced this way with no fertilization. 

Interestingly, the majority of persimmons are parthenocarpic.

GROWING PERSIMMON FROM SEED?

Speaking of seeds……you asked and we answered!

Volunteers harvesting persimmon in the Home Orchard Education Center Arboretum, in Oregon City, Or.

Q: “Persimmons are hard to find where I live and expensive from the nurseries. Can I save the seeds from my fruit and grow my own seedlings?”

A: You certainly can save seed and grow your own seedlings. However, you will need to keep in mind that persimmon seeds will not grow “true to type”, so if and when you get fruit from that tree, it will not be an exact copy of the fruit it was taken from. If you have a lot of space and a lot of patience, we would never discourage a person from experimenting, but if you are hoping for assuredly tasty fruit fast, you will want to stick to propagating persimmon through the grafting of cuttings or purchasing a named variety.

Additionally, most species of persimmons are “male dominant” and from what we understand, about 75-80% of all persimmon seedlings will be male. (please feel free to correct us if there is newer information here!) There are exceptions to this rule of course, such as using a specific type of male parent that sets female flowers - but that takes us much deeper into the world of plant breeding, and is a topic all to itself.

A FRUIT OF FAIRY TALES & FOLKLORE

Diospyros kaki
ASIAN PERSIMMON

The candy-sweet Asian persimmon has origins that trace all the way back to 10th century China.  This special fruit is popular all throughout East Asia, but perhaps nowhere more so than Japan, where it entered cultivation sometime in the 7th century and rapidly captured the hearts and (tastebuds) of its people. 

Today, the beloved persimmon is the national fruit of Japan, and is an eagerly awaited fall and winter delicacy.  Boxes of persimmons are often given as gifts at New Year, and it is not uncommon to see these shiny orange pucks carefully laid out to ripen on kitchen counters at this time of year.  

The well loved fruit is even the star of an oft told Japanese folktale known as:

“The Monkey and the Crab”

There are many versions of the story, but most involve the clever, sly Monkey tricking the trusting Crab into giving him his tasty rice cake in exchange for the Monkey’s tiny, hard persimmon seed. 

In Korea, kaki persimmons were said to protect you from tigers. The well worn tale has multiple different endings, but any way you slice it - the persimmon ends up as quite the lifesaver, like in this telling of:

“Tiger & Dried Persimmon”



Diospyros virginiana
AMERICAN PERSIMMON

“Possum up a 'simmon tree,
Raccoon on the ground.
Raccoon says to the possum,
Won't you shake them 'simmons down?”


Wild growing American persimmon has been cultivated since prehistoric times. Here are a few fun folk-tales to get you warmed up. More stories can be found on First Peoples Website .

Wild American Persimmon pudding was a very popular early American dessert associated with the Algonquian People, who also processed the fruit in many different ways.  (Scroll down to the recipes section to learn how to make pudding!)  The fruit was also dried, fermented into alcoholic drinks,  cooked into sweet dishes, made into a tea, blended with corn meal and ground acorns to make breads, soups and stew, and the skins were even used to make a sort of molasses.

Early settlers discovering how important this late season food could be, assimilated many of these recipes, and persimmon became an regular ingredient in pioneer cooking as well.

Later, during the American Civil War, persimmon seeds were used as a replacement for buttons because they were extremely hard. The seeds were also roasted and ground to supplement or replace coffee, which could be hard to find.

As more time passed, the tree and fruit of the persimmon became deeply integrated into the culture of the Ozarks, and the seed developed a reputation for being able to predict winter weather. Of course there is little factual backing to this method of prediction, but it’s still a fun tradition nonetheless. 

According to Ozark folklore, a persimmon seed shaped like:

  • A spoon indicates there will be a higher than average rate of snowfall for winter, so you’d better get out your shovel!

  • A knife shape predicts colder than average temperatures.

  • A fork shape predicts a warmer winter.

Let’s Get Cooking!

PERSIMMON RECIPES


HOSHIGAKI 

Air-dried, hand-massaged astringent Asian persimmons

What to do if your astringent persimmons aren’t ripe? Try making them into hoshigaki, a revered Japanese delicacy! 

What you will need: 

  • Unripe hachiya persimmons with about an inch of stem left on each fruit.

  • Kitchen twine or baker’s string cut into lengths.

  • A sharp knife or vegetable peeler.

  • Something to hang your persimmons from as they dry, like a curtain rod or garden stake propped up horizontally between two chairs or stacked crates.

  • A space with good airflow and some humidity to set up your hanging station.

  1. Using the knife or peeler, trim back the greenish sepals found circling the stem, but leave the stem intact.

  2. Gently peel off the tough outer skin off of each fruit.  

  3. Tie the stem of one peeled fruit to the end of a string. Tie a second peeled fruit to the other end of the string.

  4. Drape the string with one fruit on each end, over your hanging rod so they hang freely not touching each other. You can stagger their heights to save space.  

  5. Choose a place with plenty of airflow and indirect sunlight, somewhere they can be out of the way for up to six weeks.

  6. For the first week, let them sit untouched. They will quickly form a new skin from the tacky stickiness leftover from being peeled.


**FRUIT MASSAGE ~ Simply peeling and hanging a persimmon to dry does not mean you’ve made hoshigaki. This is just a dried persimmon. The daily massage in these next steps is integral and is what brings the natural sugars to the surface so the fruit becomes covered in a light dusting of white bloom.

  1. Once this new, leathery skin forms, start massaging! Carefully massage each persimmon by hand for about 10 seconds every day.  As the tannins in the fruit begin to break down, the fruits will gradually darken and turn brown and the flesh will begin to soften, starting at the outside and eventually moving inwards to the core.  Be very careful not to “squish” the fruit in a way that breaks the skin. Discard any fruit that shows signs of mold.  

  2. After 4 to 6 weeks, your persimmons should wither down and turn uniformly brown.  At this point a “sugar bloom” should appear– a powdery white crust on the outside of each fruit. This indicates your hoshigaki are done!  

  3. Take them down and store in an airtight container.  Enjoy as a snack, serve them sliced on winter salads or desserts, or package them up and give them as a gift to a loved one for New Year!

WILD PERSIMMON BOURBON BREAKFAST BREAD

When I was young, my grandmother used to make a spiced persimmon bread from wild picked American persimmons. I remember helping her stoke the wood fired kitchen oven. While I don’t have her exact recipe and she certainly wouldn’t have been the type to splurge on bourbon for cooking,  this recipe for Wild Persimmon Bourbon Breakfast Bread should bring that warm cozy feeling right into your kitchen.  

PERSIMMON CUSTARD WITH MAPLE CREAM

This recipe for a persimmon custard dessert from Fresh Bites Daily– made with the pulp of ripe hachiya (aka astringent) persimmons or the blended fruits of ripe fuyu (non-astringent) persimmons– is also a quick and simple use for  a large persimmon harvest.

PERSIMMON AND SWEET POTATO SOUP

The bright sweetness of persimmons pairs very well with other sweet winter vegetables like winter squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  Throw in some warming spices like ginger, turmeric, or cinnamon and you have the makings of a great savory meal with your persimmons!  This recipe for savory persimmon and sweet potato soup from the Stetted food blog would be a great use for non-astringent persimmons, and can easily be adjusted to be vegan if desired.

PEMMICAN

A common practice of Indigenous Americans, was to preserve astringent American persimmon through dehydration. The flesh was ground to a pulp, mixed with meat & fats, and turned into a long storing winter survival food. Pemmican can be made using many different types of fruits and fats. The following videos demonstrate using different kinds of fruits, but you can substitute with or include persimmon.

I highly recommend watching this enchanting video in which Whapmagoostui elder Sandy Masty invites you into his camp and demonstrates the entire process using traditional methods.

Want to try yourself?

This video my Emmymade shows you how you can easily make a much faster version at home in your own kitchen.

Upcoming Hands-On Workshops

Meagan Mckenney
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