I was just recently introduced to this cute little piece of fruit and boy, was it delicious! Where has it been all my life?? 

I thought I’d have to make a trip to our favorite Korean store to purchase it, but was pleased to chance upon it at our neighborhood grocery store, Sprouts, when there yesterday. 

A persimmon is a fruit belonging to the family of Ebenaceae, in the genus: Diospyros. It was cultivated in both Japan and China for centuries, then in Italy and other Mediterranean countries, as well as the Middle East. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the fruit was introduced to California and from there made its way to other US locations.

Click READ MORE to learn all the varieties and health attributes of this tasty little fruit.

I was just recently introduced to this cute little piece of fruit and boy, was it delicious! Where has it been all my life?? 

I thought I’d have to make a trip to our favorite Korean store to purchase it, but was pleased to chance upon it at our neighborhood grocery store, Sprouts, when there yesterday. 

A persimmon is a fruit belonging to the family of Ebenaceae, in the genus: Diospyros. It was cultivated in both Japan and China for centuries, then in Italy and other Mediterranean countries, as well as the Middle East. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the fruit was introduced to California and from there made its way to other US locations.

VARIETIES

There are two varieties of the persimmon: astringent and non-astringent. Mature, hard astringent persimmons can be stored in the refrigerator for several months. Non-astringent varieties have short shelf span and can be stored for only a few days at room temperature. 

Both varieties contain tannins (unhealthy component as in coffee beans), which is why the fruit must be allowed to ripen fully and jelly-like. Non-astringent ones have less tannins, so they can be eaten while crispy like an apple.

Astringent varieties:  Eureka, Hachiya, Saijo, Tamopan, Tanenashi, Triumph, etc.
Non-astringent varieties:  Fuyu (Fuyugaki), Gosho/Giant Fuyu/O’Gosho, Imoto, Izu, Jiro,                                 Maekawajiro, Okugosho, Suruga, etc.

HEALTH ATTRIBUTES

Of course, this is the part that I always consider. What are the health attributes? Is this something I should be eating more of? Well, I found out they have a long list of health benefits. Yea! Here are just a few…

• very good source of vitamin-C, a powerful antioxidant (especially the native Chinese and American persimmons provide 80% of your daily recommended intake)
• contain healthy amounts of minerals like potassium, manganese (15% of DRI), copper (12% of DRI), and phosphorus. Great for fighting off free radicals; building up red blood cells
  
• contain flavonoid poly-phenolic anti-oxidants such as catechins and gallocatechins, in addition to having an important anti-tumor compound, betulinic acid. These are anti-inflammatory and anti-hemorrhagic agents.
  
• etc, etc! Do your own research; especially if suffering from ailments, your relief may be right here! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                         
HERE ARE SIMPLE STEPS TO EATING A PERSIMMON (compliments of WikiHow):  
                                                                                                                                                                      1) Select a ripe persimmon. This is the only time the persimmon should be eaten; any sooner the fruit will be very bitter. (A friend told me this firsthand. Don’t challenge this or you will be sorry–let it ripen!)
The skin will appear transparent and should be smooth. Look for a good overall orange coloring. If not, let it ripen on the counter until it reaches a bright coloring overall.

Fuyu Persimmons (or Jiro or sharon fruit) are short and firm. They’re crisp and sweet and the skin can be eaten or peeled. They are great in fruit salads or baked in coffee cake. These tomato-like ones are the better variety for eating fresh. Hachiya Persimmon are longer and more “peach-shaped.” They need to be eaten when very soft. Best eaten chilled, or scooped out with a spoon, these are best for cooking.

2) Wash the persimmon. Do this very gently, using a basic vegetable washing liquid you usually use to clean veggies. You might like to rest it in a colander and let a gentle flow of water flow over it briefly.

3) Cut off the leaves. Using a sharp knife cut off the top (leaves). Then, you can simply slice the persimmon in the same manner that you would prepare a tomato.
You can peel if wished but the skin is edible. Peeling is usually used for cooking – peel by immersing in hot water briefly as with a tomato or peach, and then removing and peeling.
Cut the persimmon into any shape you desire for serving.

4) Use it fresh or cooked. The persimmon can be consumed fresh or it can be cooked. When cooked, it’s made into jam, marmalade, compote, or also be used in salads. It makes a delicious sorbet.

Warning! (Again, this is the warning my friend, who eats these all the time, gave me)
If you eat the Hachiya type of persimmon before it’s completely ripe, you will find it bitter and chalky, and have the strongest mouth puckering experience of your life. It will numb your lips and tongue for a short moment. However, you can avoid this by soaking the persimmon in salt water for a minute before you eat it. The salt will remove most of the bitter taste in your mouth. So, simply wait until the Hachiya persimmon is soft and ripe. Or freeze the persimmon, and the chalky, tangy, bitter taste will be gone. The fruit can be defrosted in the microwave and then eaten in all its warm gooey splendor.

So, go find a persimmon (cute little name) and enjoy a tasty treat!

Rawfully yours, 
Terri
p.s. Please let me know if this blog was helpful to you at all. Thanks!