Have you ever had a persimmon, the fruit of the gods? What about a North American persimmon, Diospyros virginia?
These persimmons are similar to the Asian persimmons, but much smaller – only about an inch in diameter.
This misunderstood Virginia-native fruit can turn even the most adventurous eater away, and yet, they are also well-loved by those who understand them. They weren’t named the fruit of the gods for nothing, after all. The trick is knowing how to harvest and prepare them!
First, you’ll need to find a persimmon tree. It can be a tricky endeavor because they are rare in most Virginia forests today. But, luckily, it’s easy to recognize even at a distance.
Its bark is slate gray, almost black – which alone is unusual among trees in Virginia. It also has blocky, imperfect squares in the bark. The closest bark to it in Virginia are dogwood and loblolly pine, but dogwood has opposite branching and pine trees are, well, evergreen, with easily distinguished needles!
To Harvest:
- Wait until the orange fruit falls to the ground.
- If they are brown and mushy, you’re in lucky!
- If they are hard, take them home anyway and wait for them to ripen.
To Process:
- If you were overanxious and picked them straight from the tree or they were hard, DO NOT EAT THEM YET! They will be very astringent.
- Put them in a paper bag with a ripe banana. After a day or so, try one to see if it is ripe. If it doesn’t make your mouth dry and feel awful, try another. If it tastes good as well, move on to the next step.
- Next, put your persimmons through a food mill to remove the skins and seeds. Follow the recipe below, or freeze until later.
Persimmon Pudding Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Very Ripe Persimon Pulp
- 3/4 Cup Sugar
- 3 Eggs Beaten
- 1 Cup Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1 Cup Milk
- 1/4 Pound Butter or Margarine melted
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
- Combine persimmon pulp with sugar.
- Beat in eggs. Mix in milk, then butter.
- Sift or stir flour with baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg.
- Mix with persimmon mixture.
- Pour batter into a well greased 9-inch square cake pan.
- Bake in a 315-325°F oven for approx 60 minutes or until knife comes out clean.
If you try this recipe, please comment on your results below . . .
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