Mother Earth Gardener

All About Persimmons: Gather and Enjoy Your Own Divine Fruit

THE PERSIMMON IS an ancient and venerable fruit whose scientific name, Diospyros, is loosely translated to “food of the gods.” Indeed, few fruits are sweeter to eat when ripe — or more dreadful to eat when unripe. The persimmon can be a pleasing yellow or orange-red color and still taste bitter and astringent. For its medicinal properties, these qualities may be valuable (with special consideration to the tannins found in persimmon skin). In culinary uses, however, it’s anything but! So it’s important to remember that until the entire persimmon has softened to a jelly-like texture, it’s not ripe — no matter the fruit’s deceivingly appealing exterior. Once soft, however, it becomes as sweet as honey with a luscious gum-droppy quality and the subtlest hint of apricot flavor, as divine-tasting as its name indicates.

Persimmon harvest season is late in the year, during November and December. There are both Asian and American species of , the main difference between them being the durability of the fruit during transport. The Asian

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