Trying Something New For The First Time
@owlwings (43910)
Cambridge, England
November 20, 2015 10:09am CST
I have just been shopping and whilst waiting in the queue for the till, I saw some packs of rather attractive-looking orange fruit - Persimmons.
Now, I have heard of persimmons (and somehow associate them with spices and the Orient and opulence) but I've never tried them. So I popped them in my basket - 3 for 69p (something like a dollar for you Yankees).
When I got them home, I looked up 'persimmon' online. I found that there are many different kinds - Japanese, Chinese, Philippino and, rather to my surprise, Mexican and Western American native varieties. In fact, the word 'persimmon' seems to derive from an Algonquin word meaning "dry fruit".
Well, here they are, sitting in my fruit bowl untouched because they are quite firm and I don't believe they are quite ripe yet. What do I do with them? Do I need to peel them? Are they really best eaten raw or are they best cooked (and, if so, is Pumpkin and Persimmon Soup really a good option - it has five stars!)?
All you cognoscenti out there ... I need some advice about this really rather pretty fruit!
39 people like this
44 responses
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
20 Nov 15
These are from Spain and they are pale to medium orange at the moment (but the arils are shrivelled, suggesting that they have been in storage). I'll risk cutting one open and trying it, I think, though apparently they have the best flavour when they are fully ripe.
4 people like this
@mysdianait (66009)
• Italy
20 Nov 15
@LadyDuck These are 'cachi', right?
If they are, then I anbsolutely love them!
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (471497)
• Switzerland
20 Nov 15
@mysdianait Yes Diana, they are very similar to 'cachi', only more firm. I bought cachi yesterday, I love them too.
3 people like this
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
20 Nov 15
opj they soften then you are in for a really delicious treat they are soooo good. I h ave seen lots of r recipes using persimmons but when I find them I just eat them when ripe as they are really delicious just eaten out of hand
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
20 Nov 15
Thank you, Hatley! I don't remember seeing them in CA when I was there but there were so many new things (like Jicama) which I went wild about that I must have missed them.
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
21 Nov 15
I havent had a persimmon in years, quite yummy!
2 people like this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
21 Nov 15
@vandana7 I was being studiedly flippant. I know that Americans don't much like being called 'Yanks' if it's used seriously, any more than Brits much like being called Brits or Limeys or Gringos, but when used in fun, it's just about OK.
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
21 Nov 15
@vandana7 lol I get called a yankee often!
1 person likes this
@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
25 Nov 15
Eat them, silly! 
There are 2 typical kinds. One is the flat bottomed ones that are a bit hard - you can peel them and eat them (I like these ones best). The other has a bottom that comes to a point. Those need to be soft and squishy - you peel them and eat them however you can as it gushes out (I don't care for these ones).
There are recipes, but I see that most of them tend to treat persimmons with pumpkin spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger etc) - I'm more of a purist and like to eat them fresh or in recipes without the extra flavoring. There are dried ones too.
Oh, so what did you end up doing with them?
There are 2 typical kinds. One is the flat bottomed ones that are a bit hard - you can peel them and eat them (I like these ones best). The other has a bottom that comes to a point. Those need to be soft and squishy - you peel them and eat them however you can as it gushes out (I don't care for these ones).
There are recipes, but I see that most of them tend to treat persimmons with pumpkin spices (cinnamon, cloves, ginger etc) - I'm more of a purist and like to eat them fresh or in recipes without the extra flavoring. There are dried ones too.
Oh, so what did you end up doing with them?1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
25 Nov 15
I ate them (or, at least, two of them. The second was riper than the first (as I suspected it would be) and better. These might be described as the flat bottomed ones - they certainly don't come to a point. I didn't feel the need to peel them, any more than I feel the need to peel apples and most pears.
The texture is pleasant and not very like other fruit I have tried. I was surprised that there were no seeds (though divisions for them) and how little hard, stringy bits there were in the middle. The flavour, to be honest, was nothing to write home about (at least, in these) but not astringent at all, as I have read that they can be.
I agree with you that putting any spice with them would not be an improvement. They are something I might use in a fruit salad for their texture rather than their flavour.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
27 Nov 15
@much2say I can see how one would get to like them. I already want to try them again. I suspect that the ones I had might have been a variety which is commercially good but may not have the best flavour, just as tomatoes vary considerably in flavour.
The Latin name for one species is D. kaki and the Italian name is, apparently, 'cachi' (pronounced the same way). It seems that the English name is 'persimmon' because, historically, we first knew them from a different species which grows in America.
1 person likes this
@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
27 Nov 15
@owlwings The taste/texture is a bit hard to describe. I have read a description before that the taste was honey-like, and that I guess it is sort of like that.
I never ate the peel - my parents always peeled them. My mom always told me to cut out the core (like how one would do so with apples or pears). I don't know if it's true, but she said that the center of persimmons caused constipation! But I have never seen any recipes stating to cut out the core - in fact, when cut a certain way with the core, the center area has a line star pattern.
I grew up with these (in Japanese we call them "kaki"), but it seems to still be a "foreign" fruit to many out here. When I had given them to friends and inlaws, they simply did not know what to do with them. And if they even tried it, it wasn't "great" to them. Perhaps it's a matter of familiarity? I've had them all my life and can say I LOVE them.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
20 Nov 15
The girl at the till said she didn't know but she thought they were something like a melon! Even *I* knew that they weren't anything LIKE a melon!
@Rationalwriter (1813)
• Lucknow, India
20 Nov 15
Look online again!! I am sure someone else tried them too!!
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
20 Nov 15
I looked online and found a lot of information but the whole POINT of MyLot is to get personal opinions from friends whom you know and (possibly) trust!
It seems that your response simply amounts to "I don't know" which, according to the Guidelines, should be deleted.
@Rationalwriter (1813)
• Lucknow, India
20 Nov 15
@owlwings No, I can help you!! I was just giving you the easier way out!!
Here what we get is Red in color and are ripe!!1 The choice for the way of eating is in your hand!! You can peel it or you can eat it with skin too!!
though the skin is a little harder to chew!!
Never tried it as a soup!! always ate it raw!!
@allknowing (136369)
• India
21 Nov 15
@hora_fugit He is probably talking about tangerine which is freely available in India
@cindiowens (5120)
• North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
20 Nov 15
When I was a child we had persimmon trees. You definitely DO NOT want to eat them before they are ripe. I don't care for them much, but some people love them.
2 people like this
@vandana7 (100280)
• India
20 Nov 15
Here comes the answer. But ok..when would the fruit be termed ripe? Would it become ripe outside without doing anything out of ordinary, or do you have to wrap it in newspaper and push it in rice sacks like custard apples? And finally, does it have to be peeled to be eaten, or can it be washed an eaten without any peeling. Or does it need to be sliced and made juice from. Oh so many questions about a small fruit..lol
2 people like this
@cindiowens (5120)
• North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
21 Nov 15
@vandana7 we used to pick them up off of the ground and eat them.
2 people like this
@allknowing (136369)
• India
21 Nov 15
From the description they may taste like tangerine which are similar to oranges but with a hard jacket.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136369)
• India
21 Nov 15
@vandana7 I did some search too. They are available in North India.
@changjiangzhibin89 (16763)
• China
21 Nov 15
Oh ,here I have never heard of cooking it .At the mention of persimmon,what hits me is that dried persimmon can relieve cough and resolve sputum,the calyx and receptacle of it can treat hiccup,powder on the surface of a dried persimmon can treat sore throat and never eat it when you are on an empty stomach,otherwise it is apt to produce persimmon tubercle in your stomach.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
21 Nov 15
I see that I misread (and mistyped) the information from that 'wicked something' site. The name comes from Powhatan, which is an Algonquian language (a very large group of Native American languages which were, apparently, spoken from the East Coast to the Rockies in both Canada and the US.
There are two varieties of persimmon which are native to the US (Diospyros virginiana and D. texana) and this is how the Powhatan name arose but the persimmons normally cultivated and sold here seem to be from a Chinese or Japanese variety (D. kaki).
Clearly it must be rather an old genus, as related species are native to both Asia and Virginia and Texas So trees CAN walk! (Or at least, they can cast their seeds in the direction they want to go!)
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
21 Nov 15
@owlwings It's alright I'm not sure about the information either.
Perhaps, I'm interested in how anything that journey's to America is suddenly American.
I'm perhaps more familiar with the Algonquin speaking tribes that lived around the big lake Kitchigami and then wonder did the early natives migrate over the top of the world, then down south or did they wonder up from the south or both.
As for the orange did they carry it with them? An orange is orange thought correct?
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (82778)
• United States
25 Nov 15
Never had a persimmon but hope you enjoy them
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
25 Nov 15
If you ever see them, I can recommend trying them. They are a pretty fruit (the right colour for Thanksgiving and Christmas table decorations) and quite delicious, with no awkward seeds or pith. The texture is not quite like anything else I've tried - the closest I know is mango.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
25 Nov 15
I think that you would remember if you had (unless it was cut up in a fruit salad or something).
