The site is in need of updating (and finishing---life got ahold of me and I'm woefully behind I'm afraid) but I have
http://persimmonpudding.com/
Yes, it can take a long time for young persimmons to grow. They can even look like they're near death for extended periods...sometimes more than a season! But I can't think of a better long-term, more useful fruit tree. Planting them will also be part of your legacy. But even if you do not like the bletting process turning fruits mushy...almost liquid-like or maybe gel-like in a wet tissue paper skin, know that EVERYTHING eats them. Just about anything that walks, crawls, or flies. In my current situation, I can't have them. But I've planted and spec'd thousands. I am at the beginning stages on helping a friend with them at the moment. Anyway, while the site above can help, I just wanted to clarify a couple things which in the
thread (and elsewhere) sounded like there might be some confusion.
D. virginiana grows in places that rarely get frost, and they get ripe persimmons. One does not need a frost prior to harvest. Basically, they ripen so late and need such a long time to blett, that in many areas, you actually might get a frost prior to fruit dropping their astringency. We do get frosts/freezes here. Wild trees are all over the place with respect to qualities like flavor, ripening time, growth, etc...just like a lot of plants. The problem is that it takes SO LONG to ascertain these qualities given the wait time until production. Most of the known varieties were selected from the wild and selected for certain qualities. There are those who want larger fruit size, different flavors (flavors are often quite complex), harvest timing, etc. Some selections at orchards are only for fruit flavor and size together. I often caution people who cull and disregard persimmon trees simply because the flavor might not be what they wanted or the fruits too small. We know nothing about how those genes might benefit us from random gene assortment. That said, I think it's smart to select a number of cultivars for everything from blending fruit to aiding with processing by extending ripening across a larger part of season. Most of us don't have the time to process hundreds or thousands of pounds of fruit all at once. The careful selection of cultivars doesn't necessarily mean you're killing future gene transmission, you're just providing the backbone for your fruit harvesting efforts. And nothing says you can't plant them in multiple zones. Some of you are on a fair amount of
land and have that ability.
There was a woman who for a good many years actually canned persimmon pulp and shipped it all over the place. She canned in steel cans. Alas, when I found her she had closed the business permanently years prior. She has since passed away. So, it's possible anyway. I have never run across anyone who home canned it and got a decent product. I'd love to see it as storage would be less an issue and would fit in much better with putting food by.
A quick word on usage...if a recipe or your use calls for peeled, chopped, sliced or similar efforts, you're not using a recipe for
Diospyros virginiana or you have Asian persimmons. There is nothing wrong with that, I eat Asian persimmons as well. But American persimmon does not lend itself to those methods simply because the skin is so thin and if it has been properly bletted, the persimmons look like little bags of heavy liquidy gel. There are also types of Asian persimmons like the commonly available Hatchiya that also need bletting in order to remove astringency much like American persimmons. The benefit of those is that you can let them blett, then freeze, and during hot weather get them out and spoon out the pulp like pudding. Try it. Oh, and usually there are no seeds.
Do consider persimmons and if you have the room, consider multiple varieties (even randomly assorted wild type) as well as Asian persimmons and hybrids. They all have a part to play and qualities of great use to growies!
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