Leigh Tate

Mary Cook wrote:Leigh--I question the "ripens before frost, therefore astringent" part. I think frost is irrelevant to the question of ripening and astringency, and that astringency means it isn't ripe. For the wild trees, even the ones in the open that have branches closer to the ground, most persimmons need to be picked up off the ground--and USUALLY their being on the ground means they're ripe.

The ones I'm referring to were gathered off the ground, were orange, soft, and squishy, but still astringent. As with other types of fruit trees, I suspect there's a lot of variation in the fruit. I did find putting them in the freezer made a difference.

I'm wondering about the Asian ones--do they have similar seeds?

The variety I have has similar seeds, but there's so much more pulp that the seeds aren't as bothersome.

I also wonder if there are any hybrids with much larger fruit than American ones but hardy to zone 6.

That would be a good research project.

Mary Cook wrote:Here's my question for this thread--does anyone have experience with both Asian and American persimmons, who can compare them?

I do, but it's limited. I planted the Asian persimmon because our wild persimmons were too high to get (mature tree too tall) and I found that they ripened before first frost anyway, so they were often astringent. But I'm in the southeastern US, so location is a factor for that. Plus the American persimmons are small with lots of seeds, so it's time consuming to separate the pulp from seeds and skin.

What I like about the Asian persimmon is that they don't need frost to sweeten. Plus they are quite large with plenty of pulp. Much easier to process. Unfortunately, my tree has had a poor harvest for the past several years, so production doesn't seem to be consistent from year to year. The American persimmon always seemed to have more abundant production.

That said, the only thing I've done with any of my persimmons is make and freeze the pulp. I freeze it in muffin tins and have a nice amount to defrost for pancakes, muffins, or cake.

I have to say I'm really glad that this thread has been revived. I originally started it to ask about Asian persimmons, but last year, Hurricane Helene knocked over our only wild American persimmon tree.

American persimmon tree knocked down by a hurricane

I never got much from this tree because it was so very tall. The fruit was impossible to reach so I had to count on windfall. But in my neck of the woods, the persimmons were ripening and falling long before first frost. So they were almost always astringent.

There were so many persimmons on the tree after it fell that I tried an experiment. I gathered them and put them in the freezer. I was quite happy to discover that this false freeze sweetened them nicely! I have something like 8 or 10 gallons of them in the freezer. The deterrent has been how small and seedy they are, so that the hand mill takes forever to extract the pulp. Thanks to ya'll, I'm inspired once again to see what I can do with them.

Mike Barkley wrote:Persimmons make excellent jelly.

Mike, do you have a recipe for persimmon jelly?

I make fruit and vegetable powders from dried foods, but have only gotten good results with what I call a power blender. Mine is a Cleanblend brand blender, which is a budget version of the Vitamix blender. The difference between the power blender and standard kitchen blender is that the power blender is 3 horsepower. It's bigger, heavier (and more expensive) than a standard blender, but it really can powder dried fruits and veggies. The key is to make sure the food is completely dry.

Thanks Christopher, that makes sense. I did rinse it off before we ate it, lol. It's just odd to me that it's never happened before. Right now it's in the fridge because it's tart enough for our taste. But I'll have to experiment to experience what you describe.