November 7th used to be the date we celebrated my sister's birthday. She was actually born on Pearl Harbor Day, but the horrors of the Second World War were still too fresh for that day to be celebratory, so my parents moved it up a month. So Happy Birthday Sis, if you read this. Now the you celebrate in December I never know which date to use, so I tend to use them both. Must be because I like birthdays, right?
This past Wednesday I was lucky because our P.E.O. scholarship group met and one of the members sent a big basket of persimmons along for us to share. I was lucky because I was able to bring home any of them that were left after circulating around and passing them out. Sweetie isn't a big fan of the Hachiya variety, which is ready to eat only after it has turned soft. He likes his fruit crisp. He loves these Fuyu persimmons because they are as crisp as an apple when ripe and you can eat them with the skin still on, so they are easy to prepare. They are a reasonable source of vitamin A and of fiber, but not of the vitamin C that make the hachiya persimmons such a nice addition to early winter recipes.
The persimmon fruit originated in China where endless varieties are available, and was brought to California in the late 1800‘s where two main varieties - the Fuyu and the Hachiya - survived and have
proliferated. Today, California is the largest producer of persimmons in the United States, harvesting over 2,800 acres and producing over 17,000 tons of fruit each year.
Do you have a preference for one or the other? A favorite recipe?
Our CSA box has Fuyu in them - tiny and perfect like little pumpkins. I usually only use the Hachiya for drying and cookies... deeply sticky, delicious cookies. My friend Teresa's Mom used this very basic recipe and I have messed about with it - haven't for years, though; the persimmons never last that long because D. eats one a day in his lunch.
ReplyDeletePersimmon Cookies
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt as dry ingredient
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup chopped nuts (walnut/pecans?)
1/4 teaspoon salt to go with fruit
1 1/2 cup persimmon pulp
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Cream together the shortening and sugar. Add egg and vanilla; mix well.
3. Sift together the dry ingredients: flour, soda, baking powder, first 1/4 tsp. salt, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir flour mixture into creamed sugar mixture.
4. Add optional raisins, chopped nuts, some people add dates, second 1/4 tsp. salt and persimmon pulp; mix well.
5. Drop by 2" cookie scoop on greased or parchment lined cookie sheet. These will spread a bit, so leave sufficient space. Bake for 12 -15 minutes.
Yum! Thanks for the recipe. This one is using the ripe, pulpy Hachiyas right?
ReplyDeleteI'm finally having a chance to read some of the posts that I missed. Thanks for the early birthday wishes!
ReplyDelete