Orange and Crispy

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?

The lucky denizens of the Land of St. Honore' are probably born with the knowledge of how to bake and bake well. The rest of us have to learn as we go along. I was lucky to have picked up a lot of baking lore from my Mom as I grew up. I also love to read cookbooks and I read it all, not just the recipe or three that interests me. Some stuff I've known so long that I don't even think about it.

One of those long known things is to let your ingredients come to room temperature before you bake. Now some recipes will tell you to used a chilled ingredient or ice water, or to melt butter and either use it while it is still warm or to let it cool to room temperature, but it the recipe doesn't specify, you are usually safe to have ALL of your ingredients at room temperature. That might require planning ahead so that you can set out the butter or eggs, or even flour if you store yours in the fridge, well in advance of your baking time.

You might wonder what difference it makes. Sometimes it might not make any difference, but a good example of where it can is when you are making something like Chocolate Fudge Pie. The filling needs to almost emulsify in order for it to bake up as  homogeneous  fudginess. If you use, say, cold eggs, you may end up with a fudgy layer on top and another layer that is sticky and almost clear (similar to pecan pie filling) at the bottom, as in this photo. It might also be the result of using melted butter that is still too warm from melting.

Thanks for the photo Natashya! 

Room temperature eggs combine with the butter and sugar in a different way than cold eggs. The same is true of creaming butter, a standard beginning for everything from cookies to cakes. Room temperature butter creams beautifully, letting air mix with the butter as it lightens. Then the sugar gets added and the crystals cut into the fat of the butter as they are creamed together, resulting in a lighter textured cake or cookie.

I recently made some Persimmon Nut Quick Bread using the persimmons from our tree. This is the perfect example of a recipe where all of the ingredients need to be at room temperature, except for the butter. It gets melted, but then needs to cool back to almost room temperature so that, when added to the batter, it doesn't cook the eggs.

Do try this recipe if you can get fresh persimmons. You want the heart shaped Hachiya persimmons, the ones that have very soft fruit when ripe. The persimmon flavor is delicate, but this is a great bread, if made with a light touch. Not too sweet, a little persimmon flavor, a lot of nut flavor, with a moist crumb. I made one batch with walnuts and one with pecans. I think I like the one with pecans slightly better, but they were both delicious. This recipe makes two loaves...one to eat and one to give as a gift (or freeze for later)!

Persimmon Nut Bread
from Baking in America by Greg Patent

6 fully ripe Hachiya persimmons (about 2 pounds)
3 cups (about 12 oz.) walnut or pecan large pieces or whole halves
3 1/4 cups  all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup (2 sticks/ 1/2 pound) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Adjust oven rack to lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter two 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 X 2 3/4 -inch loaf pans; set aside.

Pull the leaves and stem off of the persimmons. Cut each in half and scoop out the flesh onto a cutting board. Use a pastry blender or small knife to cut the persimmon flesh into small pieces. Put cut up persimmon in a large measuring cup. You should have some small pieces of persimmon mixed with pureed pulp and you need 2 cups. Use any extra for another recipe.

Toast the nuts in a shallow baking pan until fragrant, stirring once or twice, 6 - 8 minutes. Be careful not to burn the nuts. Set aside to cool completely.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside.

Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until thoroughly combined and slightly frothy. Add both sugars and beat in thoroughly with the whisk. Whisk in the butter. Stir in the persimmon pulp and nuts with a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture and stir only until the batter is smooth. Divide batter between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.

Bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes, until the loaves are well browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The loaves will be quite dark, especially on the edges, but if they start to brown too much before they are done, lay a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up, loosely on top during the last 30 minutes of baking.

Cool in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around the sides to release the loaves, and carefully unmold them. Set them right side up on a rack to cool completely. Wrap airtight. The loaves can be frozen for up to 2 months.

Sweet Bananas and Persimmons

The rains came last week (about 8 inches in 5 days) and knocked most of the leaves off the trees. That made some trees look pretty bleak, but not our persimmon tree.

One of the harbingers of winter around here are the bright orange persimmons hanging like early Christmas ornaments on the bare branches of their trees. Our tree is a Hayachi, the kind that need to be soft, almost squishy, in order to be edible. I brought an unripe, hard one in to be part of the Thanksgiving table decorations and it is finally soft enough to use.

Today there were also a few very ripe bananas on the plate with the new greenish ones that Sweetie likes. I decided to combine the two fruits in one sweet quick bread. With the addition of some molasses and spices it is the perfect seasonal treat. This one is very moist. You get a hint of the persimmon flavor and a bit more of the banana. Fortunately they complement each other. Sweetie was a big fan of this combo and of the moistness, plus he has always liked thing with molasses flavors.

The butter needs to be soft, the eggs at room temperature and the fruit very ripe. It only makes one loaf, but it just might become your favorite tea bread when persimmons are ripe. Now you know what I'm going to be baking when the persimmons now on the tree are ripe in a few weeks. Hope you'll try it, too.

Persimmon Banana Spice Bread

1 fully ripe persimmon (about 1/3 pound)
2-3 ripe bananas
1 ½ plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon dried orange peel, ground
2 large eggs
¼ cup molasses
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Adjust oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 ½ by 4 ½ by 2 ¾ inch loaf pan; set aside.

2. Pull the stems off the persimmon and cut lengthwise in half. With a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon, scoop the pulp out into a bowl. Use a pastry blender or potato masher to chop or mash the pulp into small pieces; you should still have some pieces of persimmon mixed with the pureed pulp. Set aside. Peel and mash the bananas, also leaving some small pieces mixed with the very mashed pulp. Set aside.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, spices and orange peel together; set aside.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter until light. Add the brown sugar and beat until light. Add the molasses and beat to combine thoroughly.

5. Add the eggs to the butter mixture and beat to combine. Mixture may look curdled. That is OK. Stir in the persimmon pulp and banana pulp with a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture and stir only until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and smooth the top(s). (Note: I stirred in the fruit and then the flour mixture using a stand mixer and was careful to not overmix…it worked fine.)

6. Bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes, until the bread is well browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The bread will be quite dark, especially on the edges, but if loaf/loaves start to brown too much before being done, lay a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up, loosely on top during the last 30 minutes or so of baking.

7. Cool in the pan(s) on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around the side(s) to release the bread, and carefully unmold. Set right side up on a rack to cool completely. Wrap airtight. The bread can be frozen for up to 2 months.

More Persimmons

The persimmons are just about gone on our lone persimmon tree, but I did get enough pulp to make some really nice tea bread with walnuts. The cake I made with persimmons before had a lot of spices, so the persimmon flavor wasa bit hidden. This recipe has very simple flavors, so the persimmon and walnut flavors are the stars of the show.

The cake is made with the muffing method of having a wet mixture and a dry mixture. When you put them together it's important to stir just barely enough to combine the two mixture. Excessive stirring leads to tough tea cakes. I'd also recommend not substituting for the butter unless you are vegan or allergic to dairy. With such a simple set of flavors, the butter has an impact.

I baked my batter up in small loaf pans. The extras make great little gifts for friends. The small size means you can have a couple of slices with your tea (or coffe, milk, cocoa, etc) without it being too much, even if dinner will be on the table pretty soon.

Persimmon Walnut Bread
From Baking in America by Greg Patent

3 fully ripe persimmons (about 1 pound)
1 ½ cups walnut halves or large pieces (about 6 oz)
1 ½ plus 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
½ cup sugar
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Adjust oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter an 8 ½ by 4 ½ by 2 ¾ inch loaf pan (I used a set of smaller loaf pans); set aside.

2. Pull the stems off the persimmons and cut each fruit lengthwise in half. With a teaspoon or grapefruit spoon, scoop the pulp out into a bowl. Use a pastry blender or potato masher to chop or mash the pulp into small pieced; you should still have some pieces of persimmon mixed with the pureed pulp. Measure 2 cups and set aside. Eat any leftovers or reserve for another use.

3. Toast the walnuts in a shallow baking pan until fragrant, stirring once or twice, 6 – 8 minutes. Let cool completely. (Since my loaf pans were small, I chopped the cooled walnuts coarsely).

4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together; set aside.

5. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl until thoroughly combined and slightly frothy Add both sugars and beat thoroughly with the whisk. Whisk in the butter. Stir in the persimmon pulp and walnuts with a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture and stir only until the batter is smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and smooth the top(s). (Note: I made this using a stand mixer and was careful to not overmix…it worked fine.)

6. Bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes, until the bread is well browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Smaller loaves require a shorter time to bake.) The bread will be quite dark, especially on the edges, but if loaf/loaves start to brown too much before being done, lay a piece of aluminum foil, shiny side up, loosely on top during the last 30 minutes or so of baking.

7. Cool in the pan(s) on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Run a small sharp knife around the side(s) to release the bread, and carefully unmold. Set right side up on a rack to cool completely. Wrap airtight. The bread can be frozen for up to 2 months.

8. Makes one regular size loaf, but recipe can be easily doubled. The origianl directions in the book were for double the amount shown here.

This recipe is a perfect one for Grow Your Own #24, an event from the lovely Andrea at Andrea's Recipes. The idea is to post about a dish you have made using something you have grown or harvested. Both the persimmons and the walnuts came from my yard. You can also replace the persimmon pulp with matching amount of applesauce and it will still be delicious tea bread.