Persimmon recs?

[magid]

I went to Russo's for the first time in far too long, and among other impulse buys (chestnuts! fresh water chestnuts! pretty dried beans! all kinds interesting mushrooms! also something that looks like an oversized pale water chestnut, that I'm forgetting what they called), I succumbed to a case of persimmons (case = 16 fruits). And now the question is: what to do with them? I've poked around online, and there are lots of options, but I was wondering if anyone has favorite persimmon uses.

(Oh, and since when are persimmons called "sharon fruits"? Isn't persimmon good enough?)

Comments

[gingicat]

"Thanks for the sour sharon fruits, cousin" definitely doesn't have the same ring.

I know that if I were coming over to your house, I'd be very curious about persimmon chutney.

[magid.livejournal.com]

The same ring? What reference am I missing?

Chutney was one of my first thoughts too; there's a lot of chutney options, and it's a forgiving sort of thing to make. Possibly there are enough to try something like a persimmon rice pudding (or other kind of pudding), too.

[gingicat]

It's a Daffy Duck thing. (video at link)

Fruity rice pudding sounds nifty too.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

"Sharon fruit" is apparently a trade name for a certain species of persimmon that is then artificially ripened.

[magid.livejournal.com]

That definitely makes them sound less appealing. Hrm. Well, now I know for next time. However, they're pretty hard now, and I think of persimmons as being a bit soft when ripe, though I gather this is a distinction between Fuyu and the more astringent types of persimmon.

[srakkt.livejournal.com]

in this case, I think "artificially ripened" simply means "gassed with ethylene" which is perfectly safe and usually further reduces to "put into a container along with some apples"

[magid.livejournal.com]

*nod*

It makes sense, and is safe, and yet... I've gotten to a point of distrusting the food industry enough that "artificially ripened" sounds ungood.

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

I succumbed to a case of persimmons

Oh dear. I hope the doctors can help you!



I have no idea what one does with persimmons, other than take a bite, decide they taste vile (probably not ripe, that one), and then chuck them.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Some persimmons are incredibly astringent when unripe...

Also, when I was in Israel, we were told not to eat the skin, since that can lead to [some unfortunate side effect I'm completely not remembering now].