~ Other Common Name(s): Fuyu Kaki
Fuyu persimmon is a fruit that ripens in the fall season and should be included in the American cornucopia or “horn of plenty”. It is sweet and has a beautiful color! It makes for a beautiful ornamental plant. It attracts birds so you might want to put a cage around it.
There are two other varieties of the persimmon that I know of: Cinnamon Persimmons (also called Percinnamons); and Hachiya Persimmons. This fruits is native to China and Japan. But there is also an American persimmon.
- "Putchamin is the Algonquin Indian word from which we get persimmon, and it appears from a report by Hernando de Soto in 1541 that Indians in the Mississippi region made it into “bread”. The variety of persimmon enjoyed by these intrepid explorers and early settlers is what we now call Diospyros virginiana." (Source: Pioneers and Persimmons | The Old Foodie)
- According to folklore, if you crack open a persimmon seed from a ripe fruit and the shape inside (called a cotyledon) looks like a fork, winter will be mild; if you see a spoon, there will be a lot of snow, and if there is a knife, winter will be bitingly cold and “cut like a knife.” (Source: Farmer's Almanac)
- In the Buddhist religion, persimmons are a symbol of transformation. In China, they are an auspicious gift to newlyweds to celebrate eternal love. (Source: Real Food Encyclopedia | Persimmons | FoodPrint)
You can make cookies, pies, breads, and jam with it. Slice or dice tme like apples and you can put them in salads, if you like fruit in your salad. Instead of apples with your roasted pork, substitute persimmons. You can dehydrate them and eat them like chips!
- FUN FOOD FACT: You can freeze persimmons whole. Then when ready to eat, take them out of the freezer, let stand for 20 minutes to soften up, cut off the the top, take a spoon and DIVE IN!
20 Persimmon Recipes
12 Persimmon Recipes Everyone Should Make This Fall ~
