Persimmons
Jun. 15th, 2011 08:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pinepigs_gardenOne of the things I look forward to in autumn is persimmons. These are nature's candy! They are a beautiful fruit, yellowish orange going to red-orange when they are ripe.
I remember tasting my first persimmon. There was a tree at the park I worked at (it used to be a ranch/orchard). One of the visitors said they were delicious and edible, so I tried it. Unfortunately, it wasn't very ripe. It was an astringent type of persimmon, which meant it was high in tannins because it wasn't ripe. Ich! Pucker mouth!!!!
I can't remember how I learned that you need to let them ripen, but I am glad I did. I really like them.
And apparently, so do the silver eyes! I put some skin out the other day with a few bits of flesh still on it and they went after it. They've only recently started coming through the garden again and love their banana. They've also started taking to the suet & fruit treat we got at a local petstore. But the persimmon draws them with the bright colour and they scarf it down. I put a partly unripe one out today (is it a helping hand into heaven if you share your favourite fruit with native birds????) & they went after that with lots of chattering and chasing.
I've learned today that the persimmon variety we get in the stores is a non-astrigent variety, so I can eat them partly unripe. I don't know if I want to chance it, besides I like it when they are really soft and messy and sweet. I cut them in quarters from the bottom and devour them. Yummmm!
And they are good for me. They've got the below vitamins and minerals (based on US daily recommendations) but also are supposed to be good for your heart, regular consumption may help "educe the risk of atherosclerosis heart attacks". Granted, if I ate too many unripe ones I could develop a phytobezoar so all things in moderation!
Persimmons Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 293 kJ (70 kcal)
Carbohydrates 18.59 g
- Sugars 12.53 g
- Dietary fiber 3.6 g
Fat .19 g
- saturated .02 g
Protein .58 g
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 2.5 mg (167%)
Folate (Vit. B9) 8 μg (2%)
Vitamin C 7.5 mg (13%)
Calcium 8 mg (1%)
Iron .15 mg (1%)
Sodium 1 mg (0%)
And while my favourite way to eat these is raw straight out of the skin, I've also made these cookies and they are delicious, particularly at this time of year. Those of you in the Northern Hemisphere going into summer, book mark this for autumn. You can freeze the persimmon pulp for the cookie recipe, then make them for Christmas gifts.
Another great recipe from AllRecipes
Moist Persimmon Cookie
By: ANGELZ
"This is a soft moist spicy cookie. The persimmon fruit lends its sweetness and color to this simple cookie. Any type if nuts may be used for this and you may prefer to leave out the raisins."
Prep Time:
10 Min
Cook Time:
12 Min
Ready In:
30 Min
Servings 36
Ingredients
1-2 persimmons (approx 1 cup pulp)
1/2 cup shortening butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ to ½ cup sliced almonds (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)
Directions
Peel and de-stem the persimmons and process them in a food processor or blender. You will want enough pulp to equal 1 cup. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening. Beat in the egg and persimmon pulp. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, stir into the persimmon mixture. Finally, stir in the chopped nuts and raisins. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
I remember tasting my first persimmon. There was a tree at the park I worked at (it used to be a ranch/orchard). One of the visitors said they were delicious and edible, so I tried it. Unfortunately, it wasn't very ripe. It was an astringent type of persimmon, which meant it was high in tannins because it wasn't ripe. Ich! Pucker mouth!!!!
I can't remember how I learned that you need to let them ripen, but I am glad I did. I really like them.
And apparently, so do the silver eyes! I put some skin out the other day with a few bits of flesh still on it and they went after it. They've only recently started coming through the garden again and love their banana. They've also started taking to the suet & fruit treat we got at a local petstore. But the persimmon draws them with the bright colour and they scarf it down. I put a partly unripe one out today (is it a helping hand into heaven if you share your favourite fruit with native birds????) & they went after that with lots of chattering and chasing.
I've learned today that the persimmon variety we get in the stores is a non-astrigent variety, so I can eat them partly unripe. I don't know if I want to chance it, besides I like it when they are really soft and messy and sweet. I cut them in quarters from the bottom and devour them. Yummmm!
And they are good for me. They've got the below vitamins and minerals (based on US daily recommendations) but also are supposed to be good for your heart, regular consumption may help "educe the risk of atherosclerosis heart attacks". Granted, if I ate too many unripe ones I could develop a phytobezoar so all things in moderation!
Persimmons Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy 293 kJ (70 kcal)
Carbohydrates 18.59 g
- Sugars 12.53 g
- Dietary fiber 3.6 g
Fat .19 g
- saturated .02 g
Protein .58 g
Riboflavin (Vit. B2) 2.5 mg (167%)
Folate (Vit. B9) 8 μg (2%)
Vitamin C 7.5 mg (13%)
Calcium 8 mg (1%)
Iron .15 mg (1%)
Sodium 1 mg (0%)
And while my favourite way to eat these is raw straight out of the skin, I've also made these cookies and they are delicious, particularly at this time of year. Those of you in the Northern Hemisphere going into summer, book mark this for autumn. You can freeze the persimmon pulp for the cookie recipe, then make them for Christmas gifts.
Another great recipe from AllRecipes
Moist Persimmon Cookie
By: ANGELZ
"This is a soft moist spicy cookie. The persimmon fruit lends its sweetness and color to this simple cookie. Any type if nuts may be used for this and you may prefer to leave out the raisins."
Prep Time:
10 Min
Cook Time:
12 Min
Ready In:
30 Min
Servings 36
Ingredients
1-2 persimmons (approx 1 cup pulp)
1/2 cup shortening butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ to ½ cup sliced almonds (optional)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)
Directions
Peel and de-stem the persimmons and process them in a food processor or blender. You will want enough pulp to equal 1 cup. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and shortening. Beat in the egg and persimmon pulp. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, stir into the persimmon mixture. Finally, stir in the chopped nuts and raisins. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.