SC - Persimmon Info

[Christine A Seelye-King]

More from "Saveur" Magazine, Dec. 2000, on persimmons:

"Our Immigrant Persimmon 
Because American persimmons do not fully ripen off the tree, and because,
when truly ripe, they're too squishy to be shipped, they're rarely sold
commercially.  The two types of persimmon you're likely to see in your
grocery store - the acorn-shaped hachiya and the squat fuyu, which looks
like a tomato - are both varieties of a single foreign persimmon called
Dospyros kaki, also known as oriental persimmon.  Diospyros kaki is
originally from China and has long been popular there as well as in
Japan, Korea (where it's practically the national fruit), and Italy; for
the past hundred years, it has been cultivated in California, and is sold
throughout the country from mid-October through December.  (Chilean
persimmons are sometimes available from April through May).  
	Like American persimmons, hachiyas are extremely astringent when
underripe; one bite, and you'll be unhappily puckering for minutes.
(Unlike the natives, though, they do completely ripen off the tree.) 
Hachiyas are ready to eat when their skins have turned to flame orange
and translucent and the flesh within has softened into jelly; when ripe,
they look and feel like gorgeous, delicate little water balloons and are
honey-sweet, juicy, and loaded with vitamins A and C.  The fuyu, on the
other hand, is totally without astringency.  Even when fully ripe - its
color will be a rich apricot - it has a crisp yet silky texture,
something like that of a firm papaya.  The fuyu is also sweet but less
cloyingly so than the hachiya, and its flesh has nuances of plum and
peach.  Neither type has seeds, as a rule, and both can be peeled and
eaten just as they are or used in simple desserts or side dishes.  A few
suggestions:
*Freeze a hachiya persimmon; then let it thaw for 3 to 4 hours in the
refrigerator.  Put it, stem end down, on a plate, and, with a knife, slit
the skin in sections from pointed tip down to stem, peel it back, and eat
the "instant sorbet" inside.  
*Peel back the skin of a ripe hachiya as described above, and pour creme
fraiche or cream over it - and then maple syrup. 
*Braise fuyus instead of apples with pork. 
*Add peeled, sliced fuyus to fruit salad. 
 - The Editors. "
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