Persimmon Tree

My daughter has a persimmon tree and it is baring fruit now. When do you pick the fruit. The fruit is a good size right now but it is hard. does the fruit need to be soft. Also anyone have any recipes for the fruit. Would appreciate any info you can give me.

Sami

Around here we do not pick it until around Christmas. It really needs time to get good a ripe - for what to do with them we eat them right off the tree when ripe.

Mitch

thanks Mitch will pass that information on to my daugher.
Sami

Sami,

Do you know what variety your daughter has? There are two basic types of persimmon: American and Japanese or Asian. The female American Persimmon tree produces fruit about 2" in diameter and is astringent until it is very soft. The tree gets very large and needs a male pollinator.

Japanese persimmons are either astringent (Example: Hachiya) or non-astringent (Example: Fuyu). The fruit are usually ready in November and December. You will read that the flavor is improved by a light frost, but you have to be careful because frost can also damage the fruit if it lasts too long. In California, my persimmons ripened before the first frost. Here in central Texas, my new persimmon trees bore for the first time last year and were ripe just before the first frost also.

Astringent fruit is harvested when ripe but still hard. It is allowed to ripen until it is very soft before eating or using in desserts. Persimmon cookies are heavenly. I like to cut the fruit in half and scoop the pulp out with a spoon. Ummmmmm...yummy.

Non-astringent persimmons can be peeled and eaten when ripe but still hard, very much like eating an apple.

Here are two links which she may find useful:
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/morton/japanese_persimmon.html#Cropping%20and%20Yield
http://nh.essortment.com/persimmontree_rjxd.htm

We pick when the fruit turns peachy color...and is REAL soft. But the opossums pick earlier...lol

We have one of these that is really old and at least 30' tall (I'm not a good judge of that). The limbs were trimmed off the bottom to higher than I can reach to accomodate a courtyard fence. Around the end of September, the fruit starts falling off. It is all over the place now. I hate cleaning that mess up! They get all over my car and on my shoes, which leads to in my car and the house.
I have never tasted one of them. I want to give it a shot. Can I clean one that has fallen and eat it, or do I need to get out the ladder? I don't know what kind it is, I'll take a picture when it's light out.
My elderly neighbor told me that she used to make persimmon pudding from the fruit of my tree. I'd like to taste that too sometime.

Sami, the rest stop on the way to my brother's house in WV has a gift shop with a persimmon cookbook for a few dollars. Next time I pass through, I will pick one up for you.

Thanks,
Rachel

Bettydee
I am not sure what variety it is. I am going back over to take care of my grandson today and we always take a walk down by the rental house of theirs and we will take a picture of it.

Sami

Butterqueen
Hey thanks that would be great. Just let me know how much I need to send you for the recipe book. I willl post a picture of the tree later. I have a full weekend coming up. Going to take care of my precious grandson today and then going to Glouscester Va to pick up my niece for the weekend. She lost her mother last year and I want to stay in touch with her. We are going to the Suffolk Peanut Fest tomorrow.
I will get the picture of the tree in sometimes this weekend.
Sami

Here are some pictures of the tree. My daughter took them and not sure if they will be clear enough are not.

Here is another

Sorry same pic

Here is a close up of the fruit and my niece Catherine is holding it for me.

Here is another pic of the leaves

Sami,

American persimmon tree are either male or female so one of each is needed unless there are other American persimmon trees nearby. The fruit is always astringent before its ripe. The leaves of the American persimmon are usually thinner and the fruit is usually less than 2" in diameter.

Having said that, I don't think your daughter's tress is an American persimmon. The tree and fruit look like some sort of Japanese persimmon variety.

Japanese persimmons have one of two shapes: tear drop (conical) shape or a flattened tomato shape (oblate). The photos you posted show a flattened tomato shaped persimmon so looking at the list in the first link I sent earlier, you can omit any of the conical shaped varieties. There are astringent and non-astringent oblate shaped persimmons. Tasting the peeled fruit will let you know if the variety is astringent (Makes you mouth pucker.) or non-astringent. The astringent varieties have to be soft ripe, almost jelly-like, before that astringency disappears. The fruit of both types of persimmon develop the orange color well before they are ready to be picked. They turn a deeper orange when they are ready. Both astringent and non-astringent are picked while still hard.

The astringent ones can be wrapper in paper or just left on a counter to get soft. Place in a single layer out of direct without touching each other to prevent mold from forming where they make contact with each other. Don't wash the fruit or the added moisture will encourage rot and/or mold.

Non-astringent varieties can be eaten anytime after picking. The fruit can be left on the tree and picked as needed, but you will have to fight the birds for the fruit. If they are non-astringent, taste is the best guide to use when determining when they are ready to be picked. I like to pick them when they give a bit if you squeeze them. Use the change to a deeper color to determine when to pick the astringent ones.

The soft pulp of both types of persimmons can be frozen in air tight containers to be used later, but the astringent ones have more flavor if used this way. The non-astringent ones can be peeled, cut into 3/8" slices and dried in a dehydrator until they are dry but still pliable. Drying concentrates the flavor and sugar! They are excellent dry and don't need to be sulphured or dipped in lemon juice.

It will be impossible to tell exactly which variety you daughter has. Fuyu (non-astringent) and Hachiya (astringent) are the varieties most commonly sold in the U.S.

The way it was explained to me is that which ever one was talked about at the time was not ripe until it really looked overripe and should be thrown out. Of course, that was talking about store bought ones, not ones grown at home. Dotti

BettyDee
We let a persimmon ripen after we picked it and it got really soft. Wow was it yummy. It was really sweet. So does that mean it is non astringent. Should we just leave them on the tree and when they ripen pick them? It was a bright orangie color when it rippend. And I think you are right about it being a Japanese variety.
Thanks for the infor.
Sami

Sami,

To find out if it is astringent or non-astringent, you have to pick and sample while it is still hard ripe. In other words it is bright orange and ready to pick, but still hard. It is at this stage that you can tell. If it puckers your mouth it is astringent. If it doesn't pucker your mouth, it is non-astringent.

Non-astringent varieties can be eaten right after they are picked or left on the counter to get soft. I prefer to eat them as I would an apple — nice and crunchy.

Astringent varieties are picked when hard ripe, but must be allow to get very soft.

The ripe fruit could be left on the tree, BUT you will lose lots of fruit to birds, it will get soft rapidly and fall, etc. The general recommendation is to pick it when hard ripe.

You can refrigerate the non-astringent types. You can accelerate the softening process by placing some of the astringent persimmons in a paper bag with some apples. The apples give of ethylene gas which speed up the softening process.

Good eating!!!
Veronica

I make Persimmon jelly and persimmon cake. Love the fruit just eating it by its self. Also its good to stew down and make a topping for vanilla ice cream.

Butterqueen If at all possible I also would love one of the cook books. Will pay and can come pick it up or send co-worker to get it as her mom lives in your town and she goes home about every other week.

I want be making jelly for a while after this year. we have gotten the fruit and the tree has broken in to its so old. I get the fruit when I go home to Heflin,Alabama . The tree was real old and now I gotta find another source for my fruit.

I sell the jelly at my son's produce stand every November and it sells really well. I have already started getting orders for this year and just last week picked up the fruit from my sisterinlaw who thank goodness picked up and saved the fruit for me before the tree was hauled away.

Lavina

Found 181 recipes for Persimmons. Some of them are the same recipes but different varieties. Web site is http://fooddownunder.com
I don't know how to add link but maybe you can get it from here. I will see if I can figure it out.

Sami

Ok did not know when you typed it in it would come up. Silly me

Sami

Thanks for that link. I am going to spend some time there and save a few recipes in my persimmon file. I have germinated American Persimmon and Pawpaw to be able to pass out to friends. They are actually pretty easy to get going. I think I have about 5 saplings in the ground right now from 2 years ago and I saved 3 seedlings for myself from this year to add to the property. I hope I don't end up with all of one sex but I shouldn't considering I will have a sum total of 8 from different parentage. American persimmons are very nice little fruiting trees.

LavinaMae, would you please share your persimmon cake recipe?

Yes, that's definitely a Japanese type. The American types we have around here are quite small & oval. And they DEFINITELY have to be soft & ripe before eating - lol!!

I'm not familiar enough with the Japanese types to help you determine which you have, but all persimmons are delicious. Even though I had to beat the opossums, raccoons, & fox to my native ones, it was always worth it.