Persimmon time

I've been waiting since late January. And like last year, I simply can't get enough of them. I've already started hoarding them.

clockwise from top right: Hachiya, "chocolate" persimmon with varying degrees of softness & a cross seciton, Giant Fuyu (cross section), Fuyu.

You think this is all I got? Hah! This is just a sampling of the varieties that i got.

Many people ask me about how you eat persimmons. I only learned last year. You see - 2008 was my year of discovering the joy of persimmons.

If you don't know how/when to eat these fruits, you might have a terrible experience which will turn you off from the fruit forever. But once you know the secrets behind them, you'll be treated to a marvelous fruit which is rather plentiful in southern california from October thru January.

Here's my little guide:

There are 2 main varieties - Fuyu & Hachiya

The brighter orange the fruit, the sweeter it is. They continue to ripen off the tree - so keep them on your kitchen counter until ready.

Hachiya - must be completely mushy! DO NOT try to eat this before it feels like pudding enclosed in skin. if you do try it, you will be punished with the most horrid texture filling your mouth... the tannin effect dries out the inside of your mouth - it's astringent and cakes up on your tongue, inside of your cheeks... altogether unpleasant!

Fuyu, on the other hand, can be eaten firm (like an apple) or soft. There are many varieties within the Fuyu family - and if you're not sure when you can eat it, ask the farmer at the stand... they won't deceive you - they want you back as a customer.

I love the sand-dollar pattern that you get when you slice it cross wise... so that's what i usually do. The giant Fuyus are my favorites. And i do like them on the softer side - but unless i buy them that way, they get eaten as soon as the color is right. I can never resist.

I tried that variety called "chocolate" - it had another name, which i can't remember - but the nickname of chocolate was given b/c of the brown flecks within the flesh. It had too many large seeds, so it was annoying to eat... the fruit/pit ratio was off. but it's nice for a bit of variety.

So from the above fruits - the Hachiyas have the right coloring - but are hard as rocks: do not eat yet. The Fuyus to the left are ripe, but not sweet enough for me... they are firm, but i'm waiting for the color to deepen. The soft giant fuyus have already been enjoyed, and of the 5 chocolate-persimmons only 1 remains - the others were soft and bursting apart - so they were eaten first.