persimmons

[johno]

It's almost persimmon time!
Who likes them and what do you do with them? Canning?
Anybody heard about predicting the winter by the inside of the persimmon seeds?
:)

[Helen Wong-Joe]

I love to eat them, but my husband don't. I usually eat them fresh and as much as I can because the season for them is pretty short. This time I might make bread. Yummy to my tummy again.

[fawnmeadow]

DH loves persimmons and we have many trees on our property. He eats them fresh, and the drops I give to my birds. Because of the dry spell last year there weren't as many, but since they're so plentiful this year, I might try making some jelly or jam. DH tried a few that appear to be ripe and says they're still dry and puckery. Do you suppose a cold spell would sweeten them up?
Supposed to colic horses, but the cows are scoffing them up. They all try to get to the trees before the rest of the herd, it's so funny.
Helen, how do you make bread with them?

[johno]

Frost does help ripen and sweeten persimmons. They usually aren't sweet until they are soft and about to fall from the tree, or have already fallen. The cows are getting all the good ones!

Persimmon bread - YUM! :D

[Joan]

I remember eating they when I was a child. Haven't even thought of them since!
Now I'll have a mission when I go to the store. If you can bake with them I need them!

[Helen Wong-Joe]

Hi fawnmeadow, I don't know, I might use the banana bread recipe and instead of bananas I shall use persimmons and less sugar. The cone looking ones that need to be ripe before eating otherwise your mouth feels awful. Not the flat ones that are sweet and crunchy.

[fawnmeadow]

Helen, We have the wild ones that need to be ripe, so far even the dead ripe ones have been dry and puckery.
We also bought one of the Japanese trees last year with the flatter ones. Looks really funny, the tree isn't 3' tall and a pencil thickness, and has 10 persimmons on it. We had to stake the tree up so it wouldn't fall over!

[Helen Wong-Joe]

fawnmeadow, I have never heard of wild persimmons. How do they look like???? The only one I ever have were the cone shape looking and the flat ones.

[fawnmeadow]

Helen,
Most of them are about the size of a cherry tomato and a bit larger & slightly flattened, and then a few are small like that but slightly cone shaped. Some of the trees are quite tall, I'm no gage on height but some are as tall as the oaks. Last year some of the ones on the top of the trees dehydrated up there and fell off in the spring.

[Cliff Timmons]

I was looking yesterday at a bunch of persimmon trees in our wood and trying to decide if I should go and gather some.

You guys have inspired me.

[sparrowgrass]

Weather prediction using 'simmon seeds: Split the seed longways with a sharp knife. Try not to cut your finger off.

Inside the seed, you will see a knife or a spoon. Knife means the winter will be cutting cold, and dry. A spoon means lots of snow.

YMMV.

[johno]

I tried a soft persimmon off the tree today and it was perfectly sweet.

Helen, didn't you say something about cone shaped persimmons? I've never seen these. Ours are native wild persimmons and they are pretty round, almost like a plum, but smaller.

Aren't oriental persimmons sweet before they are fully ripe?

[Helen Wong-Joe]

Hey johno, really, so your persimmons are wild???? How interesting! I've just learned something new tonight. The ones I buy are flat(sweet & crunchy) and the other ones are cony looking. The shape looks like a strawberry and magnify about 10 or 15 times larger, but rounder. It's kinda hard to describe it. This particular ones you have to wait till it's soft before it's sweet, otherwise it leaves your mouth with an unpleasant feeling.

[Cliff Timmons]

We must have the same as you JohnO.
Little orange-ish ornaments. <grin>