Asain Markets & Japanese Persimmons

[Guest guest]

This week I got a chance to go by an Asian Food Market and picked up some

Japanese Persimmons. They are so good and hard to find in the grocery stores

around here.

 

There are hundreds of varieties of persimmon, but two types are commercially

available. The Hachiya dominates with about 90% of the market. It is an

astringent fruit, bright orange in color, and shaped like a large, slightly

elongated tomato that almost comes to a point at the bottom. Hachiyas must be

fully ripe to be enjoyed. Fully ripe means a mushy, intense orange, jelly-like

texture that is a turnoff for many people. The taste is compared to that of an

overly sweet apricot with a smooth, slippery texture.

 

The Fuyu, also bright orange in color, is a non-astringent variety slowly

gaining in popularity. It is eaten when firm, just like an apple, shiny skin and

all. You can recognize a Fuyu by its squat shape and flat bottom, close to the

appearance of a medium-sized tomato.

 

 

 

This is the season that they ripen on trees around here, but my Japanese

Persimmon trees had no fruit this year, much to my disappointment. I've not

seen any in the produce stand here either. I don't think many folks here know

what they are or have a tree in their yard. The leaves on my two different

kinds of persimmons turn the most beautiful coral orange color in the fall.

 

 

 

http://www.texasgardener.com/pastissues/sepoct05/persimmon.html

 

http://www.aaronsfarm.com/product/Fuyu+Giant+Persimmon+Tree

 

Enjoy,

Judy