Persimmons are slowly making their way into Australian grocers. A perfect autumn pick-me-up, the sweet variety can be eaten firm – in everything from salad to tarte tatin
f ever a fruit seemed purpose-designed to lift spirits as we head into the darker, cooler months, it’s the persimmon. The jaunty pumpkin-coloured treat brings a pop of vivid orange to greengrocers’ shelves, and when ripe, adds a healthy helping of honeyed, date-like sweetness wherever it’s used.
Teardrop-shaped astringent persimmon should only be eaten when soft and ripe, otherwise it has a puckering, nasty taste.Cultivation of non-astringent or sweet persimmons, the second style, didn’t start until the 70s. Botanically, astringent and non-astringent persimmon belong to the ebenaceae family, a group which also includes ebony hardwood.
Sweet persimmons look a bit like smooth-skinned miniature Halloween pumpkins. They’re usually the size of a beefsteak tomato and can either be eaten firm or left to ripen until soft. “A lot of people still haven’t tried persimmon before. Usually I describe it as looking a bit like a yellow tomato and tasting more like a pear but with a flavour that can go right the way through to rockmelon,” says Sapwell. “It’s hard to describe but it’s a very approachable fruit. I’d encourage anyone to try it. When they do, they usually end up wondering why they haven’t had it before.”
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