Persimmons galore!

Persimmons galore!
Originally uploaded by love_yellow

One of my favorite things about the fall season is the Fuyu persimmons that grow on the 2 trees in my parents' backyard. The Fuyu variety is the smaller and firmer fruit (and to me, more edible and easier to eat), as opposed the Hachiya which ripens into a mushy and gelatinous mess.

They are so beautiful to look at - the various shades of orange, from light golden orange to a deep red-orange, depending on its ripeness. And the shape of the fruit is lovely, looking a bit like a tomato or apple sometimes, but I hate to compare them to other fruit. They are just so photogenic, I may have taken hundreds of photos of them.

I'm always amazed at the huge bounty we get every other year. It takes a break in the off years, bearing only about 20 pieces of fruit in the case of last year. I guess it needs to "rest" and regenerate its energy to produce more the following year.

This year the trees have gone bonkers and today we picked about 200 of them. Unfortunately about 25% of them fall so hard to the ground that they get battered and bruised. I salvaged as many of the battered ones as I could and will try to consume them quickly before they get moldy. I've been scanning the internet for good and healthy recipes. If you know of any please let me know!

A friend of my just emailed me and suggested I slice them up thinly and serve them with prosciutto. I bet that would look really pretty - can't wait to try that one. Maybe I'll place them on a platter along with a small chunk of cheese. Thanks Deb for the great idea!

Two years ago I added chunks of persimmon in the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving. I've also made a persimmon crisp - it uses up a lot of fruit, unlike a cake or cookies which has other "fillers" like flour, butter and sugar. ;-)  A crisp is pretty much pure fruit with a nice topping of a little whole wheat flour mixed with rolled oats, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and walnuts. I also add a little flax seed and keep the sugar to a minimum because the fruit is already sweet enough. But the sugar caramelizes and adds a nice touch of flavor that compliments this fruit especially well. I'll be making that crisp soon and will be sure to post the recipe!