sueb wrote:
> George Shirley wrote:
>> The Cook wrote:
>>> Anyone have any ideas about what to do with these things. My DIL's
>>> neighbor has given her loads of the things and she is bringing them
>>> with her when they come to visit next week. Help!!!
>> If they're Fuyu's you can eat them out of hand like an apple. If they're
>> the heart shaped kind they have to be dead ripe to eat. My wife freezes
>> the whole fruit in a muffin tin, takes one at a time out to thaw and
>> then eats it partially thawed, like persimmon sherbet.
>>
>
> The heart-shaped kind are Hachiya's. As he says they have to be dead
> ripe to eat. Do not eat any of the peel - even if you think they are
> dead ripe. It contains most of the astringent and you will *never*
> forget the experience.

Or you can anaerobically ripen them and not worry about all
that. Wrap them in two or three layers of plastic wrap and
hold them at about 100F for 24 hours. That will almost
always ripen any persimmon, cultivated or wild. If it hasn't
after the time, do it for another 24. I use a heating pad in
my turned-off oven for the task. In Japan, they ripen them
in sealed sake barrels where evaporating alcohol from the
wood creates an atmosphere low in oxygen.

Pastorio