Very few fruits need a kiss of frost to make them sweetest. As a matter of fact, I can only place native persimmons in that category. Our house is located in South Nashville and after living there for several years, we discovered that the skinny tree next to the one that our hammock hangs from was a native persimmon tree. One late summer day, we discovered some laying on the ground under the tree. Being the brave chefs that we are, we tasted them. After all, they were on the ground and yellow so they had to be ripe, right? Wrong! We spent the next few minutes trying to peel the insides of our cheeks from our teeth; both of us convinced that they were permenently sealed together.
After doing a little research, we learned that the persimmon is sweetest after the first frost. The drop in temperature mellows the fruit and rather than being painfully astringent, they become sweet. The unique flavor is similar to a date but it is moister. We now find ourselves waiting patiently for the fully ripened fruits to fall to the ground after the change in seasons causes the temperatures to drop. Sometimes, waiting is not an option. On one such occasion, I suggested to my husband that he use a mallet to hammer the trunk and make them fall so I could gather them. Since he has decided that they are worth the effort-he loves to eat them, he grabbed the mallet and hammered away. As he hammered the trunk, I collected the ripe fruit in a bucket. Up the hill in the next yard, our neighbor watched this with concern; he came over to make sure that my husband wasn't hitting me with that mallet. From his vantage point next door, it looked that way. We shared a good laugh and the neighbors are no longer surprised to see us out there hammering the tree.
We are fortunate to have our little tree and several others in the neighborhood to gather fruit from. The fruit is collected in buckets, washed and dried and then run through a foodmill to remove the skins and seeds. The sweet pulp is used to make cakes, pies and tea breads. Since the season is short, we freeze the pulp for use at another time. Any dessert recipe calling for sweet potato or pumpkin puree can easily be used with persimmon puree but you may want to consider cutting the spices back so the flavor is not masked. If you are not as lucky as we are and do not have neighbors with unwanted fruit, do not despair. Japanese Hachiya persimmons are coming into season too and will soon be available in Asian markets such as K&S International Market. With two locations, one on Nolensville Road and the other on Charlotte Pike, they are easy to find. Another place to look is in any store that sells specialty produce. But buying them in a store isn't nearly as much fun as finding them and gathering them yourself. Like picking wild blackberries, gathering persimmons can be a chance to wander in the woods and enjoy the changing seasons.
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