See that tree? It has been standing just outside my house since long before this house was my house. And see that fruit?
Here’s a closeup.
Do you know what those are?
They are persimmons or as we say in Italian – cachi.
The precarious fruit arrives in late September and for many a kaki lover, doesn’t last long enough.
But there is a method to selecting and eating persimmons that is downright vital knowledge, ‘less you want a chalk-infused bitter-obsessed army to assault your taste buds and leave your mouth puckered up begging for a drop of aqua.
Not so much?
Alright then.
Remember, the softer … no, the mushier the persimmon the sweeter it will be. So choose carefully!
I’ve found two acceptable ways to eat a persimmon that maximize pulp and minimize funk.
Method 1:
1. Slice off the top of the persimmon and peel the fruit.
2. Eat it like an apple aka… with your hands, but be sure not to bite into the persimmon too deeply. The middle core is nasty! And you don’t want to touch that stuff with your tongue. Trust me!
Think that method is too messy for you? It is for me. Here is a cleaner, more precise way to eat a persimmon.
Method 2:
1. Slice off and discard the top of the persimmon.
2. Inside you will see a dark yellow-orange core. Use a knife or small spoon to scoop it out. THIS is the part that is unpalatable.
3. Use a small spoon to eat the pulp, but be sure not to eat any of the outer peeling.
Yum!
In addition to the sweet scent and candy-like flavor, persimmons have many added health benefits.
According to Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia:
- In traditional Chinese medicine the fruit regulates ch’i.
- The raw fruit is used to treat constipation and hemorrhoids, and to stop bleeding. As such, it is not a good idea to consume too many persimmons at once- they can induce diarrhea.
- The cooked fruit is used to treat diarrhea and dysentery
You know. It never hurts to be careful.
So get out there and find you some cachi before the season ends. And if you are heading to Catanzaro -stop by our bed and breakfast. We give ’em out to our guests for free!
Have you ever had persimmons? What did you think? Have you tried the untouchable core and lived to tell about it?
Happy Love Thursday!
OK – knowing this word in Italian now explains to me why a synonym for “poopy” was “cacky” — as in “that’s a cacky diaper”…. good grief! I thought that was a made up word…
I think that is a slightly different word in Italian b/c the other day I said “cachi”-the fruit and someone kinda laughed and corrected my pronounciation. They said, “No no … that is something different!” I think it is like “Caca.”
Very interesting that a fruit can be used to treat both constipation and diarrhea.
I could go for a persimmon right now.
Yes, Italian poop is caca from the verb cacare, although you’d more often hear “fare la caca” or at least I do.
Ahem, back to the fruit. P is very particular to tell me that the accent (at least here!) is on the last syllable for the fruit…cawk-EE, which will make it clearly not caca. Aw jeez, how’d we get back there?
Anyhoo, they’re yummy, and be sure to check out Karenuccia’s blog for a great recipe for persimmon cake 🙂
Will def check out her site. I have so many and I need to use them quickly. And thanks for the clarification of pronunciation!
My neighbors across the street have a kaki tree and I like your second method for eating them! Happy Love Thursday 🙂
Yum. I hope your neighbors share!
Thanks. I didn’t know the English word for it. We call it “Kakimele” in these parts.
I use method 3 taught to me by a local.
cut into quarters
peel the outside
then use the knife to remove the bad bits in the middle around the seed.
Another great method, I say, Jeff. I may have to try that method later this evening!
oh my gosh – where were you when I tried my first persimmon??? I had no idea about the core, and it was totally disgusting. felt like my tongue grew hair in an instant. hehe
i will try it again – but only your way!
LOL. You are right – it is horrible if you taste the core!! YUCK.
my grandfather used to put them in the freezer so they were cold and a little easier to peel…i still remember the taste, very sweet and cinnamon-y, but don’t remember a yucky taste fortunately.
Ooooh, I bet they are delish like that. I’ll have to try that with the few we still have. Thanks for the tip.
thanks for this I bought the fruit randomly to try it and I would have ate it wrong so thanks
Yea, you wouldn’t want to eat the outside, that is for sure!!
H1
What kind of persimmons are on that tree?
Thanks,
Nicholas
Uhm … I’m not sure. I know we have two kinds-one they call “vanilla” persimmons and the others just “normal.” ha ha I’m not sure what the real names would be.
Definitely an acquired taste! Last year it was nearly Christmas before ours were ripe and they made a great Christmas decoration. I noticed this morning though that a couple of ripe ones have fallen from the tree already.
Wow – Christmas? We are already eating them this year and they are *fab*!
It is late May & already eating these little fruit gems. I am in S.C. & I eat the whole fruit less the stem & the pitt (pitts). Sometime there may be 4 half pitts in one fruit. There is also not much meat inside. I don’t know what variety of tree I have but it has leaves all year long, and has only produced fruit this year after about 7-8 years planted. Still tastes very good, neighbor spotted them & has camped out under his part of the tree & eats to his hearts content. bearing eatable fruit for about 1 month so far. Must start using a ladder as the easy ones are all gone. Thanks, Marcus in Myrtle Beach, SC
Thanks for the advice! Just tried it for the first time. The kids loved it.
As with all fruits, there must be many varieties of persimmon. I first encountered kaki fruit in Spain and thought they were divine. There, they are eaten as soft as possible. I never found the skin or the core unpleasant. In the UK, we have mostly been offered ‘sharon fruit’ from Israel. These are always very unripe and never improve adequately. This year, we are seeing a different, very large variety (don’t know from where), being sold as ‘ripe & ready to eat’. In fact, they need to be kept for 2 or 3 weeks to be at their best. Again, I haven’t found the skin or core unpalatable.
I purchased “Vanilla Persimmons” today. They are from Spain and are red on the outside but lighter color than most persimmon on the inside. They are wonderfully sweet and don’t have a middle core. I ate the whole thing and survived. Why do you say not to eat the peel? I always eat the peel. I also buy the persimmons from Israel, called Sharon fruit, and they don’t even have to be mushy. Sweet, no core and I eat the peel. I love persimmons!!!!
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