Fuyu Persimmons? Ways to cook...

[gingershelley]

I have three of these, two not quite ripe, one is.

I thought I was buying the Hachiya kind, for cooking, but realize now after some looking around the web that I have the kind that are usually served fresh.

Any ideas for use other than a fall fruit salad?

I was thinking of roasting slices wrapped in prosciutto served on crostini with a balsamic glaze drizzle.
Any other ideas, recipes for these?

[jameshig]

Fuyus work really well quickly sauteed with bacon, salt/pepper, garlic and shallots as a warm salsa over almost anything.

[gingershelley]

Wow, that sounds good Jameshig!
I ended up roasting mine (peeled, in chunks), with some beets that I had roasted with a vanilla bean and a couple of shallots; put the beets after peeling and slicing with the persimmon, and roasted together for 20 minutes with second 1/2 of the split bean, then tossing with some olive oil and a dash of Banyuls vinegar. Delicious!

[saucedjen]

If you buy more, sliced Fuyus make great fruit tarts. If you follow the basic recipe for an apricot tart, the same method works with persimmons. I've always used apricot jam as the base for the glaze.

[bushwickgirl]

I have to admit I'm not very familiar with persimmons, although I had one once as a kid, I remember it to be quite tart. It was picked from a friend's tree. Produce stands and supermarkets have Hachiyas all the time in NYC, and they're on sale this week.

What's the difference between Fuyus and Hachiyas, taste and texture wise? I was thinking of making a persimmon pudding cake, and exploring this fruit a bit further.

[ipsedixit]

Fuyus are small, and squat like (like a miniature pumpkin). They are intended to be eaten (after peeled) while still crunchy -- sort of like an apple.

Hachiyas are generally bitter when hard, and must be eaten when ripe and soft. If you eat an unripe Hachiya (i.e. hard) it will be so astringent you'll want to rinse your mouth with castor oil. A ripe Hachiya will almost be pudding like in texture, and taste a bit like very very sweet cantaloupe.

If you were to do a persimmon pudding cake use hachiyas. Now if you were to do a persimmon tart, I would suggest a fuyu.

[bushwickgirl]

Thanks, very, very helpful. Now on to persimmon paradise...

[OldJalamaMama]

We have a tree out front- some years we have tons of fruit, some years nothing...this year we have a pretty good crop! We usually eat them while my daughter is waiting for the bus- spitting out the skins.

I have in the past, made wonderful bread for gifts with the pulp- and I let them get pretty soft before using- no problems. I just adapted a banana bread recipe and included ginger/cinnamon and lots of pecans or walnuts.

[OldJalamaMama]

mine are the fuyus- still delicious when soft!

[Caitlin McGrath]

Ripe Hachiyas are indeed very soft and pulpy when ripe, and what to use in baking when you need persimmon puree (often, you don't even need to puree them, you can just cut off the top and scrape the pulp out). I also love a suggestion I go here many years ago, to just put a ripe one in the freezer, then cut off the top and spoon out the puree. They're very sweet when ripe, and this is like instant sorbet.

Fuyus, I like to slice up and add to a green salad, especially with spinach or bitter greens, along with toasted nuts, and dress with equal parts fresh-squeezed OJ, sherry vinegar, and olive oil (that's a good dressing for all kinds of fall/winter salads of hearty or bitter greens with fruit - persimmons, pears, oranges, etc. - and nuts, plus dried cherries or cranberries, if you like). This is also good with goat cheese or feta in it.

Another non-cooked, but non-fruit salad suggestion for the OP is bruschetta spread with goat cheese and topped with thinly sliced persimmon and arugula, plus the prosciutto if you like.

[ipsedixit]

I like to add a bit of pureed Hachiyas into pumpkin or sweet potato pie to give it that, "hey, this is pretty good, what's different about this" kind of reaction.

[goodhealthgourmet]

They are intended to be eaten (after peeled) while still crunchy
~~~~~~~
you actually don't have to peel them before eating. i usually don't bother unless the skin is in bad shape.

[ipsedixit]

Fuyu skins are for those folks who enjoy kiwi skins. I'll pass.

[goodhealthgourmet]

totally different! i don't eat kiwi skin.

[Cheese Boy]

Here's a vid showing how soft the flesh has to be before it can be eaten ...

Hachiya Persimmon video --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OjkN2...

[bushwickgirl]

Thanks for that, very helpful. That was a ripe one to be sure. Can't wait to get my hands on some (today!)

[Isolda]

We just slice those and eat them out of hand. They're delicious with toasted walnuts as a heathy dessert.
They're supposed to be crunchy, not soft, so all of yours may be ripe. Once soft, they're overripe.

[ipsedixit]

Julienne and stir-fry with some julienned carrots, zucchini, minced garlic and a light dash of rice wine vinegar.