persimmons!

Persimmons, along with blackberries, are my new horticultural obsessions. They have so many varieties of them at the Natural Gardener and Aurora just adores eating the non-astringent ones right from the tree. It is almost impossible, sadly, to find them at retail (even at the Natural Gardener), so I may need to order my two favorite varieties (Fuyu and Chocolate). They did have a couple persimmon trees at the Lowe's a few weeks ago and I just knew I should have bought them, had that gut feeling, but then hesitated over cramming them into the Toyota Echo. That'll teach me to trust my gut in the future, because I have not been able to find persimmon trees anyplace since then. They are just utterly gorgeous, with their fruit hanging like ornaments from their bare branches, apparently pest free, and delicious. Below is what Travis County plant expert Skip Richter has to say about persimmons. I'm on board!

In Praise of the Princely Persimmon
By Skip Richter, Travis County Extension Horticulturist
Persimmons may well be the Rodney Dangerfield's
of the fruit world. They seldom are found with apples,
peaches, plums and pears in nurseries. Most catalogue
sources either don't offer them, or relegate them to a back
page status. Their place in the supermarket produce section
is off in a corner with the kumquats, plantains and other
obscure fruits. For most people they are either the golfball
sized wild fruit of childhood that taught you in no uncertain
term what the word astringent meant, or the bland, tasteless
baseball-sized varieties commonly sold in grocery stores
(and unfortunately recommended for years for home
planting).
Alas, I am here to defend this maligned fruit and
hopefully rekindle some interest in its virtue as a valuable
addition to our gardens and landscapes. Several ethnic
groups adore persimmons giving them the place of honor
they deserve. Why they have never made the jump to the
mainstream of the American palate is a mystery to me. Even
their genus name, Diospyros, means "food-of-the-gods"!
The recent arrival of numerous "new" persimmon
varieties has greatly expanded and improved our options.
Many have excellent flavor and aromatic qualities and most
offer a pucker-free experience even when not fully ripe! The
rich, subtle flavors and aromas of a fully ripe persimmon are
something to experience.
Persimmon varieties may be divided into 2 groups;
astringent and non-astringent.
Astringent types must be fully ripe (jelly-like) before they
are eaten. Some people are a bit turned off by the
"messiness" of a truly ripe persimmon, but don't seem to
mind the texture of pudding, jelly or any other similar food,
so what's the big deal? Perhaps we need a national
persimmon board who can take up the slogan, “ Persimmons
– the fruit you eat in the bathtub”!
The second type of persimmon is the nonastringent.
These may be eaten after turning fully orange
without waiting for them to get soft. Many of the new types
are non-astringent, and as such are very popular. I think
even the non-astringent types should be allowed to soften
before you eat them for the best flavor.
Persimmons are virtually pest free. About the only
significant pests seen are the twig girdler, which occasionally
shows up to prune off branch ends and a leaf spot fungus.
Neither requires spraying.
There are two persimmons native to Texas. The
first, Diospyros texana, is a shrubby bush/tree found in the
western portions of the state, and is plentiful in the Austin
area. Its dime sized, black fruit is hardly palatable although
some make jelly from it. It is a valuable, drought tolerant
landscape plant.
The eastern persimmon, Diospyros virginiana, is
native throughout the eastern U.S. including much of the
eastern third of Texas. This wild persimmon’s chief culinary
Native Eastern Persimmon Trees in Austin contribution to our area is its superior performance as a
Oriental Persimmons
Persimmon - Page 2
rootstock onto which the larger Asian varieties (Diospyros
kaki) are grafted.
Persimmons ripen in mid to late fall. Their bright
orange fruits hang on the tree on into early winter after the
leaves have fallen for a beautiful, ornamental effect. If your
neighbor has a tree it may be time to bake them a pie and go
visit...get the idea? Maybe they'd trade persimmons for a
loaf of holiday persimmon bread. Delicious fresh,
persimmons may be used in a variety of holiday recipes
including pudding, custard, cake, sherbet and a wonderful
holiday bread made with black walnuts.
For more information visit our website:
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/travis/