#american persimmons

[pagan-stitches]

An adaption of Porter’s Seasonal Celebrations Cookbook’s pickled plums (in the Michaelmas chapter) using foraged American Persimmons.

Visit @portersposse to view the explorations of the cookbook @msgraveyarddirt and I had with friends for a year or two awhile back.

[the-garden-in-the-briar-patch]

Has anyone here ever canned whole persimmons in syrup? I'm finding a lot of indications that this used to be a method of preservation (W. F. Fletcher's The Native Persimmon, USDA 1915 is one source, there's also a reference to that in Southern Provisions by David S. Shields), but I haven't seen any modern recipes and some stuff that I'm reading says that it would need to be either pressure canned or preserved with lemon juice to increase the acidity? American Persimmons have a pH of around 6.10, which is possibly hazardous for canning. Does anyone know more?

[marejadilla]

Kamille Corry, “Persimmon”, oil on panel. B. 1966, Houston, Texas.  

[thunderstruck9]

Ruth Asawa (American, 1926-2013), Untitled (Persimmons), c.1970s-80s.Watercolor on paper, 14 × 17 in.

[koenji]

Maggie Chiang aka @mcmintea (inactive on Tumblr) - insta - website

[samimarkart]

my favorite fall foragables!

[rjalker]

I put an arrow so maybe somebody else can discover the tree. I don't think most of the people here care though unfortunately.

These photos are public domain because I took them and I said so.

[Image description start. Two photos. The first show the hand holding up some unripe American persimmons which are orange, with black caps. The second photo shows three sticks arranged in an arrow shape, with six more persimmons arranged around the point. Image description end.]

[sometimesanequine]

3.22.2024

[a-new-ope]

[badaxefamily]

Sorry I got stuck on "persimmons are citrus" and had to go on a wikiwalk for a bit. I don't know botany but I grew up with American persimmons and I was pretty sure they're not citrus. If I'm reading this right, they're actually their own unique thing which is cool and something I didn't know. They can be sour though! I do however believe that Asian persimmons would be really cool dried, they're not soft and fleshy like the American ones squished on the road by my school as a child.

Whilst browsing my dash I came upon a couple of posts of yours. One being the citrus garland one, and the other being the completed pepper juice to the eye post. I've wanted to do citrus garlands for *years* but I am allergic to citrus. Only upon seeing your post did I realize that I should be fine if I wear gloves.

Now to the second post and my reason for being here. Forgive me for being a bit long-winded, I promise it goes somewhere. I am the director for the elementary DnD after school club. I had intended to run a wizard themed game, but multiple things got in the way and I was unable to get any of those ideas off the ground. However, my students did come up with what their wands were going to look like. And so I have a new quest: make wands for my kids. I have the wands themselves already made, and today I picked up things to make the wands unique (paint, gems, clay, etc.) But upon seeing your post about making the big batches of stuff to give away as gifts I went, "Ooh, I want to do that!" But I am no good in the kitchen so I turned to Pinterest for potential ideas. I saw many tutorials on how to make tiny potion bottles, and reached out to a friend who also hoards crafts like a dragon. I sought for her to make me stop, but truly I wanted permission to go for it. She suggested that I go all in and make a jar of homemade spice blend, decorate it with witchy stuff, throw in some fake potions, and make a whole gift box for the holidays.

So yeah, I guess I'm making wizard boxes now.

You should be able to use the orange drying method on most fruits, for what it's worth (persimmons, especially, give a very vibrant orange color, though they are still citrus) including apples and pears. So if the gloves don't do the trick, maybe try a different fruit entirely?

From the depths of my tiny bottles drawer: a handful of spell component jars, made for a campaign that's years ago now!

Spice mixes are fun, but because they generally go into hot beverages, maybe not the best option for elementary schoolers. Instead, may I suggest "mystery" powdered drink mixes, re-packaged into tiny potion bottles like the two above? You could label them and have a pitcher of water and cups with each character's name at the table, and let players dump the powder into their cup and drink whatever it is, either when they use a potion or as a spell component. (Small cups just larger than a shot glass may be preferred to stave off constant pee breaks.) You could also mix in festive sprinkles or food-safe luster dust for visual texture; a little extra sugar in most powdered mixes won't be highly noticeable.

But I do love the idea of a little wizard goodie box to take home! That sounds like a super fun campaign; I hope they enjoy it.

[pagan-stitches]

They are starting to fall from the trees—which means ready to use!

[sayitwithsarcophilus]

(Inspired by this: https://www.tumblr.com/seravph/656631983437496320/genuine-question-where-do-people-get-pears-i?source=share)

(For the purposes of this poll, "pears" refers to both European and Asian pears - whichever are more common where you live - and "persimmons" to either Asian or American persimmons.)

Widely available: Can be purchased almost anywhere that sells a variety of fresh produce, available the majority of the year Specialty: Is sold in your area, but may only be available from specialized markets or at a specific time of the year. Alternatively, not widely commercially available but popular as a home fruit tree. Rare: Is rarely-to-never sold in your area, you'd have to make a special order from a specialty retailer or order it online Preserved: canned, dried, frozen, or otherwise processed to improve its shelf life

Please tag with your location, I'm very curious how this varies by region/country.

[dollsahoy]

I grew up in southern Indiana, which is very proud of its perSIMMons--a town near where I grew up's annual festival is the Persimmon Festival, so I have heard it spoken out loud with that particular pronunciation countless times (which isn't saying that's the definitive pronunciation, just that a lot of people say it that way)

Those celebrated are the tiny squishy native North American persimmons and not the big lovely Asian persimmons in the picture above, and the first thing you are taught about them is to never ever try to eat them directly from the tree. They're only ripe enough to eat after they've fallen from the tree, and even moreso if they've been exposed to frost. (I know the Asian kinds have different ripening habits)

They are most commonly, in current southern Indiana, turned into persimmon pudding, which is a steamed or baked pudding (not milk-based.)

Luna moths like the trees, too

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[manwalksintobar]

Persimmons // Li-Young Lee

In sixth grade Mrs. Walker slapped the back of my head and made me stand in the corner for not knowing the difference between persimmon and precision. How to choose persimmons. This is precision. Ripe ones are soft and brown-spotted. Sniff the bottoms. The sweet one will be fragrant. How to eat: put the knife away, lay down the newspaper. Peel the skin tenderly, not to tear the meat. Chew on the skin, suck it, and swallow. Now, eat the meat of the fruit, so sweet all of it, to the heart. Donna undresses, her stomach is white. In the yard, dewy and shivering with crickets, we lie naked, face-up, face-down, I teach her Chinese. Crickets: chiu chiu. Dew: I've forgotten. Naked: I've forgotten. Ni, wo: you me. I part her legs, remember to tell her she is beautiful as the moon. Other words that got me into trouble were fight and fright, wren and yarn. Fight was what I did when I was frightened, fright was what I felt when I was fighting. Wrens are small, plain birds, yarn is what one knits with. Wrens are soft as yarn. My mother made birds out of yarn. I loved to watch her tie the stuff; a bird, a rabbit, a wee man. Mrs. Walker brought a persimmon to class and cut it up so everyone could taste a Chinese apple. Knowing it wasn't ripe or sweet, I didn't eat but watched the other faces. My mother said every persimmon has a sun inside, something golden, glowing, warm as my face. Once, in the cellar, I found two wrapped in newspaper forgotten and not yet ripe. I took them and set them both on my bedroom windowsill, where each morning a cardinal sang. The sun, the sun. Finally understanding he was going blind, my father would stay up all one night waiting for a song, a ghost. I gave him the persimmons, swelled, heavy as sadness, and sweet as love. This year, in the muddy lighting of my parents' cellar, I rummage, looking for something I lost. My father sits on the tired, wooden stairs, black cane between his knees, hand over hand, gripping the handle. He's so happy that I've come home. I ask how his eyes are, a stupid question. All gone, he answers. Under some blankets, I find three scrolls. I sit beside him and untie three paintings by my father: Hibiscus leaf and a white flower. Two cats preening. Two persimmons, so full they want to drop from the cloth. He raises both hands to touch the cloth, asks, Which is this? This is persimmons, Father. Oh, the feel of the wolftail on the silk, the strength, the tense precision in the wrist. I painted them hundreds of times eyes closed. These I painted blind. Some things never leave a person: scent of the hair of one you love, the texture of persimmons, in your palm, the ripe weight.

[rjalker]

one of my successfully transplanted American persimmon seedlings planted in the woods

[ID: A photo of a young American persimmon tree, less than a foot tall, in a forest floor covered in pine needles and fallen sticks. The persimmon has smooth, round, light green leaves, with yellow central-leaf-veins. Behind it and in the foreground are small, young sweetleaf shrubs, with darker, skinnier leaves. End ID.]

BTW

Here's my free American / common persimmon identification guide:

Feel free to share the link wherever you want!

[lovelypurpletyphoon]

Diospyros virginiana my beloved (not my photo, I just really like persimmons)