Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Persimmon Pudding !

Those are my Persimmon trees.  I started them from seeds a number of years ago.  This year we are getting a bumper crop!  The little tree isn't bearing yet, and that may be because I transplanted it a few years after the two larger trees.
Here, you can see, side by side, two persimmons on the tree.  One is nearly ripe and one is still green.  You do NOT want to eat a persimmon that is anything less than "dead ripe."  It will make your mouth pucker!  You have to wait until they fall off the tree and then pick them up.  You can also shake the tree gently and pick up the ones that were ready to fall.
A view up into the tree.  Loaded with fruit!!
Here is the bowl of persimmons I picked up today.
I picked off the little, hard caps...
and put the fruit in my Foley food mill over a bowl to catch the pulp.  Here is how I operate it.  Crank it 5 times clockwise, and then 1 time counter-clockwise.  Repeat until you feel that you've squished as much pulp from the fruit as possible.  Then discard the seeds (or save some to plant a nursery row of saplings.)
Some of the persimmons were quite large.
I've gathered all of the ingredients for the persimmon pudding. (Recipe follows)
The batter is all well beaten.  You must beat it very well, so it gets kind of fluffy.
Spread the batter in a buttered square baking pan.
Just out of the oven!  
Here is a photo of the original recipe I was given in 1980 by a sweet neighbor lady.  They had a large persimmon tree and invited me to come and get some.  I've loved persimmons and persimmon pudding ever since!

If you can't see the recipe very well, click on the picture and it will get bigger.  This time I cut the amount in half.  If you do a whole batch, use a 9 x 13 baking pan.  But, since it's just me and my husband here, we certainly don't need that much!  However, after it's completely cool, you can cut it in pieces and freeze them, well wrapped.  It's good, even frozen.  :)  I made some substitutions, also.  Here is what I did:

Persimmon Pudding

2 cups persimmon pulp
1 cup milk (that is twice what is called for and it turned out very nice.)
1 egg
1 cup Sucanat
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream the sugar and butter.  Add the pulp and egg and beat well.  Add the dry ingredients, alternately, with the milk, and beat very well.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.  Test with a toothpick to see if it's done.

Serve warm or chilled.  Fabulous with whipped cream, but really really good just plain!

Persimmons are native to where I live in Indiana.  It is an unusual fruit, and blessedly needs nothing to keep it free of insect damage.  Deer LOVE persimmons, so if you want some, you need to gather them in a timely manner or you will lose out!  There are lots and lots of spitted out seeds out there.  We have many white tailed deer in the area.

 

10 comments:

  1. That looks delicious! I have never cooked with persimmons.

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    1. Thank you! I hope some day you get to have some. These are not quite the same as the very large ones you can sometimes buy in a store, but those make good pudding also, I'm told.

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  2. This recipe looks so delicious. I will have to try making this with a gluten free flour (maybe chestnut or macadamia flour) and chia seeds for thickening. I love persimmons. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. You're welcome! I would enjoy hearing how you actually made yours.

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  4. Hi, just found your site today and have really enjoyed reading through your posts.

    We had to remove 8 beautiful mature elm trees last fall due to Dutch Elm Disease. So sad. However, it has made way for us to plant new trees and I have been thinking of Persimmon. Would you tell me a little more about them? Are they messy trees? How soon do they produce fruit? I'm in Illinois and we have big problems with Japanese Beetles. Do you have any issues there?

    Thanks,

    Nicole

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    1. Hello, Nicole! Persimmon trees will start to have fruit in about 10 years. They can get quite tall over time. I have seen old ones, but I can't estimate the height. As for "messy", well, when they drop fruit (which is when you pick it up and eat it) yes, there is some mess, but that's only once a year. If you have deer, they will come and eat the fruit before you can, and Robins love it too, we found out this winter. They are not hard to start. I started ours from seed in a little nursery row in the garden and then transplanted them when they were big enough. Such a shame about your Elms. :( These require no spraying.

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    2. That is, the deer will take them if you don't get to them first!

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    3. Thanks for your input! I will be adding this tree to my list. Seems like its pretty low care. Hard to beat low care AND edible. I think my husband would love your recipe!

      Take care,

      Nicole

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    4. You are very welcome. Good luck with your trees! :)

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