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In Season: Persimmons

YumSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:00:05 -0800

Despite the fact that it's Winter, don't limit your fruit intake to oranges, bananas, and apples. Next time you're at the market, pick up a few persimmons. The sweet, mild-flavored fruits, which originate from Asia, are in season between November and February.

Persimmons are bountiful in Asia, and are popular yard fruit trees in the United States, but if you've never enjoyed a persimmon before, know that there are two distinctly different kinds: fuyu persimmons and hachiyas. While they're both persimmons, fuyus and hachiyas have striking differences. Learn more about them when you read more.

Orange-red, acorn-shaped hachiya persimmons are very astringent when unripe, which means that if you eat them before their prime, you'll experience a bitter, tannic, chalky taste. When ready to eat, the variety will be soft and squishy to the touch with a jelly-like texture.

In contrast, tomato-shaped, light orange-hued fuyus are ripe when they are firm, yet give slightly to the touch, much like a peach. While the two kinds of persimmons are distinct, they're both aromatic and sweet. Here are some ideas for enjoying both of them:

Freeze soft hachiyas and eat them instead of ice cream.
Slice fuyus either cross-sectionally, like apples; or, for a pretty presentation, slice them laterally to show off their seeds' natural asterisk pattern.
Purée extremely ripe persimmons and mix into nutty batter for an enticing bread.
Use ripe hachiyas to make persimmon pudding.
Slice fuyus into a salad for added crunch, color, and flavor.

Have you been afraid to try persimmons until now? If you're already a fan, tell me how you like to enjoy them below.

Persimmon Bread Is a Generous Gift

YumSugar — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 08:00:51 -0800

Last weekend, I had an abundance of persimmons and decided I would make something for a friend who helped me organize an event. Luckily, I came across an enticing recipe for dessert bread made with persimmons, brandy, walnuts, and dates.

Because the recipe yields a huge batch, I altered it to make some muffins as well. The simple modification was as easy as pouring batter into muffin tins and baking for a shorter period of time. In one hour, I had muffins for the next week's breakfast, as well as a nutty dessert for my friend. To see how I did it all, read more.

Persimmon Bread
Adapted from Divine Caroline

Ingredients

3-1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2-1/4 cups sugar
1 cup melted butter
Four eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup Cognac
2 cups puree of very ripe persimmons
2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts
2 cups chopped dates

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Slowly add in melted butter, eggs, Cognac, and persimmon puree, and stir until combined. Add in walnuts and dates.
Butter and flour four bread molds, fill them about three-quarters full, and bake for about one hour. Cool the loaves in the molds and turn out on a rack. Alternately, fill a muffin tin until three-quarters full and bake 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool and wrap in foil.

Makes 4 loaves, or 1 loaf and 12 muffins. Keeps for 1 to 2 weeks.

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Taste Autumn With a Colorful Salad

YumSugar — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:00:39 -0800

I know I just said that I don't eat the seeds of pomegranates, but after the vast majority of you said "Why bother?" I proceeded to give it another try. Guess what? It's not so bad - it lends a textural crunch and grittiness that needs some getting used to, but I'm starting to like it.

I decided to embrace the seeds by tossing together a simple and straightforward Fall fruit salad. The result was a brilliantly-colored melange of persimmons, pomegranates, onions, and spinach with an equally bright flavor profile. To get excited for the season, read more.

Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad
From Jewish Holiday Feasts by Louise Fiszer and Jeannette Ferrary

Ingredients

8 cups torn spinach leaves
3 Fuyu persimmons, cut into thin slices
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
7 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Seeds from 1 large pomegranate

Directions

In a large bowl, combine spinach, persimmons, and onion.
Whisk together vinegar and oil. Toss with salad. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve.

Makes 8 servings.

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Yummy Link: Bourbon-Persimmon Loaves

YumSugar — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 01:39:31 -0800

Even though Christmas is over, it doesn't mean you have to stop baking. Especially if life gives you a load of persimmons. When that happens, you make boozy bourbon-persimmon loaves. - Bunrab

What's In Season: Persimmons

YumSugar — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 07:59:58 -0800

Ever decide to make a recipe, write up a grocery list, and head to the store only to discover sadly that the star ingredient of your dish is actually out of season? There is a reason strawberry shortcakes are only consumed in summer and sweet potato pie in winter. Of course modern American supermarkets would like the average everyday Jane to think that everything is always in season, but they're not fooling me. More and more chefs and restaurants have returned to cooking with fresh, seasonal ingredients. To help you do the same in your kitchen, once a week I'll write about what fruits and vegetables you should be eating now.

Let's start with persimmons, which are in season from November until February, but peak in November and December (so hurry and get your fix while the fixings good). Persimmons are a fruit of Chinese origin and early American settlers used them to make beer and wine. When ripe, the persimmon has a smooth, creamy texture, tangy-sweet flavor, and bright red-orange skin and flesh. The most common persimmon is the Hachiya or the Japanese persimmon. Don't even think about eating these heart shaped little babies until they're ripe because the incredible astringency will make your mouth pucker. You'll know that the Hachiya is ripe when the flesh feels squishy, almost like a water balloon full of jelly.

Persimmons are chock full of vitamins, can be used in recipes (like this one for persimmon bread ) or enjoyed eaten right out of the hand. I personally like to freeze them and eat them as if they were ice cream.

Persimmon Bread

YumSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 12:03:26 -0800

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Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad

YumSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 15:54:09 -0800

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What's Cooking at Slashfood

YumSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:50:44 -0700

We love Slashfood so much that every Thursday we round up their most delicious stories. Here are this week's finds:

Citrus unites with an unusual partner, persimmons, to create a standout lemon bar.
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg declares July "Good Beer Month."
What's better for the Fourth than corn cobs and burgers? Corn on your burgers.
Don't underestimate the importance of cleaning your coffee machine.
Check out all of the favorites from this year's Summer Fancy Foods Show.
A insider's look at faire la sonde, the ritual of tasting a cheese wheel.

Photo by surlygirl

Would You Watch a 5-Year-Old's Cooking Show?

YumSugar — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 10:30:30 -0800

Last week The Oregonian had an interesting piece about a 5-year-old child who has his own cooking show. On Portland Community Media's show The Big Kitchen With Food, kid chef Julian Kreusser shows viewers how to make chocolate chip zucchini bread, a killer spaghetti sauce, and persimmon smoothies. To learn more about the pint-sized chef and check out a video of his show, read more.

It's possible that before he was teething, Julian was cooking. By the ripe old age of three, he was scrambling eggs and inventing recipes such as toasted green olives. The next year, he decided he wanted to cook on TV. And at his current age, he's already achieved his goal.

"He actually understands what he's doing. He's not just following orders," explains Portland Community Media executive director Sylvia McDaniel. In fact, all of the show's recipes are Julian originals - and so is the show's theme song. More importantly, viewers love him: "It has potential to be a national program," she says.

I'm not sure what to think. On the one hand, both Julian and the show are adorable, but on the flip side, I wonder if he should be on a playground instead of a televised cooking show. Watch the video below and tell me: What do you think of the kid chef?

Source

Reader Recipe: Pouding Chomeur

YumSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:00:36 -0800

From butternut squash mac and cheese to persimmon and pomegranate salad, lately I can't get enough of everything Fall. Desserts, in particular, are comforting in a way that no other dish can be, and FinnLover's pudding, with its Autumn spices, apples, and brown sugar syrup, embodies exactly that. To make this basic dessert and Québécois favorite, read more.

Submitted by TeamSugar member FinnLover

Apple and Cinnamon "Pouding Chomeur"
Adapted from "Delices Traditionnels du Quebec", Les Editions La Bonne Recette

"Pouding chômeur", which is French for the unemployed's pudding, is a traditional dessert from Quebec. It is normally a very basic recipe but since I had some apples on hand, I adapted a traditional recipe by adding apples and cinnamon. It resulted in a cake that was a bit more moist and sticky than the traditional one, but so much more flavorful. The cinnamon was a nice addition too.

Ingredients

* 2 tbsp butter
* 1 egg
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 3/4 cup flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1 or 2 apples, cored and peeled, finely chopped

* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 3/4 cup water

Directions

* Preheat your oven to 375 F (190 C) *

1. In a large bowl, mix the butter and the sugar together.

2. Add the egg and mix until you get a smooth texture.

3. In another bowl, mix the flour, the baking powder and the cinnamon together.

4. Add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix well. Then add the milk and mix well. Add the rest of the flour and mix well. Add the apples to the mixture.

5. Pour the batter into a small baking dish.

6. In a small saucepan, bring to a boil the water and the brown sugar.

7. As soon as it boils, pour the syrup all over the cake.

8. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a fork inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

It might look like a big mess, but it was a yummy mess.

Really good on its own.

But I was feeling naughty and decided to top it with some raisins and some heavy cream. Chopped nuts would have been good too. And vanilla ice cream is even better!

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