Fruit Maven » Persimmon http://fruitmaven.com Your guide through the wild world of fruit. Tue, 15 May 2012 22:33:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Fuyu Persimmon http://fruitmaven.com/2011/11/fuyu-persimmon/ http://fruitmaven.com/2011/11/fuyu-persimmon/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:51:34 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=2412 Today’s fruit is one of the most common varieties of Persimmon available, the Fuyu. I have largely avoided the Fuyu review because really, how can I write the letters FUYU without making a reference to one of the most dramatic and effective swear words in existence. Now I know many, if not all of you, are thinking that the “F” word never even crossed your mind when you saw Fuyu and you never once considered saying “F You” instead. That just means you likely do not have the mind of a girl who grew up on the hard streets of Reno (see Reno 911 for proof of this), not that the reference isn’t screamingly obvious.

For being such a lovely looking fruit with a grown up flavor, I was shocked to discover that in addition to the name Fuyu making me swear in my head, it is also called Monkey Guava and Swamp Ebony. (Why yes, I did take a big bite out of a swamp ebony. Thank you very much.)

Fuyu Persimmon
APPEARANCE 4.5 out of 5 stars

This fruit looks fake to me with it’s shiny sculpted presence and leafy chapeau. It has no give, which makes me wonder if it has had some work done (Shhh. I’m thinking botox). Nonetheless, I think it is just lovely.

AROMA 2 out of 5 stars

Pumpkin mixed with raw dough. I guess it smells a little yeasty.

TEXTURE 3.5 out of 5 stars

This is a relatively firm fruit, which is exactly how you are supposed to eat a Fuyu (unlike a Hachiya for example, which needs to be soft). It has a thin skin, satisfying crunch and is seedless with a nice mild level of juice.

TASTE 3 out of 5 stars

Cross between a sweet carrot and a mild papaya with a slight tannic aftertaste.

OVERALL 3.25 out of 5 stars

I want to like this Persimmon. I really do. I keep taking bites of it in hopes that the darn thing will win me over. I mean look at it. It’s a stunner. Walk around eating one of these instead of an apple and heads will turn I tell you. When they ask what it is, you can just yell “FUYU” and laugh to yourself. But seriously, I guess it tastes “healthy” and that is both a compliment and a criticism. I want my fruit to taste like the sinful temptation Eve knew them to be but this one just doesn’t do that. It makes me want to cook it or chop it up in a salad. And if a fruit makes me want to get up and do work, then I can assure you, it is not the fruit for me. But hey, maybe it’s the fruit for you! And maybe you want to invite me over after you make something amazing with it. A girl can dream…

NOTES

You can wait to eat the Fuyu Persimmon until it is quite a bit more ripe and it gets a bit sweeter, but then it loses that lovely crunch.

Also, the raw fruit is sometimes used to treat constipation and hemorrhoids. I do not know, nor do I want to know, how this is done. Please do not leave it in the comments.

FRUIT
Persimmon		 PEAK
Fall 		PURCHASED
Whole Foods
VARIETY
Fuyu		 GROWN
California

]]> http://fruitmaven.com/2011/11/fuyu-persimmon/feed/ 0 Tsurunoko (Chocolate) Persimmon http://fruitmaven.com/2009/11/tsurunoko-chocolate-persimmon/ http://fruitmaven.com/2009/11/tsurunoko-chocolate-persimmon/#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:16:14 +0000 Fruit Maven http://fruitmaven.com/?p=886 If you have a hard time deciding between chocolate and fruit for dessert, then this is the fruit for you! chocolate persimmon slice
APPEARANCE 4 out of 5 stars

Bright beautiful orange skin, oblong shape, brown grainy looking flesh and relatively large flat seeds that make a pretty star anise design when cut.

AROMA 4 out of 5 stars

Citrusy – basically smells like an orange (for some reason that seems odd to me).

TEXTURE 3.5 out of 5 stars

Soft with nice juice, slightly grainy flesh.

TASTE 3.5 out of 5 stars

Not overly sweet, flavor reminds me of melons with a little spicy kick to it and a depth of cocoa that rounds out the flavor nicely.

OVERALL 3.75 out of 5 stars

You have to be careful with these. If you eat them too soon you don’t get the chocolate flavor and it has a lingering, dry, that-banana-isn’t-quite-ripe, mouth feel (also known as astringency). I tried this persimmon when it was still firm and the astringency was overwhelming. After reading up on it, it looks like sometimes they can be eaten while still firm, but sometimes not. It sounded like this would go away if I just waited a few days until it was slightly soft like an avocado. So I waited and – SHABAM – soft, luxurious, lovely, spicy chocolate persimmon flavor. Worth the wait! I mean, how often can you happily eat brown fruit and be pleased about it? Not often enough I say.

FRUIT

Persimmon

VARIETY

Tsurunoko (Chocolate)

PEAK

Fall

GROWN

Penryn Orchard
Placer County, CA

PURCHASED

Specialty Produce

NOTES

I was wondering why this fruit is brown. (Weren’t you? You should be. Brown fruit is not normal and not a sign of yumminess – generally. We have to look into these things. I can’t be responsible for some rogue hiker eating a brown berry and thinking it is fine because he or she vaguely remembered some delicious brown fleshed fruit on my site.) So anyway, David Karp of the LA Times provides this very helpful information, “…small quantities of alcohol exuded from the seeds cause the tannins in the flesh to clump together, turning the pulp brown, softening the astringency and developing a rich, distinctive flavor.” Phew! We are not going to die from this cocoa fruit. Carry on fruit eaters. Carry on.

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