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.)
APPEARANCE Rating:
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 Rating:
Pumpkin mixed with raw dough. I guess it smells a little yeasty.
TEXTURE Rating:
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 Rating:
Cross between a sweet carrot and a mild papaya with a slight tannic aftertaste.
OVERALL Overall Rating:
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 |