Our Persimmon Tree

 

       

As some of you will already know we have our very own Persimmon tree just outside the kitchen which provides shade on our terrace during the summer. During the summer the fruit is hard and looks very similar to a large green apple, not good when they drop off as part of the natural process, narrowly missing those seeking shade by sitting under the tree! The fruit gradually softens and changes colour from pale orange through to an almost tomato red orange colour. The redder they are the softer they are and you need to pick them and eat them at this stage as they do not seem to store for long. The done thing is to pick and enjoy for pranzo, lunch or cena, supper straight from the tree. Despite losing what seemed like hundreds during the ripening process it is still covered in what are now Orange Balls, just like Christmas Decorations.  The art is in picking them before they drop on the terrace or a passing person if you are unlucky, by now a rather messy process. We have had some near misses but no direct strikes yet!

As you drive around the area you see lots of these trees now bare of leaves adding a Christmas feel to the landscape.

We know our neighbours enjoy the fruit and eat them regularly at this time of the year but wonder how many of those free Christmas Decorations are left on the trees as like us Italians generally find they are a fruit which is of very acquired taste, not something everyone enjoys by any means. Meanwhile the birds enjoy the fruit and we appreciate its attractiveness!

Parts of this post may seem familiar to readers who have been with me for over a year, but I have written about the Persimmon again as I really wanted to share an amazing recipe for using this fruit with you all.

Last year we asked for ideas of how to use our surplus Persimmon fruits and this is what was suggested to us by Heiko from Path to Self Sufficiency

 

 I will reproduce the recipe here but if you want to read the original post on Heiko’s blog  Path to Self Sufficiency from 2007 you can do so here

It really is very easy - 1 kg of persimmon, peeled and chopped, add 350g brown sugar, 250 ml white wine vinegar, 2 tsp of dried ginger and 2 bay leaves. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45-60 minutes until cooked to a pulp that is thick and jam-like. Pot up in hot jars, seal and store.

You may also know this fruit as kaki or sharon fruit, but whatever you call it, if you can get hold of some do try this recipe sometime. It works and really does taste like Mango Chutney!

Another recent post about Persimmon this time from a blog I enjoy reading about Life in Japan Life in Kawagoe

Persimmon Photos.

 

Early summer green and hard, looking like apples.

Below is how the fruit changes colour during the late summer.

November shows the Persimmon tree in all its Autumn glory.

By mid November the leaves are dropping

Finally our very own Christmas Persimmon Tree

All rights reserved by LindyLouMac Photo Collection

The photos are all my own except the chutney picture which is courtesy of Heiko but I will admit that some of them are from last year including this magnificent Christmas Persimmon Tree. This year we have removed lots to make our Persimmon Mango Chutney.

If you are interested in viewing more  of my Persimmon photos there are plenty in the Flickr albums Persimmon Year  and Persimmon 2011

Have a lovely weekend end everyone, the last one before Christmas, so hope you are by now well organised!