The persimmons are starting to drop. Not much tastier than a ripe one. Not much more mouth-puckering tannic when unripe. And at least with the trees I've found, spontaneously fallen from the tree and jelly-soft is no guarantee it is ready. I started trying different methods to remove the astringency. One suggestion was to freeze them solid then thaw them. That was a complete and utter bust. Do not waste your time. I put some on the counter and some in the fridge to let time work its magic, but they are at every different level of ripeness. Astringent asian persimmon are sprayed with ethanol and that triggers them to lose astringency. I've got that experiment running. I put a few in the dehydrator at 120 degrees for about 2 days. Lo and behold, they had lost their astringency! Texture was a little gritty/mealy but flavor was good and no cotton mouth. Just a hint of it maybe when I finished but very little if any. No problems while enjoying them. Now working on tweaking the formula to see if I can get a better texture and still lose the astringency. Persimmon lovers rejoice! It is possible to pick them up without regard for ripeness (I did take only the ones that had at least started turning orange- no green ones) and remove the astringency while simultaneously preserving them. This is a persimmon game-changer for me!
Worked in a grocery store in high school, my buddy worked in the produce department. We would have fun with the new hires getting them to eat a persimmon. Most people had never heard of them and would try it. I took a bite once not sure I’m interested in trying again!
