Persimmons

if you do this, you will be my hero.-- I love persimmons and haven't been able to find any around here. Used to be a big tree of them on my way to the bus stop, oh, I would get so sticky.

Persimmon Pudding

http://content2.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/recipedetail.cfm?objectid=54289659-FE84-49FB-8FE8A442D56D1D33

but... any recipe that tells you to "pour flaming brandy over the warm pudding" is a winner in my book. :)

Persimmons and fire! You've caught my attention.

They are falling off trees all over Italy, I guess Marco Polo or some other traveller brought them back from the orient. I like them but don't love then since they can be tannic and slimy.

Gia- I remember the persimmons I tasted as a child were very tannic, especially if they weren't fully ripe. Check out the wikipedia link I added above. Apparently there are two major kinds of persimmons, astringent and nonastringent. The tannins we're both remembering are probably the astringent kind, but the most common around here aren't like that. They're a sweeter variety called Fuyu.

Hi Alan! Thank you so much for stopping by Messy Cucina.

Your blog has become a new favorite for me!! You are a very graceful writer and I found myself envious of your choice of words on a number of occasions.

I've never had a persimmon! I want to try one, but how do I pick a good one?

How long have you been in Hawai'i? We had a large number of Hawaiian students at my college and I learned a few dishes. My favorites are Kalua pork and Haupia.

WHICH leads me to ask you a huge favor. Though we've just met, I hope you don't mind: do you know/have a good recipe for Haupia? I asked a Hawiian woman I worked with for the recipe and she gladly obliged but the measurments were all arbitrary and I haven't been successful with anything I've found online.

One final ramble: I like your idea of highlighting your favorite posts in the "About" section. I may have to incorporate it into mine. . . Talk to you soon!

P.S. CINNAMON! That probably was what was missing! Let me know how it turns out.

Oh and Daryn thought the nuts were a little too soft, so if you like a crunchier nut, try cooking them a little past your comfort zone or toast them for 10 minutes in the oven beforehand.

Darla, I pick my persimmons by the feel, staying away from the firm ones. Color isn't necessarily a good indicator, because I think (don't quote me on this) they spray them with oxygen to cause the colors to bloom prematurely.

I have a haupia post coming up soon, using a recipe that "works for me."

Thanks for the kind words!

hi alan! i did a recent post on fuyus, where i tried out some new recipes; i liked all of them because they didn't seem to mask the peculiar qualities of the persimmon, nor did they seem like they were recipes intended for another fruit/vegetable where persimmons are substituted. one is a recipe where the fruit is cooked down with balsamic vinegar to make a pungent sauce, another is a salad, and the third is a simple but elegant dessert.

i've also tried a more autumnal type of cobbler/crumble type thing, which i'm sure you can have endless experiments with.

Santos, I'm using these little bad boys tonight, so I'm thinking half for the flaming pudding mentioned in the first comment above, and half for that salad you linked. Thanks!

ohhh, I would love to know how the flaming pudding turned out... and the salad... please don't forget to let us know how it goes!

I have mixed news to report. By the time I got off my okole to make these two recipes, my wife had stolen one persimmon and another had gone bad. I started making the salad (which was great, btw) and realized I wasn't going to have enough persimmon leftover to make the pudding. That'll have to wait to see if I can get my hands on more persimmons.

Now I've bought a bottle of decent brandy for a pudding I can't make any time soon. Hmm, maybe that's not such a bad thing after all...