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Thursday, August 30, 2007

PERSIMMON - FUYU PERSIMMON




Common Name: Persimmon
Vernacular Name: Oriental persimmon, Japanese persimmon, Kaki, Sharon fruit
Botanical Name: Diospyros kaki
Specimens From: China
Specimens Weight: 138 gm [4.87 oz] (average weight per fruit)

Persimmon in this species are also called "Oriental or Japanese" persimmon, excluding the "American Persimmon" as it is classified under another species but in the same family. It is basically divided into two categories, namely "Astringent and Non-astringent" persimmons:

Astringent: Can only be eaten when it is completely ripe due to the high content of tanin.

Non-astringent: Can be eaten even in its hard, orange stage as the tanin content is greatly reduced, the moment it turn from green to orange.

Fuyu persimmon is by far the most popular and well-known cultivar of persimmons. It is a non-astringent type. "Fuyu" is the shorten Japanese name for "Fuyugaki", meaning "Winter Persimmon". Although this fruit originated from China, the Japanese name was adopted as Japan cultivated it and made popular by them.

The shape is usually slightly squarish and flatten, a little similar to a tomato. It is green and hard when unripe (refer to the left fruit, top photo) and turn yellowish-orange to orange-red when ripe. You can eat it even when it is hard and it is crispy, like an apple but not that sweet. It is nicer to eat when it is softer as it will be much sweeter but don't wait till it over-ripes, it will turn mushy and does not look good too. You do not need to peel the skin as it is edible but just don't eat the flatten seeds.

Since this fruit is non-astringent, it can be cut into smaller pieces and mixed into salad or can be used as desserts, puddings, cakes etc.

Those commercially-available persimmons that shape like an acorn are usually the "Hachiya" cultivar, an astringent persimmon. And "Sharon fruit" is the trademark name for those persimmon cultivated in Israel and not apply across the board for every type of persimmons, which is commonly mistaken every now and then.

Korean Dried Persimmon
In east Asia, dried persimmons are often eaten as a snack. The Korean dried persimmon ranges from sweet to almost bland. It is soft but slightly chewy. The Chinese version is flattened and round. The Japanese one is the most expensive of the three.


Fruit: Fuyu Persimmon ; Diospyros kaki ; Ebenaceae.


Other fruit in the same family: Tamopan Persimmon.


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21 comments:

Mom Knows Everything said...

Wow, you have an amazing knowledge of fruit. Most of these I haven't even heard of. The other ones I wasn't quite sure what to do with. Very informative.

Fruity said...

Hi Tammy, thank you for dropping by. I know simply because I did a lot of research on it. Come back again whenever you need some info. Cheers from Fruity!

Anonymous said...

Never heard of it and I don't think you can get it in Norway.
Very interesting and informative post though, thanks for sharing!

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

Great blog!!! I've always wondered what persimmon fruit was like inside. :D

JJ

Fruity said...

Hi Rennyba. Great to see you again. It is cultivated in southern Europe. Your country can only grow those fruits that can withstand extreme coldness, which is limited. Cheers

Fruity said...

Hi JJ. Thanks for dropping by. And so now you know and you will know a lot more of the inside of other exotic fruits too. Cheers from Fruity

Anonymous said...

We call it Pisang Kaki here in Malaysia :) My mom absolutely love it!

Fruity said...

"Pisang" sounds like banana :)

Peggy said...

Oh, I LOVE persimmon! They're my favorite fruit ever. :) Thanks for the cool info!

Fruity said...

Hi Peggy: Persimmon is one of my fav too. It's sweet, isn't it. You are welcomed, it's a fruity info :)

Anonymous said...

in Russia we call it khurma, it is very widespread, since it comes from the neighbouring countries that used to be part of Soviet Union. i like them very much, but i made my hungarian boyfriend (btw. in hungary its called kakiszilva aka kaki-plum) try one and he was pretty much disappointed and never wanted one again.:)))

Jackie said...

Thanks for posting. Saw them in my supermarket for the first time this week and wasn't sure whether to try them.

Anonymous said...

Hi,yes!I love it.In My hometown shandong qingzhou China,there are a lot of this kind of tree. Now they are in the riping season and the total production can over 10000 ton. If any one is interested in dealing,please feel free to tell me. my email:liwentaoandy@163.com. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi the house i moved into has these growing in the back yard! I have been trying to figure out what they were!!! most of them are turning red, i picked one and cut it open to see what it looked smelled like.. it dosent taste like much of anything though.. when will I know they are ripe?

Fruity said...

Stephenie: There are many species and cultivars of persimmons. If it is hard and bitter, don't eat it. To be safe, soft to the touch is usually ripe.
Fruity

Anonymous said...

great fruit

Anonymous said...

thank you

Unknown said...

omg i found some fuyu seeds n now 2 of the 3 are rooting 1 i think will almost out of the seed lol ^^ n guess where i grew them ~took lyk 3 months ( idk exact time) ~ in my fish tank!!!!!!!!!!!!! who knew ~besides me~ ^^ lol <3 this kind of fruit <33333 lol :3

Paul said...

These are very tasty. Why can't you eat the seeds though?

Anonymous said...

Its an especially wonderful fruit.
Thanks for sharing the text.

suman
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Anonymous said...

Found some typos...just saying and I have this fruit at home. I began to become curious of what it is. Before I try it, does it taste good?