
One of the best ways to have a healthier dessert is by indulging in sweet, ripe fruit. Persimmons are a beautiful orange colored fruit originally from China which are known for their sweet, honey-like flavor. Eat persimmons however you please, whether that be jellies, drinks, pies, or puddings.
- Persimmons are small in size, but don't hold that against them! A 168-gram Japanese persimmon contains15% of the daily value of Vitamin A, 14% of the DV of Vitamin C, 21% of the DV of Copper and 26% of the DV of Manganese
- Having low calories and high fiber makes persimmons a weight-loss friendly food
- Persimmons contain beneficial plant compounds with antioxidant qualities.
- Persimmons are also known to benefit heart health
Recipes:
Persimmon Bead (davidlebovitz.com)
- 3 1/2 cups Sifted Flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
- 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups Sugar
- 1 cup melted Unsalted butter and cooled to room temp
- 4 large Eggs, room temperature
- 2/3 cups Cognac or Bourbon Whiskey
- 2 cups Persimmon Puree
- 2 cups Walnuts or Pecans, toasted and chopped
- 2 cups Raisins, or other dried fruit
Butter 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess.
Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC) degrees.
Sift the first 5 dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Make a well in the center then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree then the nuts and raisins.
Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Persimmon Jam (cooking-therapy.com)
- 6 Fuyu Persimmons
- 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
Remove the skins from the persimmons and cut into small pieces. Make sure to remove the stems and seeds.
Add sliced persimmons to a sauce pan with lemon juice. Heat over medium heat for 15 minutes to soften up the fruit. Use a potato masher to help the process along.
After 15 minutes, add sugar and salt and stir until the sugar melts. Simmer for another 10-15 minutes to thicken up the jam. Use the potato masher to crush the fruit if it still seems too lumpy.
Test the jam by spooning a small amount onto a plate. Tilt the plate, and if it doesn’t slide, the jam should be done. Cook for a few more minutes if it fails the test.
Remove the sauce pan from the heat. You can stop here if you want, but I wanted a smoother consistency, so I used an immersion blender to smooth out the jam.
Spoon jam into a jar for storage. You can store the jam for up to a year in your pantry if unopened. Once opened, they last up to a month in the fridge.
Baked Feta with Persimmons (mysweetgreek.com)
- 5 ounces Feta
- 3/4 pounds Fugu Persimmons
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 4 Sprigs Thyme
- Crusty Bread for Dipping
- Balsamic for Drizzling
- Preheat oven to 425F
- Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish. Place a layer of persimmon slices down in a single layer, or slightly overlapping.
- Place feta on persimmon slices, and scatter additional persimmon slices and around it.
- Generously drizzle olive oil over everything.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 20 minutes until feta is soft and persimmons are roasted.
- Drizzle with petimezi or a nice aged balsamic vinegar.
Persimmon Salad (whatsgabycooking.com)
- 2 pounds Fuyu Persimmons and/or Honeycrisp Apples
- 8 ounces Radicchio or Treviso
- 4 ounces Baby Kale or another hearty green
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Honey
- 1 Shallot, finely chopped
- Kosher Salt, freshly Cracked Black Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
- 1/4 cup Pomegranate Seeds
- 3 tablespoons Candied Walnuts or Marcona Almonds
- 1/2 cup crumbled Feta
Cut off the tough green tops and slice each persimmon in 10 to 12 wedges.
In a small jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, honey, shallot, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Tightly cover and shake hard to mix well. Taste the dressing on a small piece of persimmon. There should be just enough red pepper flakes to give it a little kick. If you'd like it hotter, add more and shake again
Combine the persimmons, radicchio, kale and the dressing in a work bowl and toss to coat well. Turn the salad out into a decorative bowl and sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and walnuts. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.