Persimmons are the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros.
Diospyros is in the family Ebenaceae. The most widely cultivated species is the Asian
persimmon, Diospyros kaki. In color the ripe fruit of the cultivated strains range from
light yellow-orange to dark red-orange depending on the species and variety. They similarly
vary in size from 1.5 to 9 cm in diameter, and in shape the varieties may be spherical,
acorn-, or pumpkin-shaped. The calyx generally remains attached to the fruit after harvesting,
but becomes easy to remove once the fruit is ripe. The ripe fruit has a high glucose
content. The protein content is low, but it has a balanced protein profile. Persimmon
fruits have been put to various medicinal and chemical uses.
Like the tomato, persimmons are not popularly considered to be berries, but in terms of
botanical morphology the fruit is in fact a berry.
Names and etymology The word Diospyros comes from the ancient
Greek words "Dios" and "pyros". In context, this means more or less "divine fruit", though
its literal meaning is closer to "Wheat of Zeus". It is, however, sufficiently confusing
to have given rise to some curious interpretations, such as "God's pear" and "Jove's fire". The
Modern Greek name for the fruit is λωτός which leads modern Greeks to the assumption
that this is the lotus referred to in Homer's Odyssey.
The word persimmon itself is derived from putchamin, pasiminan, or pessamin, from Powhatan,
an Algonquian language of the eastern United States, meaning "a dry fruit".
Select species
While there are many species of Diospyros that bear fruit inedible to humans, the following
are those that bear edible fruit: Diospyros kaki
Diospyros kaki is native to China. It is deciduous, with broad, stiff leaves and is known as the
shizi, and also as the Japanese Persimmon or kaki in Japanese. It is the most widely
cultivated species. Its fruits are sweet, and slightly tangy with a soft to occasionally
fibrous texture. Cultivation of the fruit extended first to other parts of east Asia
and Pakistan, and was later introduced to California and southern Europe in the 1800s,
to Brazil in the 1890s, and numerous cultivars have been selected. It is edible in its crisp
firm state, but has its best flavor when allowed to rest and soften slightly after harvest.
The Japanese cultivar 'Hachiya' is widely grown. The fruit has a high tannin content
which makes the immature fruit astringent and bitter. The tannin levels are reduced
as the fruit matures. Persimmons like 'Hachiya' must be completely ripened before consumption.
When ripe, this fruit comprises thick pulpy jelly encased in a waxy thin skinned shell.
"Sharon fruit" is the marketing name for the Israeli-bred cultivar 'Triumph'. As with all
pollination-variant-astringent persimmons, the fruit are ripened off the tree by exposing
them to carbon dioxide. The "sharon fruit" has no core, is seedless, particularly sweet,
and can be eaten whole.
Diospyros lotus Date-plum is native to southwest Asia and
southeast Europe. It was known to the ancient Greeks as "the fruit of the gods", or often
referred to as "nature's candy" i.e. Dios pyros, hence the scientific name of the genus.
Its English name probably derives from Persian Khormaloo خرمالو literally "date-plum",
referring to the taste of this fruit which is reminiscent of both plums and dates. This
species is one candidate for the lotus mentioned in the Odyssey: it was so delicious that those
who ate it forgot about returning home and wanted to stay and eat lotus with the lotus-eaters.
Diospyros virginiana American persimmon is native to the eastern
United States and is higher in nutrients like vitamin C, calcium, iron and potassium than
the Japanese Persimmon. Its fruit is traditionally eaten in a special steamed pudding in the
Midwest and sometimes its timber is used as a substitute for ebony. The American persimmon
fruit is proven to be valuable food source for white tail deer, because the fruit ripens
late into the year and will hang on the tree much throughout the winter months.
Diospyros digyna Black persimmon or black sapote is native
to Mexico. Its fruit has green skin and white flesh, which turns black when ripe.
Diospyros discolor The Mabolo or Velvet-apple is native to the
Philippines. It is bright red when ripe. It is also native to China, where it is known
as shizi. It is also known as Korean mango. Diospyros peregrina
Indian persimmon is a slow growing tree, native to coastal West Bengal. The fruit is green
and turns yellow when ripe. It is relatively small and has an unremarkable flavor and is
better known for its medicinal than its culinary uses.
Diospyros texana Texas persimmon is a species of persimmon
that is native to central and west Texas and southwest Oklahoma in the United States, and
eastern Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. The
fruit of D. texana are black on the outsidesubglobose berries with a diameter of 1.5–2.5 cm ripen
in August.The fleshy berries become edible when they turn dark purple or black. At which
point they are sweet and can be eaten from the hand or made into pudding or custard.
Fruit
Commercially and in general, there are two types of persimmon fruit: astringent and non-astringent.
The heart-shaped Hachiya is the most common variety of astringent persimmon. Astringent
persimmons contain very high levels of soluble tannins and are unpalatably astringent if
eaten before completely softened. However, the sweet, delicate flavor of fully ripened
persimmons of varieties that are astringent when unripe, is particularly relished. The
astringency of tannins is removed in various ways. Examples include ripening by exposure
to light for several days, and wrapping the fruit in paper. Ethylene ripening can be increased
in reliability and evenness, and the process can be greatly accelerated, by adding ethylene
gas to the atmosphere in which the fruit are stored. For domestic purposes the most convenient
and effective process is to store the ripening persimmons in a clean, dry container together
with other varieties of fruit that give off particularly large quantities of ethylene
while they are ripening; apples and related fruits such as pears are effective, and so
are bananas and several others. Other chemicals are used commercially in artificially ripening
persimmons or delaying their ripening. Examples include alcohol and carbon dioxide which change
tannin into the insoluble form. Such bletting processes sometimes are jumpstarted by exposing
the fruit to cold or frost. The resultant cell damage stimulates the release of ethylene,
which promotes cellular wall breakdown.
One traditional misconception is that persimmons are to be ripened till rotten. This is a confusion
of the processes of controlled ripening with the processes of decay, possibly arising from
problems of translation from Asiatic languages onto English. Rotting is the action of microorganisms
such as fungi, and rotting persimmons are no better than any other rotting fruit. Sound
persimmons should be ripened till they are fully soft, except that the carpels still
might be softly chewy. At that stage the skin might be splitting and the calyx can easily
be plucked out of the fruit before serving, which often is a good sign that the soft fruit
is ready to eat. Astringent varieties of persimmons also can
be prepared for commercial purposes by drying. Tanenashi fruit will occasionally contain
a seed or two, which can be planted and will yield a larger more vertical tree than when
merely grafted onto the D. virginiana rootstock most commonly used in the U.S. Such seedling
trees may produce fruit that bears more seeds, usually 6 to 8 per fruit, and the fruit itself
may vary slightly from the parent tree. Seedlings are said to be more susceptible to root nematodes.
The non-astringent persimmon is squat like a tomato and is most commonly sold as fuyu.
Non-astringent persimmons are not actually free of tannins as the term suggests, but
rather are far less astringent before ripening, and lose more of their tannic quality sooner.
Non-astringent persimmons may be consumed when still very firm, and remain edible when
very soft. There is a third type, less commonly available,
the pollination-variant non-astringent persimmons. When fully pollinated, the flesh of these
fruit is brown inside—known as goma in Japan—and the fruit can be eaten firm. These varieties
are highly sought after and can be found at specialty markets or farmers markets only.
Tsurunoko, sold as "chocolate persimmon" for its dark brown flesh, Maru, sold as "cinnamon
persimmon" for its spicy flavor, and Hyakume, sold as "brown sugar" are the three best known.
Before ripening, persimmons usually have a "chalky" taste or bitter taste.
Fruit production The table below shows figures of persimmons
for the world's top ten persimmon producing countries according to FAO statistics.
Culinary uses
Persimmons are eaten fresh, dried, raw, or cooked. When eaten fresh they are usually
eaten whole like an apple or cut into quarters, though with some varieties it is best to peel
the skin first. One way to consume very ripe persimmons, which can have the texture of
pudding, is to remove the top leaf with a paring knife and scoop out the flesh with
a spoon. Riper persimmons can also be eaten by removing the top leaf, breaking the fruit
in half and eating from the inside out. The flesh ranges from firm to mushy, and the texture
is unique. The flesh is very sweet and when firm due to being unripe, possesses an apple-like
crunch. American persimmons and diospyros digyna are completely inedible until they
are fully ripe. In China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam after
harvesting, 'Hachiya' persimmons are prepared using traditional hand-drying techniques,
outdoors for two to three weeks. The fruit is then further dried by exposure to heat
over several days before being shipped to market. In Japan the dried fruit is called
hoshigaki, in China it is known as "shìbǐng", in Korea it is known as gotgam, and in Vietnam
it is called hồng khô. It is eaten as a snack or dessert and used for other culinary
purposes.
In Korea, dried persimmon fruits are used to make the traditional Korean spicy punch,
sujeonggwa, while the matured, fermented fruit is used to make a persimmon vinegar called
gamsikcho. In Taiwan, fruits of astringent varieties
are sealed in jars filled with limewater to get rid of bitterness. Slightly hardened in
the process, they are sold under the name "crisp persimmon" or "water persimmon". Preparation
time is dependent upon temperature). In some areas of Manchuria and Korea, the dried leaves
of the fruit are used for making tea. The Korean name for this tea is ghamnip cha.
In the Old Northwest of the United States, persimmons are harvested and used in a variety
of dessert dishes most notably pies. It can be used in cookies, cakes, puddings, salads,
curries and as a topping for breakfast cereal. Persimmon pudding is a dessert using fresh
persimmons. An annual persimmon festival, featuring a persimmon pudding contest, is
held every September in Mitchell, Indiana. Persimmon pudding is a baked pudding that
has the consistency of pumpkin pie but resembles a brownie and is almost always topped with
whipped cream. Persimmons may be stored at room temperature 20 °C where they will continue
to ripen. In northern China, unripe persimmons are frozen outside during winter to speed
up the ripening process. Nutrient and phytochemical content
Compared to apples, persimmons have higher levels of dietary fiber, sodium, potassium,
magnesium, calcium, iron and manganese, but lower levels of copper and zinc. They also
contain vitamin C and provitamin A beta-carotene. Persimmon fruits contain phytochemicals, such
as catechin and gallocatechin, as well as compounds under preliminary research for potential
anti-cancer activity, such as betulinic acid. In one study, a diet supplemented with dried,
powdered triumph persimmons improved lipid metabolism in laboratory rats.
Unripened persimmons Unripened persimmons contain the soluble tannin
shibuol, which, upon contact with a weak acid, polymerizes in the stomach and forms a gluey
coagulum, a "foodball" or phytobezoar, that can affix with other stomach matter. These
phytobezoars are often very hard and almost woody in consistency. More than 85% of phytobezoars
are caused by ingestion of unripened persimmons. Persimmon bezoars often occur in epidemics
in regions where the fruit is grown. Diospyrobezoars should not be of concern when consuming moderate
quantities of persimmons. One case in medical literature from 2004 revealed a 51-year-old
patient who had eaten a kilogram of unpeeled persimmons each day for 40 years. Surgery
is sometimes employed, but Coca-Cola has also been successfully used to chemically shrink
or eliminate persimmon-related bezoars. Horses may develop a taste for the fruit growing
on a tree in their pasture and overindulge also, making them quite ill. It is often advised
that persimmons should not be eaten on an empty stomach.
Wood
Though persimmon trees belong to the same genus as ebony trees, persimmon tree wood
has a limited use in the manufacture of objects requiring hard wood. It is hard, but cracks
easily and is somewhat difficult to process. Persimmon wood is used for paneling in traditional
Korean and Japanese furniture. In North America, the lightly colored, fine-grained
wood of D. virginiana is used to manufacture billiard cues and textile shuttles. It is
also used in the percussion field to produce the shaft of some mallets and drumsticks.
Persimmon wood was also heavily used in making the highest-quality heads of the golf clubs
known as "woods" until the golf industry moved primarily to metal woods in the last years
of the 20th century. In fact, the first metal woods made by TaylorMade, an early pioneer
of that club type, were branded as "Pittsburgh Persimmons". Persimmon woods are still made,
but in far lower numbers than in past decades. Over the last few decades persimmon wood has
become popular among bow craftsmen, especially in the making of traditional longbows. Persimmon
wood is used in making a small number of wooden flutes and eating utensils such as wooden
spoons and cornbread knives. Like some other plants of the genus Diospyros,
older persimmon heartwood is black or dark brown in color, in stark contrast to the sapwood
and younger heartwood, which is pale in color. Trees
The trees of all species have stiff, tumescent leaves, but the female of the D. virginiana
can look less turgid than the male because the leaves droop when fruiting, perhaps because
of the heavier nutrient requirements. They grow swiftly, and are resilient to the stresses
of unpredictable climates. Persimmons can tolerate and adapt to a wide range of climates.
Persimmons are also known for their resistance to diseases and pests. They are one of the
last trees to leaf out in the spring, and do not flower until well after the leaves
have formed, bypassing the threat of blossom loss to frosts. The fruit hangs on the branches
long into the winter. Because they grow swiftly and colonize off their root systems, they
are ideal for helping recover habitat. A persimmon tree will be mature enough to bear fruit within
7–8 years. They hold their own against flooding riverbanks quite well and are listed in Stormwater
Journal's list of water-holding trees. Apocryphal and traditional significance
In Ozark folklore, the severity of the upcoming winter is said to be predictable by slicing
a persimmon [seed] and observing the cutlery-shaped formation within it.The folklore about the
seed says that a spoon means snow while a fork is a milder winter and a knife is a cold
biting winter.
In Vietnam, the fruit is a part of Mid-Autumn Festival offering.
In traditional Chinese medicine the fruit is thought to regulate ch'i.
The raw fruit is used to treat constipation and hemorrhoids, and to stop bleeding. Over-consumption
can induce diarrhea, but the cooked fruit is used to treat diarrhea and dysentery; the
opposing effects of the raw and cooked fruit are due to its osmotic effect in the raw fruit
sugar, and the high tannin content of the cooked fruit helping with diarrhea.
In philosophy, the painting of persimmons by Mu Qi exemplifies the progression from
youth to age as a symbol of the progression from bitterness to sweetness. The persimmon
when young is bitter and inedible, but as it ages it becomes sweet and beneficial to
humankind. Thus, as we age, we overcome rigidity and prejudice and attain compassion and sweetness.
Mu Qi's painting of Six Persimmons is considered a masterpiece.
In Korean folklore the dried persimmon has a reputation of scaring away tigers.
Gallery
See also Persimmon regiment
References