Persimmons Are The Funky Fruit You Need To Try
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Persimmons are pretty ideal. The Sharon fruit, a certain type of persimmon, was named after the Sharon Plain in Israel where the orange-red fruit got its roots. The fruit has no core or seeds, can be eaten whole like you would a plump tomato and it’s way smaller than the Japanese Persimmon. It doesn’t need to be peeled and it’s perfect for all sorts of savory and sweet recipes like cardamom roasted persimmons, a bourbon and persimmon cocktail and prosciutto and persimmon grilled cheese. The Sharon fruit is one of the easiest fruits to eat.
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Japanese Persimmons, on the other hand, are sweet with a soft fibrous skin, but they have to be fully ripened before you eat them or they’ll mess with your taste buds. There are two main varieties: Hachiya and Fuyu. Hachiya is sweet when it’s ripe with edible black seeds, but when it’s pre-mature it has a mouth-puckering feel. Fuyu is a newer variety that doesn’t have that sour taste. After Japanese Persimmons have been harvested, they should be left out to ripen for a while to give you the best possible taste. The longer it ripens, the sweeter it’ll be.
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So how do you eat a Japanese Persimmon or Sharon fruit? Once it’s ripe enough, you can slice off the top and just eat the gooey fresh center with a spoon. You could also peel and slice it and squeeze some citrus on top. The Israeli version might hold up better in certain recipes like a fruit salad, but a really ripe persimmon is extremely delicate and velvety and is better off eaten on its own, as a base of a smoothie, in a cocktail or as an ingredient for baking.
In Latin, the word persimmon means “food of the gods” and while the fruit is high in glucose (which is why is makes for the perfect pre-workout snack), it’s also a rich source of dietary fiber, Vitamin C and Vitamin B2. Japanese Persimmons have been a cultural staple for thousands of years and they’ve been used to relieve fatigue and hangovers with all of their nutritional benefits. While there are hundreds of varieties of persimmons out there, these are the most prominent and you owe it to yourself to give these funky fruits a try. Now go hit the produce aisle.
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