Feature Article:
Get to know the Persimmon. From experience Captain John Smith said, "If it is not ripe it will draw a man's mouth awrie with much torment."

Origin: The oriental persimmon is native to China, where it has been cultivated for centuries and more than two thousand different cultivars exist. It spread to Korea and Japan many years ago where additional cultivars were developed. The plant was introduced to California in the mid 1800's.

Fruit: Persimmons can be classified into two general categories: those that bear astringent fruit until they are soft ripe and those that bear nonastringent fruits. Astringent means it will almost kill you if you eat it before it is fully ripe. Not only will it turn your mouth awry with torment, it will force you to think you are having a serious allergic reaction as your tongue swells up, your mouth loses all forms of saliva and your brain tricks you into thinking you can no longer breath. An astringent cultivar must be jelly soft before it is fit to eat, nonastringent persimmons are always edible even before they are soft. For this reason, my favorite variety of persimmon is the Fuyu because it has never fooled me into thinking it was okay to eat when it wasn't. Astringency can also be removed by freezing the fruit overnight and then the thawing softens the fruit and removes the astringency.