I Blame Persimmons for the Delay

Finally. After a little over a month, I have the 44th pick of the week and let me tell you that I have had them for three weeks now. Before we go further, there are apparently two types of persimmons.

The ones I purchased above are called hachiya persimmons and look like a tomato from afar. One of the people in produce knew about this project and let me know as soon as they got more in. I snatched up the three firmest ones I could find since I did absolutely no research.

Apparently the hachiya persimmon needs to be overripe before eating it. I thought that would be an easy thing since I usually blink and all of my produce goes bad. I waited a week, then another week, still rock hard. I bought a banana and put it in the bag with the persimmons, waited another week. Still pretty hard. I honestly just sort of put all of this to the side waiting on them to ripen. Scared to buy anything else because what if I did and suddenly my persimmons ripened up and went bad? Not rational, but that was my way of thinking.

Eventually, I got tired of waiting and actually bought the last nine picks of the year.

I also found these little adorable donut shaped persimmons that are the fuyu variety. You don’t have to wait for them to ripen up and just look at them. I just want wax copies of them to display all over my house. They remind me of a peach and plum’s child.

I remember eating a persimmon a long time ago and wanting to chew on the seed because there is a huge story about all the animals going to a picnic and bringing utensils. I’m not sure how it ties into the weather, but it does, because if you chew on the seed and open it up, you can see a little fork, knife or spoon. I don’t even remember eating the fruit because I was too excited to gnaw on the little seed.

I really wish I remembered the taste because when I ate these, I didn’t find a seed which was disappointing because I just like the idea of seeing a little utensil inside.

I finally checked on my original persimmon purchase though and found them under a pile of newspapers Robby left on the table and it was actually smushed it was so ripe. I had never been more excited to see an overripe fruit squished and forgotten. I had read that it needs to be so ripe that it feels like jelly which is wild to feel. It reminded me of a tomato that was just begging to explode from rotting.

You can easily tell the difference between the two here. Unfortunately, only one of the three hachiya persimmons ripened up enough to eat. The other two are still super tough. Usually, I would just go ahead and try them anyway but according to several reliable sources, one being my grandmother, when you eat an unripe persimmon it is so astringent that it dries your mouth out intensely. It might be the same substance found in chayote squash but I wasn’t about to try one to see if there were similarities.

I tried the fuyu first and it had a texture like a cross between an apple and a pear. It had a nice crispness to it but no snap or crunch. It’s flavor was like a mellow cantaloupe. It’s definitely unique but not strong at all. The closer to the skin, the stronger the taste though.There is an odd sort of nutty aftertaste too, like after eating a pecan. Honestly just eating a persimmon is a flavor rollercoaster.

My poor little hachiya presents a difficult method of eating. I don’t think it matters whether or not you eat the skin, the inside is so sweet that it overpowers any kind of taste that may reside in it. Trying to eat it though is slightly off putting. I keep looking at this mushy fruit and my brain tells me its fine but my stomach is thinking, “don’t eat that rotten weird tomato.”

I’ve never actually been the biggest fan of tomato. It’s only the past few years I’ve actually been able to eat them raw on sandwiches or mixed in with other things like a fresh pico. Eating this reminded me of eating a raw tomato and I am just not about that texture, especially the mushy parts with the seeds. I think the hachiya is mostly used for other applications like baking or smoothies.

I don’t know if waiting a month for a fruit to ripen is worth it. I am ridiculously impatient when it comes to food. I cook on high, opt for the quick meals and eat the green bananas. However, if I see a persimmon at the store I may grab one and may think about it for a while and get a craving for one by the time it ripens up.

Last note, thank you all again for sticking around. Sorry, for the millionth time for the millionth delay, but the conclusion is near. Like I mentioned earlier, I have all the fruits and veggies I need. I’m going to try for three posts a week and hopefully have this all done before December 31st.

Again, I am truly excited about this endeavor, let’s end 2018 right.