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Try this delightful persimmon pudding

Recipe: Old favorite made with (finally) ripe Fuyu

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 5, 2020

Persimmon pudding is a delicious, easy dessert based on a Midwest classic. Add raisins if desired.
(Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Fuyu persimmons take awhile to get to pudding stage. Several weeks after harvest, my Fuyus are finally reaching that jelly texture needed for baking and puddings.

This delightful pudding is legendary in the Midwest. For three decades, it appeared as part of the directions for using Dymple's Delight canned persimmon pulp.

Dymple's Delight was the creation of Dymple Green, who operated with her husband, Vernon, a persimmon packing company that shipped the sweet pulp worldwide. The Greens used only native persimmons, a variety that grows from Virginia to Indiana.

Mrs. Green passed away in 2012, but her pudding lives on. Her hometown of Mitchell, Ind., celebrates an annual Persimmon Festival each September. The top prize goes to the best persimmon pudding.

Persimmon puddings have a slightly lighter texture and different flavor made with Fuyus or Hachiyas, the persimmons most commonly found in California. But they still make delicious pudding.

In this version, I scaled the recipe down for 1 cup of pulp (about two or three large persimmons) and added raisins.

Dymple's Delight persimmon pudding

Adapted from Dymple's Delight

Makes 9 servings

This recipe can use ripe Fuyus, the flatter persimmons, above,
or Hachiyas, which are more heart-shaped.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup sour cream or buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup persimmon pulp
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.

Sift together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside. Stir baking soda into sour cream or buttermilk. Set aside.

Combine persimmon pulp and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well. Add egg, beating well. Alternately, add sour cream/buttermilk mixture and flour mixture. Stir in cream and honey. Add raisins, if desired. Fold in melted butter.

After an hour of baking, the pudding is ready.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Smooth surface with a spatula. Bake until the center is set, about 55 to 60 minutes. Serve warm, with whipped cream if desired.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

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Garden Checklist for week of April 21

This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.

* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.

* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.

* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.

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