Sacramento Digs Gardening logo
Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Sweet persimmon crisp makes most of just-picked Fuyus

Recipe: December is peak season for this unusual fruit

""
Persimmon crisp makes use of Fuyus in their just-picked crisp stage.
(Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Fuyu persimmons -- those flat, fat cousins to pointy Hachiyas -- are easy to love.

Crisp and crunchy or soft as custard, Fuyus can be eaten right off the tree or weeks later. Think of them as bright orange-fleshed apples, but with a very different flavor.

Ideally suited to Sacramento's climate, Fuyus grow on an attractive small tree -- a member of the ebony family -- with colorful red and orange fall foliage. The shiny orange fruit are pretty as well as delicious. That makes Fuyu a good choice for edible landscaping.

Fuyu persimmons are a much more versatile fruit than Hachiyas, which can be eaten only when their tannin-packed pulp turns to jelly. (That neutralizes their pucker power.)

""
Fuyus can be eaten when crisp or pulpy

Yet overwhelmingly, most persimmon recipes call for mashed pulp, not crisp sliced fruit.
I have a handsome Fuyu tree packed with fruit, which sent me searching for possibilities to cook now -- not in a few weeks after the fruit softens to pulp stage. After some experimentation, I came up with this dessert. This crisp is meant for crisp persimmons, not the ooey, gooey ones.

Besides on backyard trees, Fuyus also are in abundance at farmers markets. December is their peak season.

Fuyus taste very much like Hachiyas but without the tannin bite. It's a delicate sweetness like floral honey. Sliced and cooked, the fruit retains its bright orange color.

Like extra-juicy apples, Fuyus need some thickener such as cornstarch or tapioca to absorb that juiciness when cooked. Lemon juice helps balance out the overt honey sweetness.

Crisp persimmon crisp
Makes 8 to 12 servings

Ingredients:
6 Fuyu persimmons, peeled and thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
Zest and juice of one lemon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

For topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch pie plate or 9-inch square baking dish.

Toss sliced persimmons with lemon juice. In a large bowl, combine cornstarch, sugars, cinnamon and lemon zest. Add persimmon slices and mix to coat. Set aside.

Make topping. Combine brown sugar, flour and oats in a bowl. Cut in butter or margarine until crumbly mixture forms.
""
It may look like peach crisp, but it's all persimmons.

Transfer persimmon slices to prepared baking dish. Top with crumble mixture.

Place baking dish on top of a rimmed cookie sheet (just in case crisp bubbles over). Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is browned and juices bubbling.
Serve warm or cold with whipped cream.

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Local News

Ad for California Local

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Strawberries

Find our spring recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Cleveland sage ad for Be Water Smart

Garden Checklist for week of June 22

Mornings this first week of summer will remain comfortably cool – just right for gardening!

* Water early in the morning to cut down on evaporation. Check soil moisture and deep water trees and shrubs. Keep new transplants and veggies evenly moist. Deep water tomatoes to encourage deep roots.

* From seed, plant corn, melons, pumpkins, radishes, squash and sunflowers.

* Plant basil to go with your tomatoes.

* Transplant summer annuals such as petunias, marigolds and zinnias. It’s also a good time to transplant perennial flowers including astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia, salvia and verbena.

* Tie up vines and stake tall plants such as gladiolus and lilies. That gives their heavy flowers some support.

* Dig and divide crowded bulbs after the tops have died down.

* Feed summer flowers with a slow-release fertilizer.

* Mulch, mulch, mulch! This “blanket” keeps moisture in the soil longer and helps your plants cope during hot weather.

* Avoid pot “hot feet.” Place a 1-inch-thick board under container plants sitting on pavement. This little cushion helps insulate them from radiated heat.

* Thin grapes on the vine for bigger, better clusters later this summer.

* Cut back fruit-bearing canes on berries.

* Feed camellias, azaleas and other acid-loving plants. Mulch to conserve moisture and reduce heat stress.

* Cut back Shasta daisies after flowering to encourage a second bloom in the fall.

* Trim off dead flowers from rose bushes to keep them blooming through the summer. Roses also benefit from deep watering and feeding now. A top dressing of aged compost will keep them happy. It feeds as well as keeps roots moist.

* Pinch back chrysanthemums for bushier plants with many more flowers in September.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

square-tomatoes-plate.jpg

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Muffins and pumpkin

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Lemon coconut pancakes

Find our winter recipes here!