Any prejudice against Asian persimmons is probably the result of eating an astringent one before it is soft. I made the mistake of biting into an American persimmon the other day just to see how astringent it would be and I almost chocked on it. It took much longer to get the bitterness out of my mouth than anything I've experienced in my life. Horrible, and yet in a couple more weeks the fruit will be delicious.

It is the variety with a Z in its name that Lee Reich raves about. The tree is completely loaded with fruit this year.

I have tried the fuyu types and I wasn't impressed because to me it just tasted sweet, kind of like a sweet pumpkin. I have also tried the astringent types before when they weren't ripe and that didn't go over well.
After reading up on them and realizing you need to let them get extremely ripe I have been eagerly waiting to find some in the grocery stores and give them another try but for some reason I haven't seen any this year. :(

This post was edited by gregkdc1 on Tue, Oct 15, 13 at 18:16

i think that part of the problem with the nonastringent ones is that they can be a little boring to eat; the best of them are surely sweet enough but they don't wow you like a more flavorful fruit like a really good fig or nectarine might. Similar criticism can be made of some Asian pears, but at least these fruits are juicy.

The astringent ones are even sweeter and have more flavor but their drawback is their often slimy, slippery mushy consistency. Some people love them that way, many don't. Rojo brillante has fairly firm consistency with good flavor and sweetness and may succeed with a broader fan base than some of the others. Another observation is that the dried persimmons attain a consistency that seems to be much more generally acceptable than that of the fresh fruit. And they become candied so they can be a favorite of the dessert seeking crowd who wants to eat "healthy."

I love the taste of native persimmons. Soft and flavorful when ripe. My son really loves them. I planted a Yates and Morris Burton this year.

I have what I believe to be Hachiya, but no fruit yet, even though the trees are large. Hopefully next year.

I tried a store bought Fuyu and it was very bland. Almost no flavor. I let another one set for a couple weeks and it did get a little softer and juicier, but still no flavor. I plan on planting a couple this winter, and hope that the home grown fruit will be better than store bought.

I can eat a bowl of these globs a day so is my wife who is not a fruit eater but loves them. Astringent ones is what i grow.From all the fruits i grow these and paw-paw's are the ones i always look forward to the most.

My family agrees, fully ripe astringent persimmons are a truly special treat.

In Asian markets non-astringent Fuyu types seem more popular around here and I prefer them as well. I understand the objection to the lack of aroma, but a sugar sweet, firm-ripe Fuyu is one of the great simple pleasures of fall for me and probably billions of Asians. I like astringent ones, although not as much, and I believe the slimy texture puts off many folks.

I was raised on kakis and didn't taste a native persimmon until I came east. I understand how comparing the two might make you experience kakis as bland if you were expecting the more pronounced flavor of the natives.

It is the same kind of package in figs- intense sugar without much aroma.

Bob,

Your Kakis look awesome. I bet that Saijo in your hand is really sweet. They don't called it Mr Elegant or a pocket of honey for nothing.

Tony

The giombo's are close to twice as big as the Sayo's and to me a better taste, K.B.S is also rich for a asian pers.
Harvestman imo a Melrose apple taste a hell of a lot better than a n.a persimmon.When you are a old fart you really don't like hard stuff any more.
Tony,how are you doing with all this cold stuff?You sure got a nice piece of property,but i still like to have as a neighbour over here.All kinds of fish in the lake to go with your fancy meals and fruit deserts.

Bob, Maybe someday I stop by your place and go fishing with you. We can enjoy our catch and have some persimmon pudding and paw paw ice cream for dessert.. BTW, in the next 3 weeks or so I will be busy wrapping up some new Kaki grafts. I pulled all their leaves off about a week or so ago to push them into early dormancy. I still got about 20+ seedlings ready to be graft next spring.

Tony

O.k. Tony your on. This next april i will be grafting alot,mainly topworking my exsisting K.B.S to the new veriety that i gave you.Some of my kbs's are too tall anyway and i do have a lot of them,hate to do it because they taste pretty darn good. That is the plan.

Ha! I should have spotted this thread earlier.

Mom has many friends that ask me why I hate persimmons so much. Let me tell you why.

My dad, who would have been 100 this year, was an early member of the rare fruit growers here in SoCal. He got excited when kiwis were big and created a kiwi support system out of tons of heavy duty wire and posts. Alas, everyone else found out about kiwi's, turns out they need lots of water, are fussy and the price tanked. So the next thing he got in to was....persimmons.

He must have gotten a quality discount and put in dozens, Fuyu and Hachiya. Fast forward to about 15 years ago, those trees are now huge and producing bumper crops, only dad and mom can no longer (due to age) pick and sell them all. Plus they talked them up to everyone they met, so now everyone has them in the yard (and the price has tanked again)

I have spent at least 20 hours a week for a month each season picking and giving them away (with a request for donations to help out with water costs) Plus, dad loved boasting about having the tallest trees out there. That means I had persimmon pudding balls waiting to land on me from 30 feet and higher. FYI I know of no way to get the stain out of your clothing and shoes.

Enough was enough, a chainsaw solved most of the problems. The 3 of each type of trees remaining are mostly low enough to easily pick. Still far more than a sane person needs, especially of the hachiya (two are in the shade and I thought would not produce-no such luck)

Moms friends still think it is a crime I cut them down. Note they only ate them not picked them. Also, like an avocado tree, when they get too tall you can cut them wayyyyy back and they will return.

I hope by next year I can find a good use for hachiyas. Fuyu's are good as dried fruit.

Oh, and I think I have generously netted about .25 cents per hour from the sale of persimmons.....generously.

Dads next fruit tree adventure White Zapotes.......

Kippy-the-Hippy,

Love your story. I can only imagine what my kids will be saying about me when I would have been 100.

persimmonbob,

What are KBS's?

I just noticed black and blue kaki's listed on England's site. Anyone have experience with these?

Here is a link that might be useful: Black / blue Persimmon

MG,

Bob uses KBS for Kyung San Ban Si. It is a very good tasting and cold hardy astringent Korean persimmon.

Tony

There are just too many excellent fruit choices available here when persimmons are around. I would eat a persimmon only if there was nothing else to be had. Right now we have pomegranates (I had an angel red that was off-the-hook today), apples, grapes and the last of the figs. Soon meyer lemons, kishu mandarins, and quinalt strawberries (yes we get them thru winter) will be popping. Then it's on to oranges followed by loquats, which will take us all the way to May peaches.

mrclint,

Right now we have pomegranates... apples, grapes...figs. Soon meyer lemons, kishu mandarins, and quinalt strawberries...then...oranges...May peaches

I get the distinct impression you are bragging:)

"I get the distinct impression you are bragging:)"

OK, that wasn't my intention. Maybe some more perspective is in order regarding persimmons. :)

The above mentioned fruits had all been planted except for the loquats --when I decided to plant some more edible ornamentals across available front yard border space. Loquats, kumquats, olives, fig and lime all went in over persimmon.

"Why nobody likes asian persimmon?

There are much better fruit choices in the persimmon ripening window and much better uses for the available space.

I think they are gaining in popularity, and I believe that will continue, I am seeing them regularly stocked at local nurseries which just a few years ago I did not.

Bob,
How do you like Rojo Brillante Do you find it is firmer than most Astringent when ripe. I have been wanting to try it if you have scion I have several cultivar I could trade scion for.

Had the first people drop in to the backyard today wondering where all the free persimmons are.....

Time for signs saying GONE

Strudeldog,my r.brill.... is not ripe yet, it is just turning color.
It is a pretty tree,but still very young. I left one fruit on the tree to see if it is worth growing in my area.I have K>B>S>,Giombi,Sayo, R.B. sions you can have. I have a few others but i lost some tags during a storm a couple years ago..

Thanks Bob,

I hopefully sent you an email through the site here. Hopefully I have some scion listed that interest you.

Just got burned fro Stark Brothers nursery. Sold me a Prok persimmon select tree and two weeks later told me they were sold out. Maybe should have mentioned this before I paid.... Now having a tough time finding any in stock at the other stores. Be care with these jokers.