Persimmons

The nights are getting colder. The leaves are starting to change. Halloween is almost here. And the persimmons are ready! Woohoo!

When we first looked it this house, I knew we had to have it when I saw the huge eat-in kitchen and the amazing pantry. (Okay. The giant utility room was nice too!) But when we walked around the yard and saw that there were *3* persimmon trees ... well, it was a done deal. I grew up with a persimmon tree in the yard and had been missing all those homemade persimmon puddings. Yum!

Unfortunately, since we've been here, one of the trees has blown over in a big storm but the other two are producing like crazy this year. The girls picked up persimmons yesterday and we were able to freeze enough persimmon pulp to make about 5 persimmon puddings. I'm hoping to freeze as much as I can this year. In the past, many (if not most) have gone to waste before I'd get motivated enough to do anything with them.

Persimmon pulp has always been a somewhat rare commodity and I've been afraid to "waste" it trying some new recipe that might or might not be as tasty as our tried-and-true persimmon pudding. This year, I'm planning to freeze as much as possible and finally getting around to trying some of the yummy-sounding persimmon recipes I've found online.

Here are some recipes I'm considering. If you've not had persimmons (the small, American ones, not the larger Asian varieties), this is a great time to try them. The pulp can often be found in your grocery store or at your local farmer's market during this time of year.


Prize-Winning Persimmon Pudding from the Mitchell, Indiana Persimmon Festival

Persimmon Applesauce from The Modern Beet

Persimmon Muffins from From Our Home to Yours

Ginger Persimmon Preserves from PersimmonPudding.com

Persimmon Chocolate Chip Cookies from PersimmonPudding.com

Persimmon Jam

Persimmon Sauce

Brown County (Indiana) Persimmon Fudge from OurBrownCounty.com