Wild persimmons (diospyors virginiana). You either cringe when when you hear the name or you smile and think of the spicy deliciousness. If you've ever had an under ripe persimmon you know what I mean by cringing, The unbearable bitterness of the under ripe fruit is so memorable that you will never make the mistake of biting into one again. However, if you wait until the fruit is almost to the point of being overripe and spoiled, you will be rewarded with an indescribably tasty treat. To me, a soft, squishy ripe persimmon tastes something like a pumpkin pie - just as spicy and just as sweet. The wild cousin contains vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants and fiber and it's sweet - in fact it's 25% sugar! Normally I wait until the first frost but I have heard of people picking the fruit while still under ripe and placing the fruit and some persimmon leaves in a paper sack for a few days and it ripens them. I don't have any firsthand experience with that - I just wait for a frost.
American Indians made fruit leather from persimmons, mashing up the entire fruit and spreading the pulp out on logs and rocks to dry. When it was dried they removed the seeds and hung it from poles in their houses as a food source during the winter. Also, a nice fruit butter and a moist bread can be made from the persimmons but my favorite way to enjoy them is to make a version of the English dessert Sticky Toffee Pudding using persimmon puree and topped with a Salted Caramel Sauce - it's delicious.
Persimmon Pudding with Salted Caramel Sauce
1/3 C butter, softened
1 C white sugar
1 C brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
2 C persimmon pulp
1 t baking soda
1/4 C hot water
2 1/2 C flour
3 C milk
Preheat oven to 325. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and pulp. Dissolve baking soda in hot water and add to milk. Alternate adding milk and flour to persimmon mixture, mixing just enough to incorporate. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and spread mixture into pan and bake for 60-75 minutes or until set. Serve warm.
Salted Caramel Sauce
1 C heavy cream
1/3 C brown sugar, packed
2 T butter
1/8 t salt
Add all ingredients to a deep skillet or saucepan, bring to boil and cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes. Be careful while cooking, it tends to boil over!!
Even the persimmon seeds are useful. They can be dried, roasted and ground for a coffee substitute. If you add a helping of roasted Yaupon Holly leaves, you have a coffee-like caffeinated beverage - a gift from the wild. I remember going to visit my grandmother in the early winter and all of us cousins would go walking down the oil road, gathering persimmons. We didn't eat many but we did collect the seeds and crack them open to see the insides. Have you ever used a persimmon seed to predict the coming winter? According to early American folklore, the inner part of the seed comes in 3 different shapes - a spoon, a fork or a knife.
Fork - means it will be a mild winter
Spoon - means there will be a lot of snow
Knife - means it will be a hard winter with cutting winds
Whether it's accurate or not is up for debate, but kids (and adults) love to look at the seeds regardless!
Did you know persimmon wood is prized in furniture making? It's in the same family as Teak, Ebony and Mahogony and it's considered an especially rare and beautiful wood. Now, I'd argue the fact that it's rare because probably 60% of the trees here are persimmon but I can understand how it would be hard to come by - the trunks rarely get to be more than 4"-5" in diameter here. Still, it is gorgeous wood isn't it?
The persimmon has several important medicinal uses depending on the stage of ripeness:
Anti diarrheal, laxative, soothes upset tummy, cough suppressant and several other ailments. To see the list, here's a great website to explore.
American Beautyberry (callicarpa americana)
This is another of my favorite wild foods. It makes the best jelly, better than many other fruit jellies I've eaten and it's super plentiful. Beautyberry grows well in zones 5-10, but are a nuisance the farther south you go. Good thing they are useful! They bloom pink to white blossoms on long branches with large oval, serrated leaves in June-July, followed by heavy clusters of bright magenta BB-sized berries (make sure they are magenta berries - not white, those are not the edible ones!) in late August thru late October. The berries will remain on the plant long into winter, providing a food source for birds and other wildlife. If you just pick a berry and eat it, it's less than impressive but when cooked and the turned into jelly, it is magnificent.
I spoke at a conference in Arkansas a couple of months ago and Beautyberry was one of the featured plants. I pointed out that it was an excellent money-maker for the stay-at-home mom or for anyone that wanted to make some extra money by making and selling the jelly. I make hundreds and hundreds of jars of this jelly and sell the half pint jars for $3 each. I need only to buy jars, lids, sugar and pectin - the fruit is free for the picking. It also makes a great gift item - just in time for Christmas!
Beautyberry Jelly
6 C Beautyberries
4 C water
1 pkg pectin powder
4 1/2 C sugar
Combine berries and water in pot, bring to boil and cook on med high for 20 minutes. Strain mixture through cheesecloth or a tea towel, squeeze as much liquid from the berries as possible and discard the solids (or give to the chickens, they LOVE them). Return the liquid to the pot, add pectin and bring to full boil. Add sugar all at once and return to full rolling boil and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, ladle into clean jars and seal. Makes approx 6 half pints.
I know you can make wine from the berries but I never have,
so I
can't tell you how it tastes but there are a couple of recipes on the net
that can give you some info, like this one:
Beautyberry Insect Repellant (Homemade OFF)
3C water
1C Beautyberry leaves and stems, chopped
2T emulsifying wax (Amazon.com has it)
1/3 C almond or coconut oil
1 T Vitamin E oil
10 drops essential oil of your choice (eucalyptus, mint or rosemary is nice)
Put water and Beautyberry pieces in small saucepan and cook on medium low for 20 minutes, strain off solids and pour half of the liquid into a quart canning jar. Add emulsifying wax and almond or coconut oil to jar and sit jar in pan of hot water. As soon as wax is melted, whisk in Vitamin E oil and essential oil and the remaining HOT Beautyberry liquid. Place lid on jar and shake briskly until well blended. Let sit at room temperature until completely set. If you notice the water separating, give the jar another shake.
Go make some Beautyberry jelly and some Persimmon Pudding to give as Christmas gifts and the lucky recipients will thank you forever!
