The Mischievous Little Fruit That Loves To Tease Fall Foragers
As the crisp autumn breeze dances through the trees and leaves blanket the ground with their vibrant jewel colors, there’s one little fruit that is almost ready to harvest: the wild persimmon. These tiny coral-colored orbs of deliciousness far exceed their fancy cousins in the local produce aisle.
Foraging for these Little Gems
Foraging these little gems is going to feel more like a hunt than a harvest. Just as you spot a perfect, plumb persimmon, it’s almost as if the tree is playing a game of hide-a-seek, taunting you with its elusive branches. One moment you’re eyeing a cluster, the next you are battling a tangle of twigs, all the while muttering about how these fruits must have been trained by a SWAT team.
Finally……the day comes and you are able to reach the and shake a few off a branch. But before you proceed examine those few fallen gems. They must be soft and ripe. If you think you can boil, or broil persimmons to force them into ripening because you have attention-deficient disorder and are tired of waiting, you are mistaken. These little treats need to ripen on the vine. The general rule is waiting until after your first frost. If you ignore this advice and bite into a unripe persimmon your lips will pucker like a angel fish and it could prove permanent (like your mom warning when you crossed your eyes).
Baking These Wild Beauties
Now onto the baking. These wild beauties taste like a cross between a peach and a plum. They are delicious as a bread and a jam. So raise your mixing bowls and toast to the wild persimmon- the little troublemakers of fall harvest that teach us the virtues of patience, reward us with the sweetness of victory and sprinkle a little magic into our culinary escapades. Because sometimes, the best things in life comes in the most mischievous packages.