American Persimmons Flavor Newsletter

Jammy autumnal fruits that can be dried like dates.

Dec 22, 2023

American Persimmons

It’s possible you’ve seen some persimmons at your local grocery store before: they’re the bright orange tomato doppelgängers stacked among the tropical fruits. Those persimmons are grown in warm climates around the Western and Southern US, just like oranges or figs. Similar to most fruits found in American grocery stores, they tend to be cultivated for a flat, uncomplicated sweetness. American persimmons, by contrast, are sweet in the way a pumpkin is sweet: floral and caramel-y, but with a pronounced fruitiness and a bit of spice, kind of like a plum. They’re also much smaller than the cultivated varieties - about the size of a large cherry tomato.

American persimmons have a peculiar ripening pattern known as bletting, in which they must become completely tender before consuming (my friend Jesse sums this up nicely on tiktok). In short: if you eat them too soon, your mouth will feel like it’s full of glue. But if they’ve turned into a beautiful, wrinkly, silky orange pearl, they’ll taste like a bite of Autumn.

Because of their petite size and jelly texture, American persimmons are typically processed into an applesauce-like pulp to be used in sweet baked goods (similar to banana bread or carrot cake). They’re also commonly used as a flavoring in vinegars, meads, and shrubs. The easiest way to enjoy them fresh is to snack on them whole, or add them to your morning oatmeal. For this week’s recipe, I decided to dry them, which transforms their taste and texture to more closely resemble a dried date.

Get The Recipe

Broiled goat cheese with sesame & persimmons. This dramatic goat cheese appetizer takes just a handful of ingredients and less than ten minutes. Make this when you want to impress your guests during the holiday season, or when you need a zesty lunch on an overcast day. Go behind the scenes of the recipe development process and get more culinary inspiration by listening to The Wild Grocery Podcast.