My Aunt Donna grew persimmons in the orchard on her farm. Growing up, I remember my cousins picking buckets of the warm orange fruit and making moist, spicy persimmon pudding. We ate it on cold weekend afternoons with a glass of milk, staring out the window at the Fall leaves and kicking our thick-stockinged feet beneath the wooden table.
I grabbed six or seven persimmons at the farmer's market last weekend, thinking I'd re-create the pudding I enjoyed as a kid on my Aunt Donna's farm. But when I researched persimmons online, I found there were two different types. Hachiya persimmons are oblong and soft; these are used for pudding. Fuyu persimmons are round, like a tomato, and hard. These are for eating. I had bought the Fuyu persimmons. I was disappointed until I bit into one.
It's like the whole season of Autumn became a fruit on a tree. A Fuyu Persimmon tastes like a combination of pumpkin and pear, with the texture of a new plum. Highly recommended.
