Persimmon Season

I recently paid a visit to Toronto’s St. Lawrence market on the hunt for autumnal seasonal fruit, which seems like a bit of an oxymoron. Seasonal fruit in the fall? Of course there is the obvious contender: apples. But I was looking for something unique. Having never been to St. Lawrence market before, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but upon seeing the great size of the market, and the wide variety of vendors, I knew that if I looked hard enough I would be able to locate my perfectly odd fall specimen.

At first I was greeted with plenty of seasonal vegetables such as squash, pumpkins, and turnips, but I wanted fruit! As my journey continued I came across a stall with a lot more variety of fruit, including some beautifully ripe figs. Although I have tried dried figs in the past, I had never tried them fresh before, so I picked a couple out while I continued on my journey. I still wasn’t satisfied; I was still on the hunt for something totally different.

Finally, I found this incredible produce vendor that was abundant with all kinds of vegetables and fruit, and it was here that I found what I had been looking for. It was a mellow, warm orange colour, squat like a tomato, with a similarly firm skin. It was a persimmon!

Persimmons are a fruit as old as the ancient Greeks, who referred to them as a “divine fruit” of the gods belonging to the tomato family. There are two main varieties which are most common: the “Diospyros kaki” which is native to  Asia and the most widely cultivated, and the “Diospyros virginian” which is native to America. In Japan, the most common persimmons are heart shaped and called “Hachiya”. Hichiya persimmons are high in a substance called “tannin” which makes the unripened fruit quite bitter and requires the fruit to be fully ripened before it is fit for human consumption. These persimmons are often dried whole, much like apricots. The non-astringent kind are referred to as “Fuyu” persimmons, and look like the ones I selected from the market. The tannin content of these persimmons is much less and are meant to be consumed while still firm. Upon inspecting my persimmon, it’s sticker revealed that it was meant to be eaten whole just like an apple. So that’s exactly what I did.

After giving the fruit a quick rinse, I bit into it’s waxy flesh and was greeted with a delicately sweet flavour somewhat similar to apricot, with just a hint of cinnamon. It’s flesh was a bit juicer than an apricot but had a very similar texture. I think it would be very interesting to use persimmons in baking, such as making a kind of quick bread or muffins, or even roasting and creating a sort of chutney to serve alongside of a pork roast, such as in this recipe published by Saveur magazine.