Remember last years pumpkin extravaganza ? This year it is wild persimmons. Here's a sink full of those babies, getting a little bath before they meet their demise...er, I mean TRANSFORMATION. Last Friday I got some persimmons from my high school friend...she has a neighbor with a tree on their property and they never want them. She said she still has puree in her freezer form the last couple of years and that I could have them if I want them. Well...of course I want them...so I went up and got a nice box of them and came home and dried a bunch of them and pureed the rest.
I got so caught up in my new shelves that I forgot to take any pictures of the drying ones..they're very pretty. I just smashed 'em into flower shapes, seeds and all. Anyhoo...this morning (or was it yesterday?) the phone rang and she said--hey, I got more persimmons for you. So I went up this morning and picked up another basket full.
After rinsing them, I pulled off the crown (where the stem attaches), and toss them into the cone shaped sieve. I call it a ricer, and I know it has several names. Then you take the wooden mallet and start smashing that stuff down. It's a little tedious, but there's no other way to do it. Smash smash, stir stir...until it comes out like this:
It's beautiful stuff...rich and orange, and thick thick thick. The stuff is loaded with pectin. Also loaded with antioxidants and potassium (more than bananas).
This is the finished product. Pretty, huh ? I wound up with about 18 cups of frozen puree. I made a loaf of persimmon bread, PLUS I filled the dehydrator with pulp to make leather. So,total--at least 20 cups. Free.
Persimmon leather. Yum.
And a nice loaf of persimmon/raisin/pecan bread. (Yes, that ookey looking thing is a raisin!) lol
Very moist and tasty and not overly sweet.
Double yum.
LOL
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But this isn't what I need a break from. I am thinking of unplugging the computer for a few days, because I am getting really fired up at people about all this madness going on. Government shutdown. Republican terrorists, holding the middle class hostage once again. And some of the people that I know (and some I am related to) and some that are seemingly intelligent, and lots that are not necessarily so...and I can't stand to read some of the crap people are posting. It's making me angry and upset...and SO not worth it.
It's feeling like the elections all over again.
I thought if I came here and wrote a while it would calm me down. And now, here I am, bringing it all up again. To myself. aaargghghhhhhhh.
lol
I think maybe bed is my best bet. I am tired and my arms hurt from mashing all that fruit. And when I am tired,. I have no tolerance for foolishness.
So, dear ones...I hope that none of you are federal employees caught in this thing. Or planning a vacation to a national park anytime soon.
Sweet dreams...
Namaste.
Amen. I work in an office much like that. Thankfully there are some on my side. I try to just change the subject, ha. A break is a good thing, we'll all be here when you plug back in. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo, I've never ever eaten a persimmon. What is it similar to? I wonder if they would grow down here. I'd love another tree that produced something we would enjoy.
I've never seen, let alone tasted, a persimmon! (See? There is always something new for one to learn, isn't there?) I have the same smoosher/smasher/puree-er/ricer thingie you have. Mine is ancient, but in great shape and I love it. My MIL gave it to me so I know it must be at least 80 years old. (Wow, they don't make things like that anymore.)
ReplyDeleteAs for the deplorable condition of our government's doings . . . unplugging the news and going to bed may be the wisest decision one can make. Hang on, folks, we're in for a bumpy ride. (All the more reason to have those pantry shelves full, huh?)
I have eaten persimmons in the past, and your pictures made me remember their taste. It's been a long time, though. I agree with you about the state of our country's politics. But what can we do about it other than hide under the covers and hope they go away? Which they won't of course.
ReplyDeleteYes unplug and go for a walk in nature as it never shuts down , course it knows what it is doing and has for quite some time ;) I would say politics is for the birds ... but that would be doing the birds a great injustice .
ReplyDeleteI'm with Willow - unplug for a while, take a walk around your garden. Listen to the birds (who make a whole lot more sense than any of the nitwits in Washington), and see that it's not all bad. Love the persimmon leather idea! I have one of those ricer/siever thingys, too. But no persimmons!
ReplyDeleteDiospyros virginiana (The American Persimmon)[edit]
ReplyDeleteThe American Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is native to the eastern United States and is higher in nutrients like vitamin C, calcium, iron and potassium than the Japanese Persimmon. Its fruit is traditionally eaten in a special steamed pudding in the Midwest and sometimes its timber is used as a substitute for ebony (e.g. in instruments).