Damn! Wasps certainly know a good thing when they see it. Ripe persimmon and they are intoxicated!
Time for a ruthless harvest! The under-ripe fruit will just have to ripen on the windowsill…more work in my preservery this weekend. Game on.
And that I did..a ruthless harvest. With a laundry tub overflowing with persimmon, I left half on the tree to ripen another week. The wasps have dissipated and the fantail are looking slightly annoyed.
Yes, it’s persimmon season. If you are struggling to know what to do with them – start enjoying the harvest with a Persimmon Loaf. Created for Love Food Hate Waste – New Zealand it’s a deliciously moist loaf that tastes divine (if I do say so myself). And in the spirit of ‘waste not, want not’ there’s no need to cut off the skins. This recipe calls for ripe persimmons, skins on.
Ripe persimmon will be slightly soft to touch and have a deep orange skin and flesh (almost apricot coloured). If picked early (one has to race to get them before the birds and wasps do) they can ripen on the window sill, or in a fruit bowl with other fruit such as banana or avocado.
Wash the fruit before using and be sure to remove the sepal (the flowery top). Beneath it insects do like to huddle so with a flick of your vegetable knife you can clear away any ants, slater or earwigs and any black or browning flesh . Yup, it can get pretty crowded in there! The fruit is perfectly fine otherwise. Any black specs on the skin can be cut away, but otherwise the skin is perfectly OK to use.
This recipe could easily be scrumptious by adding 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts to the recipe too, or substituting dates for other dried fruit. I happen to have a healthy disgust towards raisins, hence these weren’t even considered for this moist loaf.
Persimmon Loaf
Ingredients
- 200g butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 2 eggs
- 3 ripe persimmon
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup dates, chopped
Method
- Preheat oven to 160°C (fan bake).
- Beat softened butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add essence then eggs, one at a time – beating well in between. *Puree persimmon and fold into the butter/egg mix.
- *Wash persimmon and cut off and discard the sepal (the flowery top), seeds and any discoloured flesh that may have been prone to insect spoilage. Leave skin on, dice into chunks then puree well. 3 large persimmon makes approx 1.5 cups of puree.
- Sift dry ingredients directly into the mix, add the chopped dates, and fold through gently until well combined.
- Spoon into a loaf tin lined with baking paper. Bake for 50-60 minutes until firm to touch and the top is golden brown. Remove from oven. Don’t attempt to slice until cool.
- Store in an airtight container. Will remain moist and delicious for days.
I have bucket-loads of persimmon so expect to see a few usage ideas coming your way very soon!
