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Persimmon is in season from October to January, making it one of the top winter fruits to cook and bake with during the cooler months. Silky, sweet, and slightly spicy, persimmons can be used in a variety of tasty recipes. If you’re wondering how to cook persimmons, find our pick of the top five recipes using this colorful fruit below from smoothies to cookies.
Persimmon smoothie
Persimmons are a brilliant fruit to use in smoothies, as they’re high in antioxidants and fiber and low in calories. If you’re looking for a twist on a classic strawberry smoothie to start the day, this persimmon smoothie with grapefruit is a great recipe to try. Blended with lemon juice, apple juice, and a little sugar, it’s one of our favorite persimmon fruit recipes as it’s quick and easy to make. Grapefruits are in season over the winter months, just like persimmon, so this is the perfect winter smoothie to make at home whilst the main ingredients are fresh. Other appetizing winter fruits include oranges and kiwis, which you can also use to experiment with by mixing them up in a variety of different smoothies with persimmons.
Persimmon bread
Banana bread might be the most common fruit bread that springs to mind, but persimmon bread is just as delicious. Moist and fluffy, the slight cinnamon tone that’s found in persimmon means it pairs naturally with the traditional spices found in fruit breads, like nutmeg. For the best persimmon bread recipe, Hachiya persimmons are the best type to opt for. Make sure they’re really ripe so you can achieve that soft texture in your bread, just like you would when making banana bread. If you feel that your persimmons aren’t quite ripe enough yet, you can leave them out at room temperature to ripen before first attempting this recipe. You’ll make this recipe in a similar way to your favorite banana bread, including using over-ripe pulp. This is key when making any fruit bread to ensure it evenly distributes throughout the dough.
Persimmon cookies
A persimmon cookie recipe is an inventive twist on spiced cookies, and a recipe that you can make undeniably festive. Wonderfully spicy and moist, the taste of these cookies will transport you to your favorite Christmas Day, and they’re a real treat alongside a warm mug of hot chocolate on a rainy day. As with persimmon bread, they’re best made using the pulp of the fruit, and you can add other ingredients like raisins and walnuts depending on your flavor preferences. You can also make these cookies ahead of time and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. Whether you’re putting them out for Santa, or enjoying amongst friends and family, they’re the ideal festive cookie for the holidays. If you want to be even more organized you can make the dough and freeze it for up to three months. The dough can be cooked straight from the freezer, so that’s one less thing to worry about in the run up to Christmas Day.
Persimmon cake
A persimmon cake is closest to a Christmas pudding. Full of spice it’s a tasty and festive dessert to serve on Christmas Day. As with persimmon bread, Hachiya persimmons are the best type to use in this bake. This variety becomes very mushy when they’re ripe, so they’re perfect for blending into a cake. When baked, they’ll have a similar flavor to honey or caramel, and so pair beautifully with spices and other festive fruits like oranges. This cake is at its most appetizing when served warm with a dollop of whipped cream on top. A dusting of icing sugar adds a festive flair to the overall presentation, and you can even try making a sweet glaze to drizzle over the cake as you would a bundt cake. You will also be able to find a variety of persimmon cake recipes online, which can be tweaked to your preferences. Some chefs have been known to bake an upside down persimmon cake too if this takes your fancy.
Persimmon chutney
Last but not least in our top five persimmon fruit recipes is persimmon chutney. A tangy, sweet relish, if you want to expand your sauce offering on Thanksgiving then this would be our pick. It’s also a great way to cut down on food waste and preserve any leftover persimmons you may have in your kitchen after trying some of the recipes above. You can vary the ingredients used, but other ingredients like raisins, coriander, cloves, and ginger will give you the most traditional chutney. Fuyu persimmons tend to be the best variety to use in a chutney, as they hold their shape when ripe. And persimmons create one of the most colorful and vibrant chutneys around. In fact, the colorful element of the persimmon is down to an abundance of carotene, which is also a powerful antioxidant. For more facts about this Asian fruit, read through our A-Z of persimmon fruit.
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