One of the sights that I love most in autumn are hanging persimmons. In Japan, most farms have two or three persimmon trees and even in the forest, wild persimmon trees can be found heavy with fruit. When it rains or after the night's dew fall, the tree trunks and branches turn such a dark color they look like silhouettes against the sky. The leafless trees seem to be hung out with hundreds of little orange Christmas balls!
There are two types of persimmons, (that I know of...) sweet persimmons and stringent persimmons. The sweet ones, well, you can eat them right off the tree. But the stringent ones... Wow! Take your tongue right out of your mouth! However, stringent persimmons can be made edible by drying them and of course the drying process means that persimmons can be eaten throughout the winter.
Persimmons are peeled with the stem left on and then they are tied 5 or 6 to a rope. The ropes are hung out over a line or a pole and left to dry in the very cold pre-winter air. In case of a sudden rain the persimmons are hung out under the eaves or they are hurriedly brought into the house or farm shed. In the past couple weeks, wherever I go I see curtains of persimmons drying on the balconies and next to farm houses. Occasionally there will be
daikon radishes out there too being dried for winter pickling. I've seen persimmons drying outside of apartment windows and even on the kindergarten playground!
In Southern California I rarely had persimmons so to me these are a very Japanese delicacy and the screens of drying persimmons blend in so nicely with Japanese countryside architecture. The patterned tile roofs, the rough wood frames around the windows, the gold and yellow of the autumn leaves. To me, drying persimmons is the ultimate of Japanese scenery.
I have tried drying my own persimmons but my few attempts ended in disaster when I let them get damp in the rain or dew and they molded! I'll never make a good traditional Japanese housewife. That's okay! I have people like my friend Mrs. Ide who brought over a few persimmons that she'd dried in her front yard. Tetsu was overjoyed and gobbled up these delicacies with a cup of steaming green tea. He's very glad I have friends who can do all these things his foreign wife can't!
One of the sights that I love most in autumn are hanging persimmons. In Japan, most farms have two or three persimmon trees and even in the forest, wild persimmon trees can be found heavy with fruit. When it rains or after the night's dew fall, the tree trunks and branches turn such a dark color they look like silhouettes against the sky. The leafless trees seem to be hung out with hundreds of little orange Christmas balls!
There are two types of persimmons, (that I know of...) sweet persimmons and stringent persimmons. The sweet ones, well, you can eat them right off the tree. But the stringent ones... Wow! Take your tongue right out of your mouth! However, stringent persimmons can be made edible by drying them and of course the drying process means that persimmons can be eaten throughout the winter.
Persimmons are peeled with the stem left on and then they are tied 5 or 6 to a rope. The ropes are hung out over a line or a pole and left to dry in the very cold pre-winter air. In case of a sudden rain the persimmons are hung out under the eaves or they are hurriedly brought into the house or farm shed. In the past couple weeks, wherever I go I see curtains of persimmons drying on the balconies and next to farm houses. Occasionally there will be daikon radishes out there too being dried for winter pickling. I've seen persimmons drying outside of apartment windows and even on the kindergarten playground!
In Southern California I rarely had persimmons so to me these are a very Japanese delicacy and the screens of drying persimmons blend in so nicely with Japanese countryside architecture. The patterned tile roofs, the rough wood frames around the windows, the gold and yellow of the autumn leaves. To me, drying persimmons is the ultimate of Japanese scenery.
I have tried drying my own persimmons but my few attempts ended in disaster when I let them get damp in the rain or dew and they molded! I'll never make a good traditional Japanese housewife. That's okay! I have people like my friend Mrs. Ide who brought over a few persimmons that she'd dried in her front yard. Tetsu was overjoyed and gobbled up these delicacies with a cup of steaming green tea. He's very glad I have friends who can do all these things his foreign wife can't!
12 comments:
Oh aren't they wonderful! The last photo of the persimmons look like they're carved out of wood as they dry up and suck their cheeks in!
hugz,
The first time I ever saw a persimmon was when I was about 5. My mother loved them, & someone gave her one as a gift. I begged to taste it, & was horrified. They are nice when they are sweet, but the old fashioned ones seemed to need to be almost rotten before they got sweet!
Very interesting post Tanya.
More great photographs of something so 'foreign'! I don't think I've ever seen persimmons, and certainly never tasted one, though I think I've seen dried persimmons in the Asian grocery store.
Wow what a sight... don't the birds eat them?? Our next door neighbour had two sweet persimmon trees several years ago and they didn't eat them so we and our extended family had more than our fill! Haven't eaten one since they chopped the trees down... you can buy them in the fruit shops but I've never seen them dried! Once again another fascinating post, thanks Tanya.
Hello Tanya,
I live in the Netherlands and I want to let you know that I found your blog on blogspot and read it every day .
I love the stories about your daily life and I admire your talent for writing.
I don't know much about Japan ( only their wonderful quilts) but I like the pictures and the stories about habits. I learn a lot.
Warm greetings Martine
Beautiful scenes--so evocative! I love the traditional Japanese aesthetic. I'd love to visit someday!
Oh, I love persimmons both fresh and dried. And you know, persimmons have a lot of vitamin C, much more than lemons. When I lived in the U.S., our neighbor had a machine that could make dried fruit chips. I had a couple of chances to get persimmon chips from them. Those were so yummy.
What delightful sight---all those orange globes hanging like curtains.
My husband likes to make persimmon pudding (a cake-like baked dessert) from the sour ones. It's a lot of work but the dessert is very tasty, especially served with a dollop of whipped cream.
The ropes of drying persimmons all hanging in a row are beautiful! I don't believe that I have ever tried persimmons - I will have to fix that!
How beautiful they look!
We have persimmons here also but yours look larger. I have never used them it always seemed so much trouble for such small fruit. I have never heard of drying them. I might have to try that.
Karen in USA
http://karensquilting.com/blog/
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