persimmons in the yard

when we bought our home, we had no idea what was growing in the yard.  there was so much overgrowth and neglect that it was a bit overwhelming.  slowly but surely over the 5 years we have been here, we have removed, relocated and replaced many things and trimmed back others as well.  gone are the monstrous forsythia and all of the nandina as well as the lovely plastic pointsettias that were placed in various beds in the yard.  missing is most of the pea gravel that served as mulch in some of the beds.  one of the surprises in the yard besides the little grape hyacinths that popped up in the lawn is a pair of persimmon trees.  we are both fans of the familiar japanese fuyu persimmons that you find in produce and grocery stores and we were excited.  that is until we had the opportunity to taste one.  we have american persimmon trees and the fruit must be eaten when it is soft and mushy, unlike the firm ones we sometimes purchase.  if you do not know the meaning of astringent, try eating one of those fruits before it has been hit with frost and is still firm.  you will be lucky to peel the insides of your cheeks off of your teeth since they are the most astringent thing you can imagine.

lately, i have been doing a little research and a little reading on  native foods of the south and i read an article by a local food writer.  this got me to thinking about our little trees out back.  it was a warm sunny day and i headed out into the back yard with a bucket to try and gather some to see if they were worth the effort.  

as you can see, this little

tree has quite a few

still on the branches.

as they ripen and soften,

they fall to the ground

where they can be

gathered.

if you walk through the neighborhood,

you will find persimmon trees growing

wild.  they have most likely sprouted from

seeds dropped by the various animals

eating the fruits.

one of the ripe fruits on the ground just

waiting to be picked up.  darry likes to 

eat them and he is not much help if i am

trying to gather a bunch.  the fruits can be

put into a food mill where it is a little work to 

press them through, separating the pulp from

the skins and seeds.

another tree in the neighborhood

where i can easily gather the ripe

fruit.  ours are so high up that we 

have to wait for them to fall or tap

the trunk with a mallet to make 

them fall and then gather them.