The persimmon fruit will appear in our supermarkets from September and, with its rich, bright orange, is not only pleasing to the eye, but especially to the palate when ripe. It has its origins in China and Japan.
Where do persimmon fruits originally come from?
The origin of the persimmon fruit lies in East Asia, particularly in China and Japan. Today it is also grown in other countries with subtropical climates, e.g. B. in southern Europe and the USA. The well-known variants are persimmon, sharon and persimmon.
The persimmon tree - one of the oldest cultivated plants on earth - is believed to have originated in East Asia. The majority of commercially available fruits still come from East Asian countries:
- Japan,
- Korea,
- China.
The persimmon fruit is also grown in other countries with subtropical climates, e.g. B. in southern Europe and the USA. A refined form of persimmon is the Sharon fruit, which is cultivated on the Sharon Plain in Israel for export purposes.
Kaki, Sharon or persimmon fruit?
All names refer to the tasty berries of a Diospyros kaki - the fruit tree from the ebony family (Ebenaceae). The names are often used as synonyms. The species differ not only in their origin, but also in the nature of the fruit.
Kaki
The fruits of the Diospyros kaki are large and spherical and have a firm, smooth peel, which can be colored in different shades of orange depending on the degree of ripeness. When ripe, the classic persimmon fruit has very soft, juicy, jelly-like flesh. The hard fruits are practically inedible because the tannins make them feel furry in the mouth. The persimmons come to us from Asia.
Sharon
The Sharon fruit is a breed from Israel. Their fruits are smaller and flatter than persimmon fruits. They look more like tomatoes. Their advantage is that they can be stored for longer and eaten when hard because they hardly contain any tannins. They also have a thinner shell.
Persimmon
This breed comes from eastern North America. The fruits of Diospyros virginiana are relatively small and oval in shape. Like the Sharon fruits, they have firm flesh and even when they are not fully ripe, they taste pleasantly sweet and fresh, like a mixture of honeydew melon, pear and apricot.
Tips & Tricks
A persimmon fruit that is inedible due to its high tannin content can be eaten after a short period of storage in the freezer. The pulp becomes soft after freezing, but loses its firmness and can then be spooned out of the peel.
