Why we never did make it down to an actual frost we were close. I believe my thermometer outside said 35 degrees at one point. So while out cutting wood today I noticed a small Persimmon tree nearby and went to investigate.
It was one that had the pumpkin shaped fruit on it and contained eight seeds inside.
Funny thing about Persimmon trees you get some variance in fruit shapes from plum to round to roughly pear-shaped and even pumpkin like. They vary in color a bit too and can have anywhere from no seeds to as many as eight.
So I found the best looking one I could get to. Felt it and it was turning nice and soft. It came right off in my hand and had the right texture.
My Dad who is an old hand at tasting not quite ripe Persimmons was urging me on to try a bite. Like I was going to fall for that old trick. Still the thing seemed ripe.
Oh what the hell I had a beverage with me. So I tore out a bit of the fruit and tried it.
It didn't taste bad but it wasn't very sweet yet. In fact it was pretty tasteless to be honest. It just wasn't quite ready yet.
Still that was a much more pleasant outcome than if it had been even less ripe. Trust me the unripened ones stick with ya a long time.
Maybe another week or so and the Persimmons will be ready.
Oh and I did cut into a few of the seeds and it doesn't present a comforting forecast.
Looks like lots of shoveling is predicted for our future. I don't mind the snow so much as long as we don't get those sub-zero temps that stay around for weeks.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!
I might have to put a few of these trees in a hedge somewhere. A friend had a passion fruit growing up a wall in there new house when I visited the other day but I think the fruits were over as they tasted disgusting.
ReplyDeleteKev - Persimmons, at least the N. American ones, don't really get ripe until very Late Fall early Winter. Deer love em and they hang around so long you can see the deer out standing on hind legs trying to get to them. This year happens to be a good year for em which is why I am harping on them a bit.
DeleteWe had frost on the roof but didn't see any on the ground, I am not tasting another persimmon until a frost hits after my last taste test. Most of our fruit is falling off or something is messing with it and not eating it.
ReplyDeleteSf - Well I have heard that it doesn't necessarily have to be a frost to make tasty but although the one I tried wasn't pucker up and make a bad face disgusting it wasn't sweet either. Just kinda Bleh.
DeleteYikes that's cold! We hit 59 Sunday morning and if the neighbors weren't home we may have run around the back yard naked! It was awesome. Reached 76 degrees as our high. Perfect fall day here in central FL. Now we're back to normal temps, lows in the 70's high just under 90. I still have not tried a persimmon, and now I'm scared I'll try a not ripe enough one and really be grossed out!
ReplyDeleteIzzy - As I said above I have read they can still ripen without a frost. The frost thing seems to be something they stick too along the Northern borders of the Persimmon's range. My guess is that by November even the Southern ones would be ripe. Just be sure they are nice and soft and orange (not green) before trying one.
DeleteLast week was windy here and cool temps. Our heat is set and running. I have the temp set at 67. Temps all this coming week are low 60's
ReplyDeleteRob - We got back into the 70's today. Actually it has been very nice for a change and we are going without climate control for the most part right now.
DeletePP,
ReplyDeleteWe hit the low 40's over the weekend and now were back up into the 80's in the afternoon. I'm hoping it's not going to be a hard winter for us this year.