Make the most of the seasonal winter fruit with this epic list of the 21 Best Persimmon Recipes! Whether you have the fuyu, hachiya or Sharon fruit varieties, you'll find lots of inspiring ways to use them up in baking, breads, muffins, dried, jam and more! Plus hints, tips and tricks about persimmons.
Wondering what persimmon recipes you can make with the tasty winter fruits? I've got you covered in this guide to persimmons!
Ripe persimmons are delicious on their own, but they also make a great ingredient in recipes including desserts, baking, salads, and other dishes.
Also known as Sharon Fruit, you can turn them into jam, persimmon muffins, persimmon cookies, salads, cakes, bread, and more recipes too. You'll love persimmon bread with pecans. Or try persimmon white chocolate tarts with pistachios.
Whether you have fuyu or hachiya varieties, I'll show you what you can do with them, how to ripen them, and more in this 101 guide to persimmons.
What Are Persimmons?
Persimmons are an edible winter fruit with a sweet honey-like flavor.
Botanically speaking, persimmons are actually a berry, but in culinary terms, they can be considered a fruit.
They grow on fruit trees, have smooth, shiny skin, and range in color from light orange to dark reddish-orange depending on the variety.
Persimmons are a winter fruit, so you'll find them in season from mid-fall to early winter. You can find them in farmer's markets, CSA boxes and grocery stores from October to around January.
Eat them on their own or use them in persimmon recipes (see the lists below).
Types of Persimmons
Although they're not a hugely popular fruit, there are actually over 100 varieties!
The most common ones found in grocery stores are fuyu and hachiya.
Fuyu are smaller, squat and rounder with orange flesh and skin. They're also called Sharon Fruit, particularly ones grown in Israel. They're a non-astringent variety, so when underripe they don't have as strong a taste as astringent varieties.
They can be eaten whether firm or soft though they're best when slightly firm. Fuyu persimmons are great sliced into salads or used in dishes where you want them to hold their shape.
They have a slightly gingery flavor.
Hachiya are larger than fuyu, with a slightly longer acorn-like shape with skin color that ranges from yellow-ish orange to reddish-orange.
Hachiya are astringent, which means that they taste pretty awful when they're unripe with a bitter aftertaste. They leave a 'dry' taste in the mouth, so you'll definitely know that they're unripe!
However, when soft, squidgy and ripe, they have a glorious honey-like sweet flavor. Their sweetness makes them perfect for baked desserts and other recipes. Ripen them on the counter or windowsill.
Tip: Unless you're going to use them right away, choose slightly firm hachiya persimmons at the grocery store and let them ripen at home as they have a fairly quick ripening time and could rapidly get overripe.
How to Store Persimmon
Whether you have hachiya or fuyu varieties, they should both be stored on the counter at room temperature.
If you need to speed up their ripening, then place them into a paper bag with a banana and keep it on the counter for a few days. The banana's ethylene gas will speed up ripening.
If you need to slow down the ripening of your persimmons, then store them in the fridge for up to 7 days.
How to Eat Persimmons
Ripe Fuyu persimmons can be eaten, skin and all, like an apple, avoiding the leaves at the top.
Ripe hachiya persimmons have more bitter skins, so they're best eaten by cutting the leafy top off, then using a spoon to scoop out the soft and sweet insides. They can be eaten as they are or used in persimmon recipes such as muffins, cakes, smoothies etc...
Recipes
Now that you know all about persimmons, it's time to try out some persimmon recipes! Use them in pudding, bread, salads, cookies, cakes, desserts...
The Best Persimmon Recipes
Make the most of the seasonal winter fruit with this epic list of Persimmon Recipes! You'll find lots of inspiring recipes to use them up in baking, breads, muffins, dried, jam and more!
Make the most of the great taste of persimmons in these easy Persimmon Muffins! The lovely honey-like flavor of persimmons is in a delicious delicately spiced muffin. Simple and tasty.
These Persimmon Cookies are soft, chewy and delicately spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. The vanilla glaze makes them extra special.
Turn your ripe persimmons into this delicious Persimmon Bread with Pecans! It's a tasty and easy way to enjoy seasonal hachiya persimmons. The loaf cake recipe gets a delicious honey-like flavor from the persimmons plus the pecans give it a lovely texture.
Make your own homemade Persimmon Pulp with this easy recipe. It shows you how to make a sweet puree that's perfect for baby food, baking recipes, or add to a smoothie.
This creamy persimmon porridge adds sweetness from the cooked fruit. It's topped off with more persimmon, pomegranate, and nut butter, in this easy nourishing breakfast.
And a burst of flavor to this vegan roasted brussels sprouts salad with ripe persimmons! It's then tossed with pecans, and a delicious maple vinaigrette for an easy and tasty fall harvest salad.
This rich chocolate loaf cake is moist from the tasty persimmons in the batter, then it's topped with chocolate ganache, sliced persimmons, and pistachios. A delicious combination.
This Persimmon Pumpkin Pudding Cake brings together fruit and pumpkin! It's easy and perfect for the holiday season, full of flavor and spice.
This hearty Persimmon Kale Salad will brighten up healthy winter eating! It has toasted pepitas, chewy farro grain and creamy goat cheese, then it's topped with a zesty and tasty pomegranate dressing.
This delicious homemade gluten free dressing is a delicious side dish. In-season persimmons give it great flavors that go perfectly with the mushrooms. Swap to vegetable stock to make it veggie/vegan.
Make a quick and simple persimmon jam with no additional sugar or pectin! Try it on toast or dolloping in yogurt or oatmeal. No canning necessary.
This delicious persimmon salad with pear and kale is a real treat. It's juicy and fruity with a nice balance of crunchy and softer elements. The kale is massaged to provide a rich, green background that doesn't overwhelm the other ingredients.
Whizz seasonal ripe fruits into this Persimmon Smoothie. It's quick & easy to make, naturally high in protein, gluten-free & full of warming, sweet cinnamon flavours and tasty persimmon.
Grown-up jam-filled thumbprint cookies featuring sweet hachiya persimmons and bourbon, plus a delicious cookie dough made with rye flour and almond extract.
This quick and easy persimmon smoothie full of tasty ripe fresh persimmons, milk kefir, almonds, and sweetness from a dash of maple syrup. Filling, tasty and easy to make. The perfect way to use up persimmons.
Persimmon Habanero Soupn has the sweetness of the fruit, balanced with hot and spicy habanero peppers. The silky smooth soup is low in calories and has 0 fat. It's cosy, satisfying and bursting with flavor.
Persimmon pancakes are a wonderful winter breakfast! They're made with the pulp of the sweet persimmons with a rich complementary almond flavor. They’re a delicious winter breakfast!
Make this moist and rich persimmon cake with both hachiya persimmon pulp and chunks of fuyu persimmon. The persimmon flavor is complemented with brown sugar and warming cinnamon. Perfect topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
This Winter Persimmon Kale Salad is full of delicious nourishing ingredients. There's kale slaw, sliced persimmons, pomegranate seeds and feta. It's all brought together with a delicious maple-balsamic dressing.
You'll love this moist and chewy spiced pudding cake made from the delicious persimmon fruit and warming spices. A great winter dessert recipe.
Hachiya Persimmon Bread is moist and delicious. It has the wonderful flavors of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger. to give it a warming winter aroma and taste. A great way to make use of persimmons when in season.
This cranberry persimmon crisp is full of the best winter fruits. The easy dessert has tart cranberries and sweet persimmons with an oaty crisp topping. Warming and delicious.
Oven-dried fuyu persimmons make tasty fruit chips! A delicious snack.
Sandi
This is a gorgeous roundup. Our Farmer's Market is full of persimmons so I am excited to try some of these recipes! I also appreciate your including my stuffing recipe, thank you!