Persimmons are like cartoon fruit.

They’re so bulbous, sweet and juicy that… I dunno… I have a hard time believing that they’re a real life fruit.

Every year around this time, my mom shoves giant bag of super ripe oozing persimmons in my hands and I’m left to figure out what to do with them.

Soup?  Gross.  Candy?  Weird.  Softballs?  Possibly.  Inside of the refrigerator decorator?  Yes.

Bread?  Why the heck not?

Persimmons taste like… sugar.  That’s the best way I can describe them.

I used the rounder Hachiya Persimmon for this recipe.  Fuyu persimmons are more squat and firm.  They’re not for baking.  They’re for eating like an apple or putting on salads.

This bread is delicious.  It’s got just a hint of spice from ginger.  It’s moist and sweet… and it has large, baked in chunks of persimmon fruit.  Perfectly seasonal.

Persimmon Pudding, from tree to table.

Step One:  Find a neighbor with a gorgeous, almost cartoon like persimmon tree.  Ask your Mom to help you pick persimmons… Mom always likes to help.

Step Two:  Entice neighbor and Mamabear with the promise of fresh baked persimmon pudding if you’re granted access to their persimmon tree.

Step Three:  Try this phrase, “Hey Neighbor!  I think you’re just swell.  Can I borrow a ladder?  That’s one tall tree.  Sweet… thanks.”

Step Four:  If you decide to sneak a peek into the other neighbor’s yard while you’re up on that ladder picking persimmons… maybe you’ll want to be more subtle than my mother.  I’m just sayin…

Step Five:  Pick the ripest, softest persimmons.  Way to be, Mom!

Step Six:  Carefully place super ripe persimmons in bag to cart off home, thanking your neighbors Dan and Libby for their ladder and their abundant tree.

Step Seven:  If you don’t happen to have a neighbor with a persimmon tree, I’m betting that the local farmer’s market will have some gorgeous Hachiya persimmons for you this time of year…. and you won’t need a ladder.

Step Eight:  Call your favorite Aunt from Indiana and ask her to promptly send you all of the persimmon recipes she owns… that will be a lot.  Seriously.  Thanks Judy!

Let’s very quickly clear up any confusion you might have about persimmons.  There are probably two types of persimmons that you might run in your search for the fruit this autumn.  Fuyu persimmons are the squat little darlings that you can eat when they are hard.  Hachiya persimmons are the more bulbous fruit that are best enjoyed super right and super soft.  Hachiya persimmons are lovely for baking as they are super sweet… like eating nectar… dreamy.

Now… let’s talk about ‘Simmon Puddin’.  When you think of Persimmon Pudding think of sweet and super moist bread pudding meets spice cake.  If you can… close your eyes and think about a dessert that you grandmother might make in October 1976 if you lived in Indiana… now, you might not like this dessert as much as you like your grandmother’s chocolate cake, but you liked that she served her Persimmon Pudding with super melty vanilla ice cream… which made everything ok.   There you go…. that’s Persimmon Pudding.

If my sister and I were produce instead of people, we’d be persimmons. Without a doubt… a couple of sibling persimmons- from the same tree but oooooooh so different. Let me explain. This will all make sense in a short bit.

My little sister and I are two and a half years apart. That means we were close enough to tear things up and figure out how to get ourselves out of it. You know, experiment, explore, break stuff and try not to get in trouble… life skills.

My sister, as an adorable, slick and sly child genius, would mush up and cry whenever trouble was on the horizon. I was not quite so skilled.

Maybe we’re about to get in trouble for knocking out the screen door that was just installed hours earlier… or we’re about to get a talking to for breaking the bathroom window with a soccer ball… or someone, who shall remain nameless, thought it would be a good idea to swing like Tarzan from the palm tree…

Here’s how the situation would play out: Lauren would run into the house, after one of our outdoor terror sessions , a big ball of red eyes and tears. She’d throw herself on the ground inconsolable, and thus… unpublishable. I would freeze and try to figure out a way to fix the broken thing before my parents could discover it. Not wise. Not wise at all. I was always the one left standing stiff with the broken object, eyes wide, wracking my brain for solutions. Thus… I always got in trouble. I’m not just saying that… Lauren, you totally know it’s true.

Any while we’re on the subject, please allow me this:

Dear Lauren,

You know you were the one that ran straight into the new screen door. That was all you. I was watching The Cosby Show and minding my own business. You and your tears! I got in soooo much trouble for that! No, twenty years later, I’m still not over it. Well played sister. Very well played.

This isn’t over.

Your sister,

Joy

So… um… persimmons. Follow me.

I got a lovely couple of persimmons about two weeks ago. Two in particular reminded me of me and my darling sister. One mushed up and ripened right on cue. The other… well… hard as a rock. The same amount of time, from the same farmer’s market pile, but they were so different.

When I could wait no longer for the stubborn and solutions-oriented persimmon to get with the program, I decided to give in and make this AMAZING Persimmon Bread.

The recipe is from David Lebovitz from James Beard. It’s such a delight! It surprised even me! Persimmons lend a special sweetness and lots of moisture. There’s bourbon and you can taste it! And the walnuts just balance the whole loaf out perfectly. Use the big fat, super ripe and much Hachiya persimmons for this recipe.

Oh, and… thanks for letting me get that whole sister thing off my chest.

Persimmon Bread

Print this recipe!

Using the higher amount of sugar will produce a moister and, of course, sweeter bread.
From Beard on Bread by James Beard.
3½ cups sifted flour ( I used half all purpose flour and half white whole wheat flour)
1½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 to 2½ cups sugar
1 cup melted unsalted butter and cooled to room temperature
4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
2/3 cup cognac, bourbon or whiskey
2 cups persimmon puree (from about 4 squishy-soft Hachiya persimmons)
2 cups walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
2 cups raisins, or diced dried fruits (such as apricots, cranberries, or dates)

1. Butter 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. Sift the first 5 dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Make a well in the center then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree then the nuts and raisins.

5. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Storage: Will keep for about a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. The Persimmon Breads take well to being frozen, too.