I went to Parkside Market today to pick up some fruit and veg. There, to my great delight, I saw the first persimmons of the season. For me, that's when I really know fall has arrived!
I've come to persimmons late in life. It's one of those produce items, such as avocados and artichokes, that I never saw growing up. Maybe it's a east coast/west coast thing; maybe it just wasn't in my parent's food sphere so they never bought them. Whatever, I am now a west coast gal and I love them all.
For the uninitiated, you can find two kinds of persimmons in the stores. The fuyus, pictured above, are small, squat, and firm. They can be easily sliced or just bite into one and eat it like you would an apple. The fuyus are the sweeter of the two varieties.
The hachiyas are bigger, oval-shaped, and should be eaten when soft. They are more tart than the fuyus, but still really good. They're a bit messy to eat when really ripe, but work really well as a sauce, eaten alone or over some ice cream--yummm.
Nutrition-wise, they are high in Vitamin A, with a nice amount of Vitamin C and fiber. For more information and some recipes, check out this page on our government's "5ADay" website. They've named persimmons "Fruit of the Month" I'm not sure whether they mean October or November, but as long as the seasons last--go for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment