North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

Bill,
   Don't worry about the fact you probably can't grow kakis, they are 
really  boring.  If you have never encountered a persimmon, first of all 
understand that
they are very compatible with cinnamon.  Dried, they are very dark like
dates, but less sweet and more flavorful.   Don't pay any attention to Alan 
up there in NY saying his hardy Am persimmons were't paying their rent.  I 
can't imagine they had much flavor up there.  In NE you can pour on the heat 
units and get some real sugar content.
   A persimmon isn't edible when it looks it, and when it is edible it 
doesn't look it any longer.  They have to go soft and squishy, with a 
wrinkled skin.  They are both sweet and spicy at the same time.  I have 
eaten them on cold mornings, picking them out of the grass under the trees, 
and they tasted like ice cream, sweet and melting.  There is nothing really 
to compare them too.  I like to use them in a recipe for applesauce cake, 
but they are sweeter than applesauce and have no acidity at all.  I cut the 
sugar in half, use a heavy hand with the cinnamon, and get a cake soft and 
rich, much like brownies in texture.
   The selected persimmon varieties have very little tannin, as opposed to 
bluish looking wild ones that you have to sample very carefully, and which 
can leave you with an astringent feeling in your mouth and throat afterward. 
I think Yates is the one with a reputation for setting fruit without a 
pollinator, but our Early Golden was loaded this year, and nary a seed.  I 
think the pollen from our trees just won't work, I'm supposing we are far 
enough south to only have the 60 genes, not 90?  (Anyone know where the line 
is? )  The fruit can be run through a Foley food mill to get out the seeds, 
the pulp will store in the freezer for whipping up goodies.  To dry them, we 
just mash the fruits flattish.  The seeds pop out very easily after they are 
dry.          Donna