Here's How to Prep and Cook Fresh Persimmon Fruit

When leaves begin to turn fall colors and you start craving treats like apple cider and pumpkin bread, it's officially persimmon fruit season. While persimmons might not have the same following as scene-stealing autumn favorites like apples and pumpkins, they are gaining in popularity. In fact, we think they deserve to take center stage in some of your cool-weather recipes. These fruits have a sweetness that adds amazing flavor to baked desserts—and some types of persimmons can be eaten fresh. If you've never tried them, don't worry. This guide has everything you need to know about learning to love persimmons.

What Is Persimmon Fruit?

Some varieties of persimmons look just like small tomatoes, but they're actually a type of berry. They grow on trees and, depending on the variety can range in color from light orange to dark reddish-orange. Persimmons are in season from midfall to early winter. They typically appear in grocery stores in October and stick around until at least December or January.

Popular Types of Persimmons

There are more than 100 persimmon varieties, but you'll usually find just two types in stores; hachiya and fuyu. Hachiya persimmons look like large, long acorns with yellow-orange to red-orange skin. These are an astringent variety, so they are unpleasant to eat while the fruit is still firm. When hachiya persimmons are ripe and ready, you will know it. The skin will start to wrinkle and the fruit will become very soft with an almost-slimy texture. Ripe hachiyas have a very sweet flavor, almost like honey, but are mostly used in baked recipes.

Unlike hachiyas, fuyu persimmons are non-astringent, which means their skins are edible, and they can be eaten when they're hard or soft. Fuyus look very much like tomatoes, with orange skin and flesh, a rounder shape, and flat bottoms When they're ripe, fuyus taste a little like pears, and are usually sliced and served raw, though they, too, can be roasted or baked into desserts.

How to Choose Persimmons

When they're in season, both fuyu and hachiya persimmons are common in grocery stores. Look for fruits that have shiny, smooth skin without any blemishes or bruises. It's normal for ripe hachiyas to have a few black streaks or spots on their skins. If you're planning to use them in the next couple of days, buy only ripe hachiyas that feel soft. However, if you pick up hard, unripe persimmons of either variety, they will continue to ripen when stored properly.

How to Store Persimmons

Unripe hachiya and fuyu persimmons should both be stored at room temperature. If you want them to ripen a little faster, try placing them in a paper bag with a banana or an apple and storing them on the counter. Bananas and apples both produce ethylene gas, which can speed up the ripening process. If you buy persimmons that are already ripe (or close to ripe), store them in the fruit drawer in your fridge so they won't over-ripen. Both varieties will keep in the fridge for at least a week.

How to Eat a Persimmon

The best way to prep and cut a persimmon depends on which variety you've chosen. For hachiyas, use a sharp knife to cut off the leaves and stem, then slice downward through the center of the fruit. Use a spoon to scoop out the soft, inner flesh and discard the skins. Hachiya peels can be slightly bitter. When ripe, hachiyas should be just on the verge of mushy, making it easy to add the fruit to cookies, jams, cakes, and other desserts.

To cut a fuyu, peel the skin (only if desired—fuyu skins are edible and less bitter than hachiya skins). Trim the leaves off the top of the fruit, remove the stem, and slice the persimmon in half. Continue slicing the fruit into wedges, removing the black seeds from the center. Eat the fruit slices raw (like an apple), add them to a salad or cheese plate, or use them in baked desserts.

You can also freeze persimmons to enjoy later. The best way to preserve them is to puree the flesh, then freeze. When ripe, hachiyas might be soft enough to peel and freeze as-is. For fuyus, peel and puree the inner fruit, then pour it into freezer-safe packaging ($10, Target), leaving a ½-inch headspace. Both varieties can be frozen for up to three months.

Persimmon Benefits

Persimmons are not only delicious, they're very good for you. To get the most nutrition out of your persimmon fruits, eat fuyus raw, without added sugar. Persimmons are a good source of antioxidants and contain an impressive amount of nutrients—including vitamin C, potassium, fiber, and manganese. No matter how you choose to enjoy them, take advantage of persimmon season while it lasts and give both varieties a try in any of our persimmon recipes.