Orange

Orange was the color at the farmer’s market this weekend. I did a little research into the color and found that the color orange is an appetite stimulant.

One of the fruits of fall, the persimmon’s orange skin is a signal of that the seasons are changing. I had actually never tried is a persimmon. Most of the world calls them “kaki”. We in the United States call them persimmons after the Algonquin Indian name for “Diospyros virginiana” which means “dry fruit”. The genus name, Diospyros means “food for the Gods”.

I found the fruit to be sweet and very fibrous. The softer the fruit is on the outside the sweeter it is on the inside. The fruit is meant to be peeled, sliced and then eaten like an apple. I found that the taste is close to an unripe pear. The persimmon is native to China and was brought to California in the mid 1880’s. Not all of the species of persimmons are edible to humans. The fruit of the persimmon can be eaten fresh or dried. I read about a Korean punch made from dried persimmons called “suiconggwa”. One traditional American dish would like to try making is Persimmon Pudding. A dessert that is the consicentancy of pumpkin pie but shaped like a brownie and usually served with whipped cream. I also found a recipe for Persimmon cookies. It is a whole new orange world! -Fer