Persimmon Cookies

A lot of people are familiar with persimmons as an ingredient in holiday cookies and breads.  For these recipes you use the pulp of persimmons that have become very soft, like the hachiya persimmons in the photo above.  Hachiya is  a type of persimmon that is astringent with tannic acid when hard, but is very sweet when the fruit becomes soft like gelatin.    

Any type of soft persimmon can be used in recipes for baking, but hachiya is most commonly used because it's large, flavorful and has smooth pulp.  Gyombo is a similar variety of persimmon also good for baking.  Gyombo tends to be sweeter than hachiya and has more water content, so if you use gyombo in a recipe you might need a little more flour.  We also use both hachiya and gyombo to dry for hoshigaki.

Here is a recipe for persimmon cookies based on a recipe from The California Persimmon, a persimmon cookbook published by the University of California Cooperative Extension, Placer and Nevada Counties.  To see a nice photo of persimmon cookies that someone posted on Flickr, click here.

Persimmon Cookies Recipe

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup persimmon puree
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp each of cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup nuts

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the egg.  Dissolve the teaspoon of baking soda into the cup of persimmon puree and stir together. 

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, spices and salt.  Add raisins and nuts, then mix this together with the first mixture.  Drop spoonfuls of the batter onto a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Peeling Has Ended

We stopped peeling more persimmons to dry for hoshigaki just before Thanksgiving this week.  The persimmons have gotten too soft to peel and to dry well at this point.  This means that what we started drying already will be all that can be made for the season.  We're still taking orders for hoshigaki though, and we still have some for sale in the fruit stand. 

In the photo above you can see buckets of persimmon peelings next to Toshio's worm bin at the orchard.  Toshio had been feeding some of the peelings to the worms along with other compost from the orchard. The worm castings make very rich fertilizer that we hope to use for the gardens next spring.

Mandarins and Hoshigaki

We continue to be very busy at the orchard lately, with lots of people who want to see the hoshigaki drying process and try different types of persimmons coming to visit.  This past week's publicity about the orchard has definitely brought a lot of people out. The PBS television show California Gold featuring the orchard was shown multiple times, and the Sacramento News and Review had an article about persimmons that mentioned us.  The Sacramento News and Review article was accurate and very informative about the different types of persimmons.  To see the article, click here. 

Drying persimmons for hoshigaki was a bit trickier this past week, because of a few episodes of rain.  They dry more slowly when it rains because of dampness in the air and less sun exposure for the persimmons after first being peeled.  Also the weather is getting colder and we are hurrying to peel as many persimmons as possible before the cold softens them too much for peeling.   Once the persimmons are too soft to peel, the persimmons that have started drying are all the hoshigaki we'll be able to make for the the season. 

Other news is that we now have mandarins for sale at the orchard.  Here's a list of what at the fruit stand now:

• Persimmons--fuyu, maru, hachiya, hyakume (vodka-treated)
• Hoshigaki  (dried persimmon)--in small quantities, please call ahead for larger amounts
• Mandarins--owari satsuma variety (various sizes) 
• Apples--Fuji, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, pippin
• Asian pear--Okusankichi (large brown variety)
  
• Pomegranate--white & red varieties
• Winter Squash--buttercup, red kuri, kabocha, Hokkaido, pumpkins
• Gourds--for decorating
• Honey--raw, untreated and un-heated honey made by bees at our orchard

Above is a photo of a mandarin tree at our orchard.

Mail Order for Hoshigaki, Mandarins & Other Fresh Fruit

We are still taking mail orders for hoshigaki (massage-dried persimmons) and mandarins, but have now stopped taking orders for both Asian pear and fresh persimmons.  Soon the fresh persimmons will get too soft to ship out, and we need to finish getting out the orders people have already put in.

To order hoshigaki (massage-dried persimmons), click here to get to the order form.  We don't take orders online, so you have to print out the form and mail it to us with a check.  We can only accept checks, no credit cards or Pay Pal.  Another way to get to the order form is to go our home page and click on "2009 Mail Order Form for persimmons now available".

Above is a photo of the hoshigaki gift box.  We mail it out with a small hand-made tag with an origami persimmon on the front.  The regular one pound size of hoshigaki is sent in a clear bag with a paper label inside.

Persimmon Pumpkin Pie

Here's a recipe for making a persimmon pumpkin pie, or pumpkin pie with persimmon added, if you'd like to think of it that way.  I made this by taking a  persimmon pie recipe and substituting half the amount of persimmon called for with pumpkin.  It tastes like a pumpkin pie with added persimmon flavor, and with a slightly smoother texture.  I've also made this using winter squash instead of pumpkin, since winter squash is usually sweeter and we still have them from the gardens.

The original recipe was called "Persimmon Cream Pie", and comes from The California Persimmon, a persimmon cookbook published by the University of California Cooperative Extension, Placer and Nevada Counties. 

Persimmon Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup persimmon pulp
3/4 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin
1 2/3 cup evaporated milk or light cream
1 8 in. uncooked pie crust

Combine beaten eggs, sugar, spices and salt.  Mix well.  Add pumpkin and persimmon pulp, evaporated milk or cream  and stir again.  Pour mixture into unbaked pie shell.  Bake at 425 degrees for about 40 minutes.

Now's the time for Fuyu Persimmons

 Fuyu persimmons are a variety of persimmon that is sweet and ready to eat when they're hard, in the same way an apple is.  It's okay to wait until fuyus get softer to eat them also, but people usually prefer them firm.  The colder weather lately is starting to help soften some of the fuyus, so if you like them to be firm, try and come to the fruit stand soon.  We have lots of fuyu persimmons picked now, and are selling them by the pound and at a discount for a flat or box. 

At the Fruit Stand now you'll find:  

• Persimmons--fuyu, maru, hachiya, hyakume (vodka-treated)
• Hoshigaki  (dried persimmon)--in small quantities, please call ahead for larger amounts
• Apples--Fuji, Golden Delicious, Mutsu, pippin
• Asian pear--Okusankichi (large brown variety)
  
• Pomegranate--white & red varieties
• Winter Squash--butternut, buttercup, red kuri, kabocha, Hokkaido, pumpkins
• Vegetables--peppers (sweet and hot)
• Gourds--for decorating
• Honey-raw, untreated  and unheated honey from bees at our orchard

Above is a close up of a fuyu persimmon. 

California Gold & Open House

The PBS television show California Gold featuring Otow Orchard drying persimmons will air again this Fall. Here are the times we know of so far:

• Thurs., Nov. 12th, 7:30 PM on KCET Los Angeles
• Thurs., Nov. 19th, 9:00 PM on KVIE Sacramento

Huell Howser of California Gold came to interview people at the orchard and show the process of making hoshigaki (dried persimmons) in the Fall of 2007. The episode has aired quite a few times since then, in California and also in Huell Howser's home state of Tennessee. Click here for more about the show.

Also, we hope lots of people come out to this coming Saturday's open house at the orchard.  The orchard is very pretty right now, with the foliage of some of the trees turning turning red, orange and yellow. The open house is sponsored and organized by Placer Land Trust , and will take place at Otow Orchard  on Saturday, Nov. 14th from 1:00-3:00 PM.  There will be free food, tours of the orchard,  hoshigaki demonstrations and hay bales and tractors to play on.  The orchard and fruit stand will be open from 9-6 as usual that day.  Click here for a link to their site with information about the event.  The open house is free and open to the public.  


The photo above shows a maru persimmon tree at the edge of the old packing shed at the orchard. 

Persimmon Tasting & Open House

On Saturday, Nov. 8th, we will do a hoshigaki demonstration at Twin Peaks Orchard in Newcastle, as part of the Persimmon Tasting event taking place there.  We'll bring drying persimmons in various stages to demonstrate and talk about the drying process.  Twin Peaks orchard is a nearby orchard that is also multi-generational and family-owned.  Twin Peaks started almost 100 years ago, around the same time as Otow Orchard, and our families have known each other since then.  Some of Twin Peak specialties are amagaki persimmons and peaches.

On Saturday, Nov. 14th from 1:00-3:00 PM Placer Land Trust is sponsoring an open house at our orchard.  There will be food, tours and hoshigaki demonstrations.  Click here for a link to their site with information about the event.  Both events are free and open to everyone. 

At left is a photo of a branch of sunburned hachiya persimmons. 

Busy at the Orchard

The orchard has been very busy with all aspects of making hoshigaki (dried persimmons) lately. We've been peeling and hanging as many persimmons as possible while the weather is good and while the persimmons are still hard enough to peel. There are now hoshigaki drying all stages. Freshly peeled persimmons are hanging on the racks and wall outside, the glass hot house has already-massaged persimmons, and the other indoor drying rooms have racks of drier persimmons. We spend time going through the racks massaging the hoshigaki and moving the sticks to a new location if they are ready. Some hoshigaki are nearly finished and "sugaring up", meaning that they are starting to show a powdery dusting of fructose on the surface. We expect to have some of the first hoshigaki of the season finished within the next two weeks.

Aside from working with hoshigaki and keeping track of mail orders, we are also sending out orders of fresh persimmons and Asian pears. Quite a few community groups have been coming for scheduled tours of the orchard, too.

In the fruit stand we now have lots of fuyu persimmons of various sizes. In general, summer vegetables such as tomatoes are now almost finished. Our pumpkin patch is open if you're looking for pumpkins for Halloween.

Here's what you'll find for sale at the fruit stand now:

• Persimmons--Maru, hachiya, hyakume (vodka-treated), fuyu
• Apples--Fuji, Golden Delicious, Mutsu
• Asian pear--Okusankichi (large brown variety)
• Grapes--Ribier
• Jujube
• Pomegranate--white variety
• Quince
• Winter Squash--butternut, delicata, red kuri, kabocha, Hokkaido
• Vegetables--tomatillos, eggplant, bitter melon, peppers (sweet and hot), basil
• Honey-from bees at our orchard
• PUMPKINS (to choose at the fruit stand or pick your own in the pumpkin patch)--Jack-o-lantern (small and large), specialty types, pie pumpkins

Above you can see photos of Viviano practicing peeling next to a tub of peeled hachiya persimmons ready for stringing and hanging on the racks, and a photo of Helen peeling more persimmons while Toshio strings some for hanging.

What's New at the Orchard

This week it has rained for a few days, so we held off peeling more persimmons to dry for hoshigaki until the weather cleared.   If the freshly peeled persimmons have to stay covered under the tarp because of rain for too long, there's a danger that they'll remain damp for too long and mildew.  The first hachiya persimmons were peeled at the end of September, but they are not yet finished drying to become hoshigaki in its final form.  We are still taking orders for hoshigaki and fresh persimmons.  For a link to the order form, click here.

Summer vegetables are slowing down now in the gardens, so we have less to offer in the fruit stand.  If you want to order organic winter vegetable seedlings to plant in your garden, please contact Julie and Allison at Peas and Harmony.

Here's what you'll find at the fruit stand now:

• Persimmons-Maru, hachiya, hyakume (vodka-treated), fuyu
• Jujube
• Pomegranate--white variety
  
• Quince
• Plums--Casselman
• Apples--Northern Spy, Golden Delicious, Fuji, Mutsu
  
• Asian pear--2oth Century, New Century, Shinko, Yoi, Yali
  
• European pear--D'Anjou
• Grapes--Ribier, Thompson seedless 
• Winter Squash--butternut, delicata, Fordhook acorn, red kuri, kabocha, Hokkaido, buttercup, pie pumpkins
• Tomatoes, tomatillos, eggplant, green beans, bitter melon, okra, peppers (sweet and hot), basil, garlic
• Honey-from bees at our orchard  
•  PUMPKINS (to choose at the fruit stand or pick your own in the pumpkin patch)--Jack-o-lantern (small and large), specialty types,  pie pumpkins

 The photo above shows some of our chickens looking out of their chicken dome.  Above them you can see the bamboo roost we made suspended from the top.

Hyakume & Maru Persimmons

One of the varieties of persimmons we have at the orchard is called hyakume. It's a large yellowish persimmon that becomes brown inside if it has been pollinated. If hyakume is pollinated it can be eaten when it's hard, but if it is not pollinated, you must wait to eat it until it becomes soft like jello. A hard unpollinated hyakume will make your mouth pucker up and dry out worse than the greenest banana you could ever taste.

Maru persimmons are the same way, they must be pollinated and brown inside to be edible when they're hard. Hyakume is also called "cinnamon" persimmon, and maru is called "chocolate" since they are both shades of brown inside when pollinated. Both hyakume and maru are very sweet if you choose them carefully. They also each have a slightly different flavor than fuyu (another variety of persimmon that is always edible when hard).

Because it is difficult to tell if the hyakume are pollinated, we treat some of the fruit with vodka to sweeten them and take away the astringency. We sell these as "vodka-treated hyakume", although they are also called amagaki persimmons. Amagaki is Japanese for a non-astringent type of persimmon. The process of treating persimmons with alcohol (vodka or any other type) is called awasu, and is a process brought here from Japan by Japanese American farmers.

After treating each hyakume persimmon with a few drops of vodka and letting them rest for a number of days, all of the fruits are sweet and ready to eat, even though they are firm. We no longer have to worry about whether or not it was pollinated, and all of the treated hyakume can then be eaten firm or in any stage of softness. The first hyakume of the season has now been treated and is at the fruit stand for sale.

At left is a photo of a hyakume growing on a tree in our orchard.

Pumpkin Patch is Open

The pumpkin patch at the orchard is now open for people to go out and choose a pumpkin. We also have jack-o-lantern and specialty pumpkins for sale at the fruit stand.

The photo at the left shows the edge of the pumpkin patch, with Queasy, the horse, in the background.