The astringent persimmons are generally the sweetest. You just have to know when to eat them. Also some cultivars are much more astringent than others. The winterset can actually be eaten directly off the tree (when soft), while others such as the Triumph cannot. You probably either had the Hachiya or the Triumph which are both more astringent than the winterset.

The problem with the persimmon here in our area (broward/dade) is that we have a dearth of chill hours. There are very few cultivars that I know of which are productive this far south, and they all tend to be astringent (saijo, triumph, winterset, tanenashi). I have been told that the hana fuyu (non astringent) will produce satisfactorily here. However, the normal fuyu is better suited to central/northern florida.

Lastly, the hardest bit with us fruit tree extremists enthusiasts is patience. Even grafted trees require several years to be productive, and flavor can also change as the tree becomes established. Moreover, many tastes are acquired, and sometimes it takes some trial and error to figure out when a fruit is fully ripe. So, it's always a good idea to give a tree at least 3 years in the ground and at least 2 seasons worth of fruiting before giving up on it.

Jeff

my parents used to have 5 different persimmon trees. the only non astringent one was a seed grown fuyu, which they still have along with the tamopan. the other 4 had to be either tree ripened or ripened with an apple or you'd get that yucky feeling in your mouth. and by ripened i mean mushy soft, peel it open and use a spoon.

Jeff, one of the best I've tasted was at your house, what cultivar is that one? The others that I've had the owners did not know anything about the trees as they were there before they moved in.

Anyway, I have lots of time to wait for my winterset to produce, but I plan on having another one anyway so it may as well be another cultivar.

Houstontexas, it seems as if the Fuyu seem to be agruably the least astringent, but does anyone know how would they do in South Florida?

Gary

Hey Gary, you probably had a well ripened Triumph. We get gads of them every year.

As for the fuyu, it's known to be a shy bearer in this part of the state. I had one that never produced nor flowered for 2 or 3 years before I yanked it. The hana-fuyu is reported to fruit on the west coast of FL (naples area), so it's possibly worth a try.

Jeff

I have seen Fuyu fruit in Palm Beach County though no comparison production or quality-wise to those I have picked and eaten from a persimmon farm when I lived in Gainesville, Florida (Alachua County).

Rob

Here are your non astringent persimmons: Fuyu, Gosho Giant Fuyu, Imoto, Izu, Jiro, Maekawajiro, Okugosho and Surugua. The rest of the varieties are most likely the astringent ones. What I do with the astringent ones is that I place them in the freezer and let them freeze solid, take them out, let them thaw and get soft and eat them. They usually turn out just fine. Occasionally I still get a little of that taste you described.

Astringency in persimmons makes them absolutely inedible (at least to me). You need to wait until they are absolutely fully ripe for that astringency to go away. The best way I can describe this astringency is like biting into a plantain banana. And I am a hardy person, unlike most people I can actually eat and appreciate a raw plantain. What I can't do is eat an astringent persimmon.

Parker..that is why you leave an astringent persimmon on the tree until it fully ripens or if you pick it early, I put them in a freezer and get them frozen solid then take them out and allow them to thaw. I have a friend who has about 15 trees each of Great Wall, Tam-o-pan and Hachiya persimmons and yesterday I picked about 60 of his large Hachiya and small Great Walls. He had some fully ripe and they tasted wonderful, ate them right off the tree, the ones that aren't quite ripe I will leave out until they do ripen completely, others I will freeze and let thaw before eating. You are right, there is noting more irritating than to eat an astringent persimmon that isn't quite ripe and you have to get that horrible feeling and taste out of your mouth. He said he had Fuyu's at one time but he got tired of them ripening quickly and falling on the ground and rotting. That taste is why you never eat an astringent persimmon until it is fully ripe. I do however prefer the astringent ones over the non-astringent. Right now I have Tanenashi, Tamopan and Hachiya only, I plan to get a couple other varieties this spring. Good luck with your persimmon eating....just make sure they a re fully ripen. Don

If you dehydrate them, the astringency vanishes. My favorite to dehydrate is Honan Red.

Since then I also found that if you freeze them rock hard overnight and thaw them the astringency evaporates. It won't work on totally unripe fruit just those that are ripe and soft to the touch.