Signs of Autumn

The rains over the last few days have brought in signs of fall. Temperatures have dropped, days are getting shorter, and trees are hinting of color change. Persimmons are one of those seasonal foods, only available in the fall. The above persimmons are starting to ripen. Soon they will have transitioned from bright green to a vibrant, dark orange. They are Asian persimmons, not native to the USA and they don't need a first-frost to ripen and to temper the astringent bitterness of the local variety. Native persimmons, much smaller and seedier, need a good frost to sweeten them up. While we are losing native persimmon trees to land development in Guilford County, in the more rural areas, you can find persimmon trees. 

The Colfax Persimmon Festival will celebrate its 10th year on November 4th from 10am to 4pm. This celebration grows in size every year. The native persimmon was a favorite of Native Americans. If you've ever had persimmon pudding, you know it is a taste like no other. It is hard to do anything with it commercially as the seeds are time-consuming to extract and the ratio of fruit to seed favors the seed over fruit. So, start asking at the farmers' markets and, by all means, attend the festival.

Let's hope we can keep summer around for a few more weeks, especially while all of Greensboro is celebrating the National Folk Festival this weekend!

Comments

[David T]

This particular variety is a Chocolate Persimmon. The flesh is a dark brown chocolate color. This variety is in fact astringent until ripe like its domestic cousins. A green one will "turn your mouth inside out!"

[William Kendall]

I've never tried those.