I tried alcohol treating an astringent persimmon for the first time, just a single fruit, a very firm but fairly well colored Nikita’s gift. I poured some high proof alcohol in a wide mouth quart jar, then put a small glass upside down in the quart jar, then put the persimmon on top of the upside down jar, and put a sealing lid on the whole thing and left it for 4-5 days. The astringency was all gone when I sliced it up, but it tasted about like it had been soaked in the alcohol, even though it had never come in contact with the alcohol to be able to directly soak it up. I guess the alcohol just moved through the vapors and into the fruit. I assume persimmons that are treated with alcohol to remove astringency don’t normally taste like they’re soaked in alcohol, though. So what did I do wrong? Too much alcohol? Is it necessary to have a fairly precise ratio or alcohol to persimmons? Or if I had let the persimmon air out after removing from the jar for a certain amount of time after treating would the alcohol (and alcohol flavor) have disappeared? If so, how much time? Any pointers?
I just ripened some by putting them in a tightly closed cardboard box with a few ripening apples. That usually starts the ripening process in a couple of days. Don’t put them in a sealed plastic bag with apples. They will take up water from the apples and crack.
The quality this way is equal to just letting them set until they soften on their own. They will ripen on their own at room temp or in the fridge but it might take a couple months for them to all ripen. You’ll need to remove the soft ones about once a week or more often.
I’ve tried alcohol, freezing, and drying to remove astringency. And none gives the fruit quality of natural or ethelyene induced ripening.
Even dried they are better quality if softened up before drying. They can be dried hard and the astringency will be gone but they won’t be as sweet. Softening frees up the sugars or maybe converts the starch to sugar.
I’ve wondered about this a lot myself as I am in a marginal area for late persimmons.
However in a book by UK botanist James Wong, he claims Persimmons are like European Pears and best harvested earlier than fully ripe. He claims that flavor of astringent variety like Rojo Brillante are “far superior” (his words, not mine) when ripened on the counter (as opposed to tree ripened), possibly with an apple or banana.
Any thoughts on this?
I use the alcohol method for many of my astringent persimmons. I do about 20 pounds at a time with 1-2 tablespoons of vodka in a small bowl, all of which is enclosed in a tupperware container for ~72 hours. There may be a slight hint of alcohol when eaten right away after the 72 hours, but after letting them sit for a day or so, it’s gone.
I think it’s possible that you used too much alcohol. It might be worth giving it another shot.
I agree they are best when ripened naturally, but I always ripen many with the alcohol method because it’s predictable and easy to control.
I didn’t mind, but I thought afterwards that I probably shouldn’t have given a piece to my 2 year old before trying it myself. I think I used about twice as much alcohol as you used for a single persimmon instead of 20 lbs. Thanks for sharing those details/numbers.
How did the alcohol taste?
It tasted almost exactly the same as fruit that I’ve eaten before that was intentionally soaked in alcohol to make it an alcoholic treat, but maybe not quite as strong.