LOL, the messages from @Robert and @snowflake are proof of the divided opinions, no?
“. . . if it’s the actual Prok” may be the issue. And that’s what I was warning about – there is something out there labelled Prok that isn’t so good.
That’s a good caution to not buy that variety from Stark as the fruit you posted didn’t look at all like Prok. I guess mistakes happen but that would be frustrating for what they charge for trees.
Right. But I assume others who bought the not-Prok may have kindly given away scions to others, and so on. Labelling mistakes tend to propagate. So we have to verify the provenance of anything labeled Prok.
1 Like
No, @snowflake is mostly right. It’s not bad tasting, just weak flavored. Most of your persimmon heads want hardcore persimmon flavor. That’s where Prok falls drastically short.
4 Likes
I’m looking to add an American Persimmon variety to my property. I’m looking for a newer(ish) variety that has a smaller overall tree size. Growing in zone 7B.
It seems like H-63A and Lehman’s Delight are the top candidates. I can’t get a sense of how they taste. What’s different about them? Any rum notes, caramel flavors, etc? Anything else to consider?
All I know is Lehman’s Delight is one of the best fruits of any kind I’ve ever eaten. Rosseyanka, Prok don’t hold a candle, for me anyway. Have not tasted Barbra’s Blush; Paradise; Prairie Dawn.
1 Like
H63A – Well known in the nursery trade and is a star among the Indiana Prairie , This selection was Breed By James Claypool and our tree is growing directly behind the house on top of the hill our 20 plus year old tree is a medium size tree of about 14 feet tall and is very productive and produces large delicious tasting Persimmons.
…
Noticed … the 20 years old and 14 ft tall… comment on H63A on Cliffs site nuttrees.net.
He does not say much about tree size on the other Americans.
I have H63A, H118, WS810, Prok here in year 3 or 2. I have not tasted them yet… but H63A and WS810 are still holding fruit. Hope I get to try some this year.
TNHunter
3 Likes
I haven’t tasted all the named Americans that are out there, but Lehman’s Delight, in my limited experience with it, doesn’t have any stand out flavors. It’s nice enough, but it’s pretty much generic persimmon flavor here. We prefer LD over Prok, Barbara’s Blush over LD, and Kasandra over everything else so far. Mikkusu was pretty meh last year. That could change this year. If all goes well I’ll have 3 new varieties to try this fall. There are 4 more varieties growing that haven’t fruited yet.
4 Likes
Very interesting. What flavors do you get in Kassandra?
I tasted 100-46 / LD last fall at Englands Orchard.
It was a big beautuful piece of fruit.
Clear pulp, had a clean clear almost apricot like flavor… i did not detect any notes of rum, caramel, vanilla, etc…
Several of the other persimmons we sampled there tasted very similar to me.
To my disappointment… did not get to try H63A, H118, Barbaras blush, Kasandra, Prok etc…
TNHunter
1 Like
I’m not great at describing flavors and don’t have a refined palate. Kasandra I can only describe as having a nice blend of Asian persimmon and American persimmon flavor. The texture is on the firmer side, which is really nice for eating. My wife says she can taste butterscotch in Kasandra. I believe her, but I don’t taste it.
@TNHunter I’ve noticed most of the Americans have a very similar flavor. Honestly if I had to do a blind taste test between Prok, BB, and LD I would be hard pressed to differentiate them. I might be able to tell Prok from the others since it’s milder.
2 Likes
I’ve visited Cliffs place as well. I wish I could say I taste all the nuances in each persimmon but most of the American varieties taste the same to me and most of the hybrids taste the same. Kasandra was good but not complex. I think I recall it being a bit less gooey and seedless. Its a very nice looking tree. With that said, there’s certainly nothing wrong with what it is to me.
I didnt taste much difference with Lehmans Delight but some others did. I have a Barbara’s Blush. Same goes for that but it fruited for the first time last year. Prok is still one of the best I’ve tried thus far. I get a persimmon and brown sugar flavor profile from it. At Cliff’s, D31 x Unknown was the best to me. It had a pumpkin and brown sugar flavor. It was clearly different to me than others I tried. I think he has multiple trees with that name, so thats something to consider. Some crosses of that combo werent as good.
3 Likes