Do any of you dehydrate some? My trees are small so not in much of a production yet just curious if that’s the play for the future.
I used to dehydrate persimmons, but I eat them too fast! Dehydrated persimmons and delicious and are probably my 2nd favorite way of eating the fruit
3 Likes
I tried dehydrating in the past but it’s too much work.
I eventually gave away the dehydrator.
Vacuum sealing is fast and doubles life of stored fruit with little effort.
2 Likes
Then how long do they last in the fridge?
Without vacuum sealing - early to mid jan
With vacuum sealing- end of Feb to early March.
3 Likes
why too much work?
I cut the top (sometimes has stem parts attached at top there), then cut in half then dehydrate.
I have hundreds of persimmons, even large dehydrators can’t do more than a dozen at a time. I am talking kaki not Americans.
They take up counter space. I have to put it on the counter and then put it back into storage.
They run for hours - lots of supervision needed.
The dehydrator gets sticky and dirty, you have to clean it.
But different strokes for different folks.
2 Likes
Yeah, I’m starting to lose interest in mine as well. I made some persimmon leather and it took close to 24 hours plus cleanup. Freezing is the way for me. Not unusual though, many of my toys wind up as seldom used items. Next toy on the way is a steam juicer. Hoping it gets more use.
2 Likes
We planted three Japanese persimmons in March this year (2024). Two of them produced fruit in October-November (Fuyu) but one seems to have dried up (Jiro). The branches break easily. My questions are: #1- do persimmons continue to have leaves all year, or do they go into hibernation and the branches look dried in autumn?; #2- when we ate the Fuyu fruit, it did not have exceptional sweetness. Is there a Japanese persimmon that has the most sweetness? NOTE: the two Fuyu were planted deep… 32 inches for a 12 inch deep pot… but the Jiro was planted in an existing hole about 16-18 inches deep. In all 3 cases, I piled existing dirt 50-50 with garden soil from Home Depot so the soil was rich. The Jiro had the MOST SUN. The Fuyu with the most fruit had the LEAST SUN and was on the fringe of our garden under a mature holly tree. The photo shows the Fuyu mentioned last and dates from Sep 28th.
1 Like
90 US persimmons do well here in PNWet zone 9a, but we get lots of chill hours and not anywhere the heat you do down there in TN. The trees don’t get crazy big. They ripen more regularly than some of the Asian persimmons, which don’t always ripen.
John S
PDX OR
3 Likes
This year, the biggest winner for overall productivity and very good taste - Jiro
Best tasting kaki - Nishimura Wase
Most promising Kaki - Mikatani Gosho. Still young graft
Biggest disappointment- Saijo. Super late. Not enough sweetness
Best tasting hybrid - Nikita’s gift
Most promising hybrid - Chuchupaka
Honorable mention - Kasandra and JT02
Biggest disappointment- mislabeled variety I got from Cliff. Labeled as chuchupaka but had mealy texture
Best American - H118
Honorable mention- h63a
Biggest disappointment - Morris Burton
I still have a bunch of fruit I haven’t tried yet - Honan Red and Maru are a couple.
9 Likes
Surprising Saijo was a disappointment. It’s one of my asian superstars. No surprise on Morris Burton. I’ve yet to hear anyone say they loved it. Deer killed my MB and I grafted the root sucker that came up to another variety.
1 Like
I don’t understand Saijo at all. It was a stellar producer till a few years ago. Then it took 2 years off. But it kept growing in size.
This year it had an ok crop but very little sweetness.
Does weather correlate?
Yeah, sadly MB got a lot of hype a few years ago and I got sucked in.
Nothing really that different.
Jiro is supposed to be late and not good in this area. But overall it is my favorite- because of good quality, high sweetness combined with outstanding production. Frankly home grown is much sweeter than anything I’ve purchased.
2 Likes
Following @ramv’s format:
Biggest winner: Kasandra, especially if seeded. My only other hybrid is JT-02, which was also very good. My IKKJ, which would normally have given Kasandra a battle, is rebounding from a near-death experience, produced only 8 ripe fruits. It’ll be better next year, I hope.
The obvious negative of seeded Kasandra is that the seeds make processing a pain. Dried seeded Kasandra are just all seeds and skin. Puree / fruit leather cannot be made without removing the seeds, even if by hand.
Kaki:
Best tasting kaki: Saijo. Not knock-your-socks-off but very good.
Most promising kaki: Giboshi.
Biggest disappointment: Miss Kim because the grafted branch broke (below the graft), taking all the fruit with it. A stub remains.
Hybrids:
Best tasting hybrid: Kasandra, seeded.
Most promising hybrid: Dar Sofievki, purchased in Sept. Nikita’s Gift, grafted in May, is just behind it – if it ripens.
Biggest disappointment: None yet.
Americans:
Best American: Dollywood. This is not what I expected, and it deserves an explanation. Both Barbra’s Blush and H63A have a stronger flavor but the fruit quality was somewhat uneven. Dollywood was milder but still tasty, also larger, meaning more flesh – which is the good stuff. And the fruit quality was superb – no blemishes, no mold. Fruit hangs well. No astringency when ripe. Bottom line: The best BB or H63A beats the best Dollywood; but the average Dollywood beats the average BB or H63A.
Most promising American: H-118. I grafted it this spring. I expect fruit next year.
Biggest disappointment: Morris Burton did not fruit. My other three Americans all fruited the year after grafting but not MB. I will add that I have been finding Americans, in general, disappointing in that something in the flavor is unappealing. I don’t know what it is. All I can tell you is that I can eat a dozen Kasandras in a row and still want more. I’m done with American fruit after 2-3.
As yet unfruited: Taishu, Sheng, Nikita’s Gift, Morris Burton, H-118.
7 Likes
Does anyone know @Ruben in real life to reach him?
I promised Ruben some fig cuttings last year so right after pruning them this year a couple weeks ago, I decided to just ship them to the addr I had saved and let him know via the site here later that day, but he never responded as he is not active on the site anymore.
It was sent to a P.O. Box. Hoping he didn’t move or is on a long vacation.
My fault for not checking and trying to message him before sending.
EDIT: I got his email from someone, so i’ll try reaching him that way. Thanks!
I’ve found a new winner for my climate! Possibly the best tasting kaki. I had saved it until it got wrinkly ripe - the best way to eat any persimmon.
The red one is Honan Red. It ripens to a bright red and is absolutely spectacular.
11 Likes
