Jose, my bother stays the winters in Spain, a town called Alli Cante. When I worked in Switzerland, I use to vacation in Spain but also Portugal West and Madiera.Very nice country.
I am happy with what I can grow here.
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Yes we are a very nice country! 
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Hi again aap.
Alicante is a province located in the Valencian Community, and whose provincial capital is the city that also receives the name of Alicante (provincial capital).
I live 240 kilometers from Alicante capital and personally I love the entire province.
It has some small towns with spectacular beaches.
Alicanteâs gastronomy is based on rice dishes and good fish and shellfish from its coasts.
It is a really wonderful place.
Very important, in the province of Alicante a very special variety of plum is grown, it is a very old variety brought by the Romans in the invasion, it is called âPruna Toscanaâ. Tell your brother to buy this plum at the fruit markets in August
I have more than 100 varieties of plums in my orchard (Japanese and European), like this plum there is nothing like it in the world.
This is Pruna Toscana
Regards
Jose
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I will tell him to look for that one, thanks . Be nice to get sionwood, not available here in the US, maybe some day.
Hi Bob.
I have studied the variety of plum Pruna Toscana, brought to Spain during the Roman invasion, and corresponds to an ancient variety of plum grown in Italy (precisely in the region of Tuscany), and whose authentic name is Pruna Pappagona.
This variety.
https://www.maiolifruttiantichi.it/ep201/prugna-pappagona/
It is always very interesting to know the origin of our fruit varieties.
I recommend this variety of plum to everyone, since it is tremendously delicious, with a peculiar flavor different from the rest of the plum varieties, it is extremely sweet and aromatic.
Regards
Jose
A very interesting website. Jose, what about Moscatel table grape? Anything interesting with this grape? My all time favorite grape when I was in Europe.
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I have it and many people have it here, in fact itâs the most common table grape here⊠itâs very sweet! 
I miss those open markets over there, open markets are everywhere over there in a big way.
I remember one guy in Holland, JAAD, THE JOOD, THIS GUY HAD THE FINEST QUALITY FRUIT,bar none. He always remember me and what I was going to buy.
Bob, there are many varieties of Moscatel grape (the Moscatel family of grapes has about 200 varieties), but the most important varieties in Spain are these:
- Moscatel de Alejandria (also known in Spain by the names of Muscat of fat grain, Moscatel de Malaga, or Moscatel Romano), has mixed use, such as table grape, wine grape and raisined grape (dried grape)
This is the variety âMoscatel de Alejandriaâ
- Moscatel de Hamburgo (also known in Spain as Moscatel Black ) has mixed use as table grape and wine grape
This is the âMuscat of Hamburgâ variety
- Moscatel de Italia (also known by Doña Sofia, or Italian Moscatel), this variety of Muscat grape is the most used as table grape
This is the âMuscat of Italyâ variety
- Muscat of small grain (also known in Spain by the names of Moscatel Morisco, Moscatel Gallego) its use is for winemaking
This is âMuscat of small grainâ
It is also known as Muscat, the typical flavor of this variety, which is why it is a characteristic of many varieties of table grape, with Muscat flavor.
Regards
Jose
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Since we are talking about the Rojo Brillante persimmon, I will explain how I eliminate its astringency.
The harvest is the first.
Second, âa small kitchen potâ, where to put all the persimmons:
As a third element, some plastic jars, where we add the the Vodka, the higher the alcohol content, the less time the persimmons in the pot:
ELABORATION OF THE PROCESS:
1Âș - The containers with the Vodka are introduced into the pot:
2nd - Plastic racks are placed on top of the containers with Vodka, so that the alcoholic vapors are split equally and the fruit is not in contact with the Vodka.
3rd - The persimmons are placed with the flower facing down:
4th - We cover the âsmall kitchen potâ:
5th - We seal the lid with adhesive film, insulating tape, or any other sealing material.
In about five days we will have our persimmons free of astringency, and we can eat them without astringency.
As my crop of persimmons is very large, I use several huge kitchen pots to remove the astringency from the whole crop at once.
Once the astringency has been eliminated, they are placed in boxes and stored in an industrial cold room at 2 degrees or centigrade (35.6 Fahrenheit), and they are perfectly preserved for several months for consumption.
Regards
Jose
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I wish I could buy some locally 
Jose, lots of help! There some Moscatel grapes available here.
Hi Bob.
Of course, there are good varieties of Muscat Grapes available in the United States.
Look, without going any further.
The Davis University cuttings program in California âFoundation Plant Servicesâ, in its section for grapes, you have a lot of perfectly identified varieties.
I tell you this, because I trust much more the legitimacy of the Davis University varieties than the ones you can buy in a nursery (we will talk about these).
I (being Spanish) buy many varieties almost every year in this Davis University program.
This is your web page .
https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrvarieties.cfm
I see some interesting varieties
- Moscato Giallio (of Italian Origin, and widely cultivated also in Croatia) very good quality for table grape
https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrdetails.cfm?varietyid=1956&showmore=yes
- Muscat Blanc (corresponds to the Spanish variety âMoscatel de grain menudoâ)
https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrdetails.cfm?varietyid=1013&showmore=yes
- Muscat Hamburg (we talked about it in the message above), this variety as a table grape is very good
https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrdetails.cfm?varietyid=1016&showmore=yes
- Muscat of Alexandria (this variety is the best)
https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrdetails.cfm?varietyid=1018&showmore=yes
- Muscat Ottonel (this variety is of French origin), it is grown in the Alsace region, bordering Germany, and produces some impressive wines, as a table grape it is very good
https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrdetails.cfm?varietyid=1020&showmore=yes
- Muscat Saint Vallier (it is a French variety), widely used as a table grape, I have not eaten this variety and I cannot objectively comment on it, but it must be a good variety
https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrdetails.cfm?varietyid=1023&showmore=yes
I think Davis University ships grape cuttings to Arkansas with no problem, but if not, any Californian member of the forum is sure to buy them for you , and send them to your home.
These grape varieties must be grafted onto a vigorous rootstock.
There are two good vigorous rootstocks that I like, and both are adapted to bad soils (heavy, chalky, with high pH) , If they are good in poor and chalky soils, in fertile soils, these rootstocks are wonderful
- 140-Ruggeri
- 110 - Richter
https://www.inlanddesert.com/ruggeri-140/
https://www.inlanddesert.com/richter-110/
There are countless nurseries in the United States with these two rootstock varieties.
The end of the date to buy cuttings , at Davis University, ends on February 15, so you are in time to make the purchase of cuttings.
https://fps.ucdavis.edu/fgrmaterials.cfm
Regarding the grafted varieties that you can buy in American nurseries, I donât trust anything at all.
For example this from here:
- Muscat of Norway
What the hell is this ? , there is no variety with the name âMoscatel of Norwayâ
- Golden Muscat
Another equal
What variety is this? , I do not know any variety with that name, or that even has that synonym
The best thing is to buy cuttings at Davis University and graft it yourself, so you will have a guarantee of good varieties of muscat grapes.
Very important .
If you have never grafted a vine, tell me and Iâll explain how itâs done (itâs easy since itâs done using the Cleft graft technique, but it has some nuances to be successful)
And second important thing
If you do not have knowledge about the pruning of formation for these grape varieties, tell me, since they do not adapt well to the âCordon Royatâ training system, they produce much more harvest (but much much more harvest), with the formation of pruning system " Guyot ".
If you donât know what Iâm talking about, tell me and Iâll explain it to you .
Please tell me if I am doing this incorrectly:
Iâm new in this forum
In fruit forums in Spain it is very common in a post where a topic is being discussed (this post is about the persimmon Rojo Brillante) to talk about other things.
For example now in this persimmon post, we are now talking about grapes.
I am used to this kind of thing, but if in this forum it is not correct and polite , please let me know.
Regards
Jose
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Thanks! This is precisely the sort of detailed information I come here for.
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Thank you Jose for the detailed instructions!
After the treatment by vodka, do these fruits turn soft or not?
I didnât have to remove astringency for the 6 RBs that I bought from the store because the seller had removed it. But I did not know, so I treated 3 RBs by sealing them in a ziplock bag with an apple. Thatâs how I treat the Hachiya persimmons. After 3 days, they were very soft like jelly. However the taste was not as good as the firm ones. I like them much better when firm.
Not sure how the seller treated them to remove the astringency while still keep them firm. They have to keep the persimmons firm after removing the astringency, I guess probably for transportation purpose.
I just finished the last RB that I bought. This one is under ripe. I think none of the 6 is fully ripe, because they must be picked off the tree at least one month ago. But still very tasty. I am hoping to grow my own RB and taste the fully ripe ones.
Shawn
Hi Shawn.
The process of eliminating the astringency should not make the flesh of the persimmons soft (if it is left in contact with the alcoholic vapors for a long time, it will give them a soft texture), so during the process it is necessary to check the level of astringency of the persimmons every two days until the astringency is completely removed and the persimmons have a firm texture.
The Astringenrtes persimmon varieties must be harvested with very firm flesh (with an apple texture), but which have completed their maturation period on the tree.
Attention, I say period of maturation, not period of overmaturation (which is when they become soft), for the Rojo Brilliante variety, they must have a powerful orange color, and a firm texture to the touch.
That way when we carry out the astringency elimination process, its texture will remain firm (not crunchy, but firm).
The ideal texture once the astringency has been eliminated, is the one that can be seen in the persimmon in this photograph.
Hahahahahahaha, Iâll explain how the persimmons you bought were treated for his astringency.
For the elimination of the astringency of persimmon there are two methods:
- Professional method (usually carried out by industrial-level persimmon marketing companies in large chambers with temperature control, in Spain they are usually Cooperatives) and consists of the following:
The professional procedure to eliminate the astringency of persimmon consists of creating in a chamber, with temperature control, an atmosphere of 90 - 95% carbon dioxide (CO2) for a period of 20 to 24 hours and at a temperature between 20 and 24ÂșC. , keeping the relative humidity around 90%.
- Method for amateurs:
It is the method that we all know, and consists of subjecting persimmons to an atmosphere with alcoholic vapors.
Be careful with this, not all alcohols are appropriate, you should use an alcoholic drink with a graduation around 40Âș (Gay Lussac degrees), and that the drink be neutral in flavor, so as not to add inappropriate flavors to the fruit (the cheap vodka is adequate).
In my case I use brandy from my grape harvest (I have three copper stills) I use grape brandy that also has a neutral flavor (like Italian grappa)
Never under any circumstances to use alcohol from the pharmacy, or cleaning alcohol, since its methyl alcohol content is tremendously high (it is tremendously harmful and the first thing it produces is blindness )
Always use alcohol distillates from wine (grape distillates), be it Vodka or another distillate with a neutral flavor.
Shawn, I donât like the Ziploc bag method, better use large kitchen containers, always placing a rack so that the persimmons are in a high position above the container with alcohol, you can see that the result is much better.
When your persimmons produce large crops, you will see how you learn quickly hahahahaha
Regards
Jose
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Thatâs a lot of typing! Thank you Jose for putting all the info together.
I am looking forward to my big harvest of persimmons, maybe in 3 years.
Then I can practice your method. My trees are still young.
I visited Spain about 14 years ago. Very nice place. Loved the culture, people, food and weather. But the stay was too short. Hope the COVID will be under control this year, so that the world will reopen.
I would greatly appreciate if you or someone can send me some Rojo Brillante cuttings this winter or Spring I have Tamopan, Tanenashi⊠evladi7654@aol.com
Yeah, thatâs no problem.
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Available at fruitwood
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