John Myers
You bite into your beloved persimmon and are already looking forward to the sweet fruity taste, but suddenly this: the persimmon tastes very furry on the tongue! Do you have to throw away your persimmons now? We explain what to do.
Why does persimmon taste fury?
The kakis from the trade were harvested before they were ripe. This is because the unripe fruits are easier to transport than the soft, ripe persimmons. And the degree of ripeness of your persimmon is the reason it left a furry feeling in your mouth.
Unripe persimmons have a high content of tannic acid, also called tannins. These form a furry coating on the tongue and dry out the mouth. You should therefore only eat persimmons when they are ripe. You can recognize a ripe persimmon by its dark orange to light red skin. If you press on the shell with your fingers, it should also give slightly.
Note: If you’ve eaten a piece of unripe persimmon, don’t worry. The fruit is not harmful or poisonous in this state, just not particularly tasty.
But how do your unripe persimmons become soft and tasty? We’ll show you how!
Allow persimmons to ripen
If your persimmon tastes furry, you need to let it mature. Because while a persimmon is maturing, the tannin content is reduced and it loses its unpleasant taste. This process is also known as “debittering”. There are two methods for post-ripening:
Ripe persimmons in the fridge
To speed up the ripening process, you can store your persimmons in the fridge. In a few days to sometimes even weeks, you can look forward to ripe persimmons.
If you keep them close to apples, they will ripen even faster. Because apples release a high concentration of ethylene gas, which stimulates the ripening process.
Note: It is best not to store persimmons at room temperature as this can dry them out and turn them brown.
Ripe persimmons in the freezer
The maturing in the fridge is taking too long for you and you want to enjoy a sweet, soft persimmon even faster? Just put them in the freezer overnight! The persimmon should not be frozen, just freeze. You can then let them thaw at room temperature the next day and enjoy. The fruit should then have a glassy skin through which the flesh of the fruit shimmers slightly.
Note: You can eat the persimmon shell, but it is usually a bit hard. We recommend that you simply scoop out the persimmons, similar to how you know the kiwi.
Already knew?
The fruit Sharon is a seedless variant of the persimmon and has a milder taste as it contains less tannic acid. It can usually be eaten without ripening. Sharon’s skin is also softer and you can easily eat it. In the trade, the Sharon is often incorrectly referred to as a persimmon. You can recognize Sharon by its more yellow color and smaller shape.
