Written by Chef Dawn Tyson
Okay so it’s November and that means at your local markets have some of the “bounty”. You will see winter squash, pumpkins, pomegranates, cranberries, Clementine, blood oranges, Quince and Persimmon. And since #thanksgiving is right around the corner I wanted to give you a great #cranberry sauce recipe. And some information about a fruit you may not know about…… a Persimmon.
Cranberry Sauce
This recipe yields approximately 2 cups.
Ingredients
12 oz bag fresh cranberries
¾ cup orange juice
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup white sugar
2 oz pure vanilla
Optional additions: pecans, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange zest, currants – add after first 15 minutes of cooking.
Directions
Place all the ingredients in a sauce pan and cook on medium – high for 15-20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been reduced- stirring occasionally. You’ll hear the cranberries popping – don’t worry, that’s what you want them to do. Remove from heat and serve. Cranberry sauce can be made days ahead and brought to room temperature or slightly heated before serving.
While you are walking around your local grocery try a Persimmon…. there are two varieties that are sold commercially. The Fuyu is the kind you can eat right away. Really looks like an orange tomato. They should be of yellow- orange color and firm to the touch. They are sweet and juicy with a unique flavor of spice when ripe and will make you pucker if not ripe. The flesh has the texture of papaya or mango – wet but, firm and juicy. When you buy one leave it on the counter for about a week. Fuyus can be eaten like an apple or peeled and sliced like a melon. They have a beautiful flower design when you cut them into rounds. The Hachiya is the kind you can’t eat right away. Has the shape of an acorn. This Persimmon tastes bitter like strong tea, sort of an astringent flavor due to the high levels of tannin in the fruit. The Hachiya should be a deep orange color without any green – except for the stem or yellow showing. When they are ripe they will feel squishy, like a water balloon. Handle carefully and keep in the refrigerator. Use them as soon as possible. They are delicious.
A quick food fact about Persimmon: The Persimmon is native to China, where it has been cultivated for centuries and more than two thousand different cultivars exist. It spread to Korea and Japan many years ago where additional cultivars were developed. The plant was introduced to California in the mid 1800’s.Try the recipe below.
#persimmon raisin pudding
1 ½ cups sifted flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 ½ cups persimmon mash
½ cup raisins
¼ cup melted butter
¾ cup heavy cream or milk
Directions:
Sift together the dry ingredients into a bowl. In a separated bowl beat eggs and sugar until light. Add persimmon mash and melted butter. Add flour mixture, then heavy cream. Beat until smooth then add raisins. Pour into a baking dish and set baking dish in shallow pan of hot water. Bake low and slow – 325 degrees for about 1 ½ hours. Or if you have a steamer you could pour mixture in greased mold, cover and steam for 2 ½ hours.
‘Keep it Cookin’”
Chef Dawn
