Today's letter for ABC Wednesday is " P ".
I'm going to share more about our trip to the Otow Orchard and
one of their PRIZE PRODUCTS that they PRODUCE there.
Going to my PREVIOUS "O" POST will show more about the
Otow Orchard.
The main PRODUCE of the fall is PERSIMMONS.
These are not just any PERSIMMONS but Hoshigaki.
If you will go to this link you can see a wonderful slide show.
www.otoworchard.com/hoshigaki.html
The following PHOTOS will show the PROCESS of taking
ripe PERSIMMONS and turning them into a delectable dried
fruit.
Here is Tosh Kuratomi's son beginning the labor intensive work.
From the start in October to the finish in January, every single
PERSIMMON is tenderly cared for.
Each fruit is PEELED and is strung on string to be hung on drying
racks.
As you can see each PIECE of fruit looks like an ornament hanging
while it dries.
In the following PICTURES (be sure to enlarge all of these)
ridges have begun to form as the fruit dries.
The sugar is moving to the outside.
In the following PHOTOS one can see that the fruit is shriveling.
Every PERSIMMON is hand massaged so no mold is captured
in the ridges!
Can you imagine hand massaging every PERSIMMON at least
once weekly for 3 months?
The massaging creates a more uniform softness and distributes
the natural sugars evenly throughout the fruit.
The fruit becomes more shriveled and turns more white.
That is just the sugar developing.
When each PERSIMMON has been thoroughy massaged and
cared for, they are PRESSED flat, PACKAGED, and then
PREPARED for shipping around the world and also locally.
What do they taste like?
I think they taste like a date.
They can be used for cookies, coffee breads and PUDDINGS.
I can't wait to buy some in a few months.
Yumm!!
Don't forget to go to the ABC Link on my sidebar to see what
others have POSTED for the letter " P ".
28 comments:
What a time consuming work! I don't know whether I have even seen a persimmon before. I guess they are too bitter to eat fresh? In some of these pictures, they look like lanterns!
they look amazing, like ornaments hanging there, the older they get the better they look. i did enlarge all the photos and these are really beautiful shots of the process. i especially like the one with the worker in the photo. notice i can't spell the name.. great post
Aunt Trula had a tree, and last year I peeled them, sliced them put them in the food processer, and the result was something like puree pumpkin. I made cookies, and persimmon bread. Yummy. Never thought of seeing them dried.
What a very informative POST!
I am really impressed! I have never had one. I LOVE the 'toot for fruit' sign.
Nice shots. I love persimmons!
I had a friend who loved persimmons and had a tree in his front yard. He called persimmons "God's Pudding".
An Arkie's Musings
Well that sign "Toot for Fruit" is just an eye catcher!! I don't think I've ever tried persimmon before--you've peaked my interest.
Ann
What a great post. I enjoyed the photographs and information. Carver, ABC Wed. Team
Interesting fruit! I believe you when you say that they taste wonderful! I should like to try them as well!
Wil, ABCW Team.
Delicious photos, beautiful persimmons drying process!
where is this again? if it's not to far maybe we could visit next year. i love persimmons, i just finished two a minute ago.
Ewok's ABC WEDNESDAY
Wonderful images of entire process.
Don't think I've ever had a persimmon - will expand my palate, I guess!
ROG, ABCW
That was really interesting. I had no idea it was such a long process.
Beautiful results from a very work intensive project.
So much work goes into it! Wow!
whoa those look Pretty
PhenoMenon, ABCW
Love the please on the sign
That's a very interesting post. I'd never heard of a persimmon before. I don't think you get them here in India. They sure look pretty. And it's amazing the amount of work that goes into drying them.
Whoa! So that' how they're made. Glad I saw that. And thanks for showing. It's nice to have an idea how something I sometimes eat came to be like that.
Hazel
What a fascinating post, and process. I remember the first time I had persimmon was in Italy, loved it. Then we had to ask what it was we had just eaten!
I've never actually tried a persimmon before. Thanks for the lesson on how they are prepared!
What an interesting process. Who knew that fruit gets massaged? :)
So interesting about the Persimmons, my husband used to make a chutney with ours.
Great photos! I don't think I've ever eaten a persimmon, but they sound delicious.
That drying process is pretty intense. I grew up with wild persimmons about the diameter of a quarter. Then the asian varieties began appearing in gardens. A friend gave my father two grafted small trees. Some years they were loaded and he loved eating them raw.i didn't care for the texture.
Then several years ago I ran across the Fuyu variety. That one looked like little pumpkins. I liked them barely soft, retaining a bit of crunch. At that stage they were not astringent. Yum for my mom and me. Yuck for other family members who tried them. Intriguing post!
I love persimmons and wish I had a tree full of them in my yard! Thanks for the tour and thanks for visiting my ABC.
Excellent post! Incredibly labor intensive to dry these little babies!
(like to eat them fresh though)
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