Persimmons: My nemesis.

I have almost finished with all the autumn recipes in Simply in Season. I had already planned to have guest bloggers review the cranberry recipes, but another fruit has become just as problematic: the persimmon.

In the past month or so various persimmon recipes have been appearing in my favorite local cooking blogs and magazines, such as Culinate and Eating Well. However, I didn’t see them at my farmer’s market.

I posted an inquiry about where to find the fruit on a local food message board, and was advised that I should try to buy frozen or canned pulp instead. Or that I could get some at a local Asian grocery store. So I scoured all the specialty grocery stores in my area, and found no pulp and only a few very expensive persimmons at the Asian grocery stores. I asked if they had any canned. The woman looked at me and said “it’s much better fresh.” Well of course it is, but this was right after I had de-seeded several grapes for the grape pie and I was not relishing the thought of picking through more fruit pulp.

Upon further exploration, consisting of Google searching “where to buy persimmon pulp in Michigan,” I discovered that Asian persimmons are actually different from American persimmons. I also found a really cool website that is a treasure trove of persimmon information called persimmonpudding.com.

It lists places where one can find persimmon pulp; unfortunately, the furthest north was central Indiana, which is still an 8 hour drive from Michigan. I have therefore decided not to review the persimmon recipes in Simply in Season. I feel kind of bad, but the fact that they are not local and would have to be shipped tipped the scales against buying pulp online. What’s the point of doing a blog project about sustainable, local food and then purchasing fruit and having it shipped to me?

So, dear readers, I hope you are not too disappointed. If you would like the recipe for persimmon pudding, it is available on the publisher’s website.