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As I’m sure your tastebuds noticed, last week we welcomed the Fuyu Persimmon to our CSA shares. The persimmon is a very special fruit; a burst of candy sweetness in a season of deliciously subtle flavors. In honor of our newest addition let us share with you a brief history of this luscious fruit.
The persimmon hails from China. For centuries, the Chinese have cultivated over 2000 varieties of persimmon. Today, they continue to dominate global production with more than 3 million metric tonnes harvested annually.
However, there are also varieties native to North America. They were commonly consumed by Native Americans. Different tribes use the fruit for a multitude of purposes, including gruel, pudding, bread, soups, stews and even medicine. The fruit’s impressive nutrient content (including vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium, copper, iron, phosphorus, and manganese) made an potent component of the indigenous medicine cabinet. The unripe fruit was used to treat burns, gastrointestinal bleeding, and as an antiseptic. Eastern tribes enjoyed dried persimmons as a nutritious winter food. In fact, the word persimmon comes from the Algonquian words for dried fruit—putchamin, pasiminan, or pessamin.
Early American settlers in Virgina has their own relationship with persim-mons. The were introduced to the fruit by local indigenous tribes. Their first interactions with the fruit were much like those of any modern American who’s dared bite into an unripe hitachi persimmon – bitter, chalky, fuzzy awfulness. Captain John Smith once described his experiences with this trixy fruit. “If it be not ripe it will drawe a mans mouth awrie with much torment; but when it is ripe, it is as delicious as an Apricot,”
Thankfully, as Smith forebears in his quote, early Americans eventually figured out how long the fruit needed to ripen (thanks to their Native American neighbors) . Soon after persimmons because a staple. They were prized for their delicious flavor, high nutrition, and high pectin – making they easily converted to puddings and conserves. Many also fermented it to make spirits and even a vinegar like drink used as a coffee substitute.
While the varieties we find on American grocery shelves and Frog Hollow trees are quite different from the early american fruits, it’s rather amazing to think of our shared experience with our american ancestors in Jamestown. With Thanksgiving approaching, let us take a moment to give thanks for all the gifts native americans offered and the tenacity of early Americans – without both of which we’d never had a chance to taste the fruit ourselves!
