I got up this morning, got dressed and headed out to my friends' home and picked up persimmons . . . so I'm here to tell you, it was chilly! My feet got wet which didn't help matters but I'm home again, dry and much, much warmer. While I was gone Hubby dug the sweet potatoes, the sickly, pathetic looking sweet potatoes. Geez!!! What a year this has been. I've tried not to complain but the sweet potatoes just sent me over the edge. We've never, ever had sweet potatoes this pathetic looking. Oh well, at least I've got some to make starts with next Spring so all is not lost - almost all but not quite!!!
I'm in the process of making Persimmon Butter and oh my goodness, I've been tasting it off and on through the whole process. I'm also making myself some Cinnamon Tea. I always get the tea bug when it begins to get colder.
Persimmon Butter is so easy to make. This recipe is for approximately 5 cups of pulp. I put cup for cup, persimmon pulp and sugar, poured in a quarter cup of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda per cup of pulp and 1-1/2 Tablespoons of my homemade Dessert Blend (which for those of you who do not make your own, you could try Pumpkin Pie Spice or Apple Pie Spice), stir it altogether and put in a crockpot on low until it is the consistency you desire. Pour into jars and water bath them for about 15 minutes. Way easy!!! Here's my beef: Maybe somebody out there can give me some info. The wild persimmons were really ripe and they tasted wonderful fresh but the tannins were really heavy in this batch and I'm not sure I will really enjoy these as something I could eat on toast or on biscuits. They are not a total loss because I can use them in baking bread or cookies, but I am disappointed. Does anyone have some input? The persimmon butter is delicious except for the taste of excessive tannins left in the mouth - the dryness.