Hachiya Persimmons

Have you heard of the Hachiya persimmon? I hadn’t until I stopped in at the Friend’s Ranch Packing House on Maricopa Highway. Emily Ayala and her dad, Tony Thacher, were busy packing tangerines for sale at local farmers' markets. I saw a couple of persimmons on a table but didn’t ask about them. I was more interested in the tangerines at the time. When I left, Emily offered me one of the persimmons saying it was a Hachiya.

Wanting to know more about this variety of persimmon, I turned to the Internet. Here’s what I found after a couple of hours of careful research. There are two basic kinds of persimmons: Fuyu and Hachiya. Fuyu are hard and ripen on the tree. They are ready to eat as soon as picked. Hachiya are not ready to eat off the tree unless you like a high pucker factor once you bite in. They must be allowed to ripen, usually in a bowl, until they are soft and kind of squishy.

When I asked Tony how to eat a ripe Hachiya, he replied “my grandmother used to eat them with a spoon”. I was tempted to eat the Hachiya as soon as I got home but I promised Emily I would create a unique recipe with the one she gave to me.

I’ve eaten persimmon cookies, persimmon cake and had sliced persimmon fruit in salads. To create a truly unique recipe took some out of the box thinking. Here’s what I came up with. It is a nutritious, easy-to-make persimmon breakfast smoothie recipe and was created for Emily and her dad, Tony, to enjoy this winter:

Ingredients:

1 ripe Hachiya persimmon (kinda squishy like a water balloon)

1 tablespoon Ojai Valley honey

1 container (5.3 oz) Greek style nonfat vanilla yogurt (vanilla does not mask the delicate apricot-like flavor of the Hachiya)

1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger (use more if you like)

1/2 cup fresh Friend's Ranch orange juice

Directions:

Remove stem and calyx (the small pulpy middle where the seeds are) from the persimmon. Don’t worry about the peel. Leave it on. Puree in a blender. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Change it up by increasing the orange juice to 3/4 cup and adding half a peeled banana. Um, um good!

For more information about Hachiya persimmons, read Ojai resident Larry Yee’s article in Edible Ojai titled Hoshigaki - The Art of Drying Whole Persimmons or The Zen Work of Autumn.

Irish Soda Bread Recipe

Although this bread is identified with the Irish it wasn’t invented in Ireland. According to the Society for the Preservation of Irish Soda Bread (yes, this society really does exist) “the earliest reference to using soda ash in baking bread seems to be credited to American Indians using it to leaven their bread.” Makes sense to me. One more historical note: The Irish used sour milk instead of the buttermilk in this recipe. I prefer the taste that buttermilk brings to this bread.

This bread is easy to prepare. Because it is not a yeast-bread, it only takes 15 minutes prep time. I like to slice the bread, toast it and enjoy it at breakfast with my coffee. It is also good with butter or jam (or both!). Try spreading a little peanut butter (or any nut butter) on the bread or add a slice of cheese to create an instant protein snack. It is also a wonderful complement to a good vegetarian stew.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour also works well)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg (lightly beaten)

2 cups buttermilk

1/4 cup butter (melted)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with vegetable oil and lightly dust with flour. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into loaf pan.

Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack if you have one or leave in the pan but be sure to let it cool before you slice it. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap and keep in refrigerator.

Printed in the Ojai Valley News May 1, 2009.