My Goodness, Dear, What Large Berries You Have!

Diospyros sp. is the persimmon.  In the fall of the year the orange and round and seductively smooth skinned Japanese versions hit the supermarkets.  Most people do not know what these are, so I am surprised that they sell at all.  There are many varieties of this fruit.  There is a native American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) that is high in nutrients like vitamin C, calcium, iron and potassium.  Tradition says that Americans cooked them in a pudding.  There are two kinds of persimmon, those that are astringent before ripening and those that are not.  Ours is the astringent version, and if you try to eat this fruit before it gets so soft you might think it has spoiled, it will make your mouth pucker tighter than a snare drum head.

This year, after a three year wait, we got our first real harvest.  But we did not wait until they fell to the ground, which is how you are supposed to harvest them.  We waited until they just started to get soft on the branch and then picked them off the tree to get them inside before the raccoons discovered this golden bounty.  They took a full week to ripen inside and we checked them each and every day.  I think that persimmons should be labeled the fruit of patience.  Their texture is custardy like an overripe plum and their flavor is sweet and gentle.

Even more, the tree itself is a shining example of a fall ornamental and turns lovely shades of autumn and is one of my favorite decorative elements in the yard this time of year.  Just look as these leaf photos I have taken the last two weeks.  Oh, and regarding the title, botanically it IS a berry!

Below in the first photo it is competing with the wild maple on the right.

 Then as the days shorten and cool it begins to put on quite a show of colors and textures!

A Fall Sweetness

The first year that our fig tree produced we got about a dozen figs over a two week period.  Hubby and I carefully shared them.  They were like rare pieces of candy and we were amazed at how they tasted like figs!  Imagine our surprise at not being duped by the fruit tree catalog.

This year our fig tree has produced about ten cups of figs and we hurry to pick them the day before ripeness so that squirrels and raccoons and perhaps the resident ground hog do become aware of this tree candy.  We have been eating them like popcorn because they are still a luxurious rare form of fruit for us.  Then I sliced them in half and made a lemon/fig tart as the abundance became too great. 

The tart was made with sliced lemons, honey, butter crust, figs and fennel seeds. It was sweetly delicious.  Honey and figs make me think of the Bible or some exotic tent in a desert with an Arab offering his figs.  I have so many now that I made a date bar recipe and froze half of it because it was made in a large pan.
The next figs picked as this season ends may be frozen as well, because I have read that they can be kept that way.  What on earth will I do next year as this tree gets bigger?

Food for the Soul

The passage of time has revealed that the fruit on this ornamental strawberry is  nothing to write home about.  Like the roses they now breed for beauty instead of fragrance and for size instead of hardiness, this plant is mostly show.  The flowers which continue to bloom are stunning in color, though.  They glow like red jewels in the corner of my flower bed.  If you click on the photo you will see little disks like tambourines just waiting to be struck to ring out the jazz pizazz.  The runners for new plants are also prolific.  So, I guess, if you are not hungry, it doesn't make any difference, does it?

Above are some REAL strawberries from my garden.

We (I) Beat the Thieves!

This scrawny little Asian persimmon tree was planted last year as the anchor for an ornamental bed that would help to hide the ugly electric box beside the driveway. This bed has been slow to develop as we were waiting for the deer fence to be installed to protect anything that was planted, but the tree standing by itself has thrived.

It is about 8 feet tall and it produced about 8 fruit this year. These persimmon are oval and unlike the traditional Asian round persimmon that can be purchased in the grocery stores during the winter holidays. We watched with care the ripening of each orb. While we have wild persimmon in this area, this exotic variety produces larger and more flavorful fruit and has no seeds. Besides, Tabor is not willing to climb that high like the racoons do for such reward.

If picked too soon persimmon are very mouth puckering as they taste of alum from the high tannins. But if you wait until the exact day of ripeness they are perfect envelopes of sweet juicy fruit. Of course, you have to beat the four legged thieves by picking them exactly one day early and letting them further ripen on the kitchen counter. Needless to say, they do not all ripen on exactly the same day, so guess who spends their time molesting fruit waiting for it to feel like a water balloon? I did just read that I can pick them earlier and let them ripen on the counter or put them in the freezer for 24 hours. With only 8 I hesitate to experiment. But with hubby gone during the time I harvested them I did get to eat them all myself.

Early Winter Blossoms

This is the Kaffir lime tree blossom. I have quite a few on this little tree and may have to remove some of the limes so that others can get bigger. You will have to go to my other blog in a few days to see why I think these limes are so wonderful, to say nothing of cooking with the leaves. The blossom itself, interestingly enough, is not nearly as fragrant at the Calamondin blossoms.

Calamondin Cake Here I come

As you can see from the lower middle part of the picture I have already picked at least one of these orange limes...so delicious in tea or on fish! The blossoms are erupting with complete abandon and my corner of the kitchen smells like a citrus orchard. I have a lovely recipe from one of Nigella Lawson's cookbooks as soon as I have a dozen calamondins!