The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese, Korean, and Japanese kaki persimmon, Diospyros kaki. In 2023, China produced 80% of the world's persimmons.
Description
Like the tomato, the persimmon is not a berry in the general culinary sense, but is one in the botanical sense due to its morphology as a single fleshy fruit derived from the ovary of a single flower. Diospyros kaki is the most widely cultivated species of persimmon.
Typically the tree reaches in height and is round-topped. It usually stands erect, but sometimes can be crooked or have a willowy appearance. The leaves are long, and are oblong in shape with brown-hairy petioles in length. They are leathery and glossy on the upper surface, brown and silky underneath. The leaves are deciduous and bluish-green in color. In autumn, they turn to yellow, orange, or red.
Persimmon trees are typically dioecious, meaning male and female flowers are produced on separate trees. Some trees have both male and female flowers and in rare cases may bear a perfect flower, which contains both male and female reproductive organs in one flower. Male flowers are pink and appear in groups of three. They have a four-parted calyx, a corolla, and 24 stamens in two rows. Female flowers are creamy-white and appear singly. They have a large calyx, a four-parted, yellow corolla, eight undeveloped stamens, and a rounded ovary bearing the style and stigma. 'Perfect' flowers are a cross between the two.
Persimmon fruit matures late in the fall and can stay on the tree until winter. In color, the ripe fruit of the cultivated strains range from glossy light yellow-orange to dark red-orange depending on the species and variety. They similarly vary in size from in diameter, and in shape the varieties may be spherical, acorn-, or pumpkin-shaped. The flesh is astringent until fully ripe and is yellow, orange, or dark-brown in color. The calyx generally remains attached to the fruit after harvesting, but becomes easy to remove once the fruit is ripe. The ripe fruit is high in sugars, mainly sucrose, fructose and glucose, and is sweet in taste.
Chemistry Persimmon fruits contain the phytochemicals catechin, gallocatechin, and betulinic acid.
Taxonomy
Selected species
While many species of Diospyros bear fruit inedible to humans or only occasionally gathered, the following are grown for their edible fruit:
Diospyros kaki (Oriental persimmon) Oriental persimmon, Chinese persimmon, or Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki) is the most commercially important persimmon. It is native to China, Northeast India, and northern Indochina. It was first cultivated in China more than 2,000 years ago and introduced to Japan in the 7th century and to Korea in the 14th century. China, Japan, and South Korea are also the top producers of persimmons. It is known as shì (柿) in Chinese, kaki (柿) in Japanese, and gam (감) in Korean, and it is also called a Korean mango. Known as haluwabed (हलुवाबेद) in Nepal, where it is one of the most popular seasonal fruits, the persimmon has a long history and is used for various culinary purposes. It was introduced to California and southern Europe in the 1800s and to the State of São Paulo, Brazil, in the 1890s, afterwards spreading across the country with the Japanese immigrants. The State of São Paulo is still the largest producer within Brazil with an area of dedicated to persimmon culture in 2003. Persimmon trees are deciduous with broad, stiff leaves. The fruit is sweet and slightly tangy with a soft to occasionally fibrous texture.
Varieties
There are numerous cultivars of the persimmon. Some varieties are edible in the crisp, firm state, but others have the best flavor when allowed to rest and soften slightly after harvest. The Japanese cultivar Hachiya is widely grown. The fruit has a high tannin content, which makes the unripe fruit astringent and bitter, but the tannin levels reduce as the fruit matures. Persimmons like Hachiya must be completely ripened before consumption. When ripe, this fruit consists of thick, pulpy jelly encased in a waxy thin-skinned shell.
Commercially and in general, there are two types of persimmon fruit: astringent and non-astringent.
The heart-shaped Hachiya is the most common variety of astringent persimmon. Astringent persimmons contain high levels of soluble tannins and are unpalatable if eaten before completely softened. The astringency of tannins is removed in various ways. Examples include ripening by exposure to light for several days and wrapping the fruit in paper (probably because this increases the ethylene concentration of the surrounding air). Ethylene can increase the speed and evenness of the ripening process by adding ethylene gas to the atmosphere in which the fruit is stored. For domestic purposes the most convenient and effective method is to store the persimmons in a clean, dry container together with other varieties of ripening fruit that give off particularly large quantities of ethylene; apples and related fruits such as pears are effective, as well as bananas.
Other chemicals are used commercially in the artificial ripening of persimmons or for delaying their ripening. Examples include alcohol and carbon dioxide, which change tannin into the insoluble form. Such bletting processes sometimes are jump-started by exposing the fruit to cold or frost. The resultant cell damage stimulates the release of ethylene which promotes cellular wall breakdown. Astringent varieties of persimmons also can be prepared for commercial purposes by drying. Tanenashi persimmons will occasionally contain a seed or two, which can be planted and will yield a larger, more vertical tree than when merely grafted onto the D. virginiana rootstock most commonly used in the U.S. Such seedlings may produce fruit with more seeds, usually six to eight per fruit, and the fruit itself may vary slightly from that of the parent tree. Seedlings are said to be more susceptible to root nematodes.
The non-astringent persimmon is squat like a tomato and is most commonly sold as Fuyu. Non-astringent persimmons are not actually free of tannins as the term suggests, rather they are far less astringent before ripening and lose more of their tannic quality sooner. Non-astringent persimmons may be consumed when still firm and remain edible when soft.
There is a less commonly available third type, the pollination-variant non-astringent persimmon. When fully pollinated, the flesh of this fruit is brown inside—known as goma in Japan—and the fruit can be eaten when firm. These varieties are highly sought after. Tsurunoko, sold as "chocolate persimmon" for its dark brown flesh; Maru, sold as "cinnamon persimmon" for its spicy flavor; and Hyakume, sold as "brown sugar", are the three best known.
Astringent 'Dōjō hachiya' (ja: 堂上蜂屋) Giombo, large fruits. Pollination-variant Hachiya, (ja: 蜂屋), 'Kōshū hyakume' (ja: 甲州百目), 'Fuji' (ja: 富士) cone-shaped and bright orange Hongsi (Korean: 홍시) Ormond, (also known as Christmas Persimmon) long conical fruit Saijō, (ja: 西条) sweet conical fruit Sheng Tanenashi, orange fruit which keeps well on the tree 'Hiratanenashi,' (ja: 平核無) major commercial variety in Japan 'Tone wase' (ja: 刀根早生) Tamopan, large and flat. Has a ring around the middle Maru, (cinnamon) Tsurunoko, (chocolate) Tipo, Italian variety Cioccolatino Fankio, produced large golden fruit Eureka, medium-sized flat red fruit Hyakume, (brown sugar) Yomato Hyakume, pollination variant with large fruit Gosho, (giant Fuyu) also known as Gosho-gaki. Seeded fruit has darker flesh and better flavor Great Wall, Chinese variant with medium-sized, orange fruit Sheng, squat medium to large fruit with a gelatinous texture Triumph, sweet, small, square fruit Rojo Brillante, Spanish variety Ribera Sun, Spanish variety derived from the Rojo Brillante. Earlier ripening than Rojo Brillante Nishumura Wase, pollination variant and early ripening Gailey, small-medium fruit Non-astringent Dan gam (Korean, 단감) Fuyū, (:ja: 富有) medium-sized flattened orange-colored fruit. Easily damaged by frost Matsumoto Wase Fuyu, bud sport of Fuyu. Heavy bearing and early ripening 'Hanagosho,' (ja: 花御所) large tree with good crop regulation Shogatsu, similar to Hanagosho Izu, (ja: 伊豆) medium fruit. More cold hardy than Fuyu. Early to ripen Jirō, (:ja: 次郎柿) medium to large fruit. Yield is unpredictable when trees are young Ichikikei Jiro, bud sport of Jiro. Medium-large fruit Maekawa Jiro, bud sport of Jiro. Large oblate fruit 'Sōshū' (ja: 早秋) 'Taishū' (ja: 太秋) Vainiglia, traditional variety from the Campania region of Italy. Yellow-orange with the taste of vanilla Midia, large fruit with an indented ring Suruga, sweet and spicy fruit. Late ripening California Fuyu, also known as Cal-Fuyu and often marketed as Fuyu Hana Fuyu, grown in California and marketed as Giant Fuyu. Large but not flavorful California Maru, grown in California as Jiro for years. Excellent eating quality Fuji, grown in California and Japan. Marketed as Hachiya in Japan Zenji Maru, old variety with a deep red color when ripe
Diospyros lotus (date-plum) Date-plum (Diospyros lotus), also known as lotus persimmon, is native to temperate Asia and southeast Europe. Its English name probably derives from the Persian Khormaloo خرمالو ("date-plum"), referring to the taste which is reminiscent of both plums and dates.
Diospyros decandra (gold apple or thị) Diospyros decandra is native to Mainland Southeast Asia, and its skin is golden yellow.
Diospyros virginiana (American persimmon) American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is native to the eastern United States. Harvested in the fall or after the first frost, the fruit is eaten fresh, in baked goods, in steamed puddings, and is used to make a mildly alcoholic beverage called persimmon beer.
Varieties Prok Killen Claypool I-115 Dollywood 100-42 100-43 100-45 Early Golden John Rick C-100 JF-I
D. virginiana x D. kaki (Hybrid persimmon)
Hybrid persimmons were first successfully bred at Nikitsky Botanical Garden, Crimea in 1948. The primary objective of hybridization is to obtain the higher cold-tolerance of D. virginiana and the larger fruit size of D. kaki. Certain cultivars have proven tolerance to –24 °C and obtain fruit weights of over 100 g.
Varieties
Rosseyanka Nikita's Gift Kasandra Mikkusu Chuchupaka Zima Khurma Dar Sofiivky Bozhyi Dar Gora Goverla Gora Roman Kosh Gora Rodzhers
Diospyros blancoi (velvet persimmon) The Mabolo or velvet-apple (Diospyros blancoi; syn. Diospyros discolor) is native to Taiwan, the Philippines, and Borneo, Indonesia.
Diospyros texana (Texas persimmon) Texas persimmon (Diospyros texana) is native to central and west Texas and southwest Oklahoma in the United States, and eastern Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas in northeastern Mexico. The fruit of D. texana are black, subglobose berries with a diameter of that ripen in August. The fleshy berries become edible when they turn dark purple or black, at which point they are sweet and can be eaten from the hand or made into pudding or custard.
Etymology
The word persimmon is derived from putchamin, pasiminan, pechimin or pessamin, from Powhatan, an Algonquian language of the southern and eastern United States, meaning "a dry fruit".Mish, Frederic C., Ed. (1984), Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary Springfield, Massachusetts, Merriam-Webster, p. 877 Other sources have suggested that the word "persimmon" comes from a Persian word meaning date-plum. It was first used in English in the early 17th century.
Cultivation
+ Persimmon production2023, millions of tonnes 4.06 0.24 0.19 0.19 0.17 World 5.07Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations
In 2023, world production of persimmons was 5 million tonnes, led by China with 80% of the total (table).