On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 709

apples are to Americans. Japanese
persimmons are sweet, low-acid, mild fruits,
with a few brown seeds surrounded by flesh
that’s bright orange from various carotenoid
pigments, including beta-carotene and
lycopene. They have a very mild aroma
reminiscent of winter squash that probably
derives from breakdown products of
carotenoids.
Japanesepersimmonscomeintwogeneral
kinds,astringentandnonastringent.
Astringentvarieties,includingthetapered
Hachiya,havesuchhighlevelsoftanninsthat
they’reedibleonlywhencompletelyripe,
withtranslucentandalmostliquidflesh.
Nonastringenttypes,includingtheflatbottomedFuyuorJiro,arenottannic,andcan
beeatenwhileunderripeandcrisp(theyalso
don’tgetassoftastheastringenttypes).
Centuriesago,theChinesefiguredoutaway
toremovetheastringencyfromunripe
persimmonsbeforetheyripen.Thismethod


maybethefirstexampleofcontrolledatmospherestorage!Theysimplyburiedthe
fruitinmudforseveraldays.Itturnsoutthat
whenthefruitsaredeprivedofoxygen,they
shifttheirmetabolisminawaythatresultsin
theaccumulationofanalcoholderivative
calledacetaldehyde,andthissubstancebinds
withtanninsinthecells,thuspreempting
themfrombindingtoourtongues.Modern

cookscanaccomplishthesamethingby
wrappingpersimmonssnuglyinatruly
airtightplasticfilm,polyvinylidenechloride
(saran).
Persimmonsarecommonlyeatenraw,
frozenwholeintoanaturalsorbet,andmade
intopudding.TraditionalAmerican
persimmonpuddingowesitsdistinctive
black-browncolortothecombinationofthe
fruit’sglucoseandfructose,flourandegg
proteins,alkalinebakingsoda,andhoursof
cooking,whichencourageextensivebrowning
reactions(p.778;replacethebakingsodawith