Persimmon (Pt. 2)

A re-review of Fruit #3 on my quest for trying a new fruit every week.

**Addendum to Fruit Review: I bought another persimmon this weekend to give it a second chance. This time the woman at the market specifically picked one out for me that was ready to eat. New additions to my previous review are bolded below.



Uniqueness: Not anything particularly amazing from the outside. Upon seeing it, a co-worker said, "What is that? A tomato?" So I'd speculate that it's not awash in uniqueness. The interior, however, when you cut it in two through the middle instead of up and down, has the beautiful and delicate design of a sun in it. The variety I bought was also a vibrant and cheery orange-color.

Flavor and consistency: So I let the persimmon I bought sit out for a week. I was told when I bought it to make sure I let it ripen before eating it, and then it would be a delectable treat. I looked on-line to make sure how to tell it was ripe. My friend D. squeezed it every couple days and told me how much longer it would be. Today, I decided that it gave enough to my squeezing pressure and it would finally be time. I cut it in two, smiled at the little sun in the center, pulled out a spoon, and scooped a chunk into my mouth. Not ripe!! My mouth instantly pruned up and all the saliva in it vanished like it were a desert that I had been traveling through for weeks without water--it tasted as though I had bitten into a large piece of chalk. I have never tasted anything like it--never had my mouth react as it did to anything I've eaten. My mouth was a wasteland. Needless to say, I am going to have to buy another persimmon and try to get it ripe enough to eat.
**This time, I made sure that the persimmon I bought was already ripe and ready to be eaten. For those of you wondering how you can tell, so you don't suffer the same desert-like tortures mentioned above, the persimmon will be so soft that it will feel like a squishy eyeball when you squeeze it. Apparently some of them give off a pleasant odor too once they're ripe. I had mixed feelings about the consistency this time--some parts of it melted on my tongue like a delicacy. However, as I neared the core, the delicious meltiness turned a bit more chewy. The flavor was definitely a luxurious one as well, but a bit too sweet for me. I don't think it'd be one that I'd enjoy indulging in on a regular basis.

Healthiness: Apparently high in beta-carotenes.

Ease of consumption: Seems relatively simple. You pretty much just treat it like you would the infernal apple--peel it and eat it; cut it into slices and eat it; etc. I think even the skin is edible.

Complaints:

Cost: This bastard persimmon cost me $1.75. Definitely not something I'd splurge on regularly, especially given that the much easier-to-handle-and-ripen kiwi can be found 10 for $2.

**This time I managed to wrangle a persimmon for only $1--I've decided to boycott the stand that I bought my original persimmon from because a) the guy is a bit of a creepy wienie, b) he overcharges, and c) he sells people rotty strawberries which have their rot turned to the inside so you can't see it (and then has the nerve to state that you don't need to examine his strawberries because he MAKES SURE to pick the nicest ones possible so you won't EVER get a rotten one in the batch").

Length of time to ripen: This persimmon sat around for a whole week and STILL was not ripe. I think I may be a little bit too impatient to indulge a fruit for such a lengthy period before consuming it.

**I have no clue how long this one had to sit around to get to the point of ripeness it reached. My advice would be to ask your fruit-seller or supermarket feller to pick you out a ripe one so you know for certain that it's edible.

Chances for displeasure: Persimmons seem to suffer a bit of the same problems that the avocado does--both are a bit finicky in ripening. Typically, both are a kind of hit or miss situation. No matter how good you are at picking out an avocado, no matter how closely you examine it and how sure you are that it's a good one, sometimes they're just rot inside. Same with a kiwi--with both, it seems to take a bit of time and commitment in learning to understand when they are good enough to eat. Avocados are delectable and erotic enough for me to humor, but persimmons may not be (though I will give one a second chance at some point, just to give it the benefit of the doubt).
**The ripe persimmon was a nice treat--I could see using it for sherbet or ice cream. But I don't think that I'd eat them on a regular basis because the chances for displeasure seem to be a bit high.

Other things to note: Apparently persimmons like being photographed with handbags and strange men in strange hats.

Overall: I can't really say. I will have to wait to give an actual rating 'til after I've eaten one that's actually fully ripe.
**Like I noted above, the ripe persimmon made for a nice light dessert. But I think that after taking into account the persnicketiness of the persimmon when it comes to ripening along with the cost of a single persimmon, there are a lot of other different fruits that I'd rather indulge in instead for $1. Definitely worth trying ONCE in your lifetime though.

Grade: C+

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