All About the Persimmon

The fall harvest brings in the bright sweetness of apples and the warm richness of pumpkins and squash. It’s also the season of persimmons, a somewhat less common fall fruit. Typically in season from September to December, persimmons are likely to be at the local farmers market around this time of year.

There are several types of persimmons, and the key to knowing how to choose, prepare, and eat each of them is understanding which kinds are astringent and which are sweet. The astringent persimmons are a wonderful food when they’re ripe, so don't let their description turn you off.

The key is choosing a persimmon that is ripe and ready to eat. The experience of eating a persimmon that isn't quite ready can be akin to trying to consume a sweet yet dense cotton ball. Plus eating a lot of unripe persimmons can cause digestive problems.

Follow this guide to choosing the best persimmons and how to eat this fall fruit.

What Do Persimmons Taste Like?

Persimmons taste like a fabulous and fruity love child of mango and roasted sweet pepper, with some cinnamon and dates in the background. A ripe persimmon is rich, tangy, and sweet, all at the same time. Persimmons have a silky, slippery texture in the mouth.

The Two Main Types of Persimmons

Hachiya and Fuyu (originating in Asia and now grown in the United States and elsewhere) are two common types of persimmons. Fuyu persimmons (shown above) are sweet and can be eaten while still a little firm. They’re more squatty in shape and look kind of like a doughnut.

The Hachiya persimmon (shown above) will be sweet only when it’s very ripe or even overripe—when it feels something akin to a not-quite-full water balloon. Hachiya persimmons are acorn-shaped, with a pointy bottom.

To help identify the different types of persimmons and to know if they’re ripe, I made the quick video below. You can see how you might want to eat the Fuyus and Hachiyas differently.

While many supermarkets carry the Asian varieties of these fruits, the persimmon has important roots in the U.S., too. The word persimmon actually comes to us from the Algonquian language. Generally known as the common persimmon, the Diospyros virginiana is native to the East and Southeast of the United States and may also be called date plum or possumwood. This fruit is another type of astringent persimmon and tends to be smaller than its Asian counterparts. Persimmons are an important ingredient in Indigenous American cuisine and make an excellent addition to a food forest.

With a taste that's so appealing to people, it's no surprise that persimmons also attract wildlife. Birds, deer, and raccoons love these fruits and they're beneficial to bees.

How to Eat Persimmons

Some people prefer to simply scoop out the insides of persimmons, but the skins are also edible. I like to leave the skins on slices of Fuyus and add them to salads. They can be used in pies and tarts, on top of ice cream, with pancakes or waffles, or as a sweet element in savory dishes. Persimmons are rich in vitamins A and B and are a good source of fiber. To get the most nutritional value from persimmons, it’s best to eat them raw. However, if you are faced with a glut of these fruits (a nice problem to have!), then you may want to consider making persimmon jam or drying them like figs.