fruit notes
When a farmer sends you an email entitled "Persimmon rant", your ears perk up. And that's exactly what Michael, of Spreadwing Farm, sent us this week.
Spreadwing is situated in the northernmost finger of the Capay Valley in Rumsey. Farmers Cathy and Michael are unusually dedicated to varietal diversity, with nearly 100 fruit varieties planted on their small farm. To drill down on this, Spreadwing has around a dozen varieties of persimmons alone! So while it's understandable if Michael feels fatigued from his persimmon evangelism, it lands as a very gentle "rant".
Spreadwing's Cinnamon persimmons are in the box this week, so for fruit notes this week, we've included it below.
Persimmon rant
Words and photo compliments of Michael Smith, Spreadwing Farm.
Most Americans are only familiar with two types of persimmons, "the hard kind” (e.g. Fuyu) and “the soft kind” (Hachiya). In actuality, like all food plants that have been cultivated for centuries, there are hundreds of named varieties with a wide range of different characteristics. The greatest diversity can be found in Japan, where cultivation of Diospyros kaki originated over 2,000 years ago.
Most varieties fall into two general types: non-astringent, like Fuyu, which can be eaten hard and crisp like an apple, and astringent, like Hachiya, which have an unpleasant mouthfeel unless very ripe. But there is a third, lesser known group, the pollination variants. These fruits have different qualities depending on whether the flowers that produced them were pollinated or not. When unpollinated, they are seedless, have orange astringent flesh, and can only be eaten when fully ripe. But when pollinated, the flesh is brown, non-astringent, and develops a richer flavor.
Spreadwing Farm grows three pollination variants, known in English as “Coffeecake," “Chocolate," and "Cinnamon.” Of these, Chocolate is the only variety that produces male flowers, so it is essential for pollinating the other two. We love the sweet, complex, slightly spicy flavor of our Cinnamon persimmons (called Maru in Japan) and we love introducing eaters to excellent new varieties. The downsides? You have to work around the seeds, and there is a chance you might receive an unpollinated fruit. If you cut open a Cinnamon persimmon and it is seedless with orange flesh, put it in the freezer. When you defrost it later, it will be softer, the astringency will have gone away, and you can use it like a Hachiya in baked goods or smoothies. Enjoy!
This week's box
Autumn Royal grapes from Free Spirit Farm. Grown organically in Winters.
Cinnamon persimmons from Spreadwing Farm. Grown organically in Rumsey.
Freedom blackberries from Yerena Farms. Grown organically in Watsonville.
Gold Rush, Pippin, Arkansas Black, and Wickson apples from Devoto Orchards. Grown organically in Sebastopol.
Shinko Asian pears from Bucktown Roots. Grown organically in Winters.
Passion fruit from Condor Ridge Ranch. Grown organically in Goleta.
Gold kiwi from Wild River. Grown organically in Marysville.
