Good Morning, Texas Persimmon

I don’t remember which year we planted our first Texas Persimmon (Diospyros texana), but I estimate it’s about 7-8 feet tall now. So maybe about 4 years ago? It’s a female Persimmon, as the species has male and female trees, and only the females produce the flowers and fruit. Our little tree didn’t start producing fruit right away, of course, and when it did a couple of years ago, it started out with 2 fruit total on the entire tree. I eagerly waited for them to ripen, but one fell off and got yucky, and the other disappeared. I’m guessing squirrel or opossum. Last year, the tree produced 12 fruit total. Not many, perhaps, but a reasonable increase from the previous year — after all, it was 6 times as many! Once again, the fruit disappeared just as they began to ripen. Those wonderful wildlife, birds and mammals and whatnot, I enjoy attracting were not being fair and sharing the bounty!

This year, the Texas Persimmon is so loaded with fruit that it’s leaning way over. Most of the fruit are still green, but a few are changing color. In fact, when I approached this morning, one dark beauty stood out in front and caught my eye.

Within a flash it was in my hand. MINE, you squirrels and birds! I was so astonished that I got it first that I almost didn’t know what to do with it. Well, really, there was only one option.

One little persimmon isn’t enough for a recipe. So, after giving it a rinse (and taking the time to get my camera), I bit into the juicy persimmon. Delicious and naturally sweet… and loaded with big seeds. Five of them, to be exact. Ah yes, I seem to recall that persimmons invite a little extra work in preparing them for cooking.

If I manage to collect enough ripe fruit before the wildlife find them, I plan to make some Texas Persimmon jelly. I’ll share the recipe when I do, of course. YUM.