JAPANESE DRIED
PERSIMMONS
These are the steps Nicole
Yamanaka learned from her Japa-
nese American grandparents, who
started their family’s tradition in
California.- PICK AND WASH THE FRUIT.
Choose Hachiya persimmons (the
type with a pointy base) that are
mostly orange but still hard, with
the stem attached. (If harvesting,
try to include a bit of horizontal as
well as vertical stem, then snip into
a short “T.”) Rub fruit with a terry-
cloth towel in a sinkful of water with
a little bleach (about^1 ⁄ 2 cup for
20 gallons of water) to discourage
any mold. Rinse twice and dry. - TRIM TOPS AND PEEL.
At shoulder of fruit, cut crosswise
to remove top^1 ⁄ 2 in. or so, includ-
ing the leafy calyx (leave stem
and small ring of calyx around its
base). Peel skin with a vegetable
peeler. - ATTACH KITCHEN TWINE TO
STEMS AND HANG FRUIT TO DRY.
Tie each end of a piece of twine
tightly to a persimmon stem—either
Hoshigaki to go
Not everyone has a Hachiya persimmon tree in their backyard to make their own
hand-massaged hoshigaki. You can, however, find the treats online through Penryn
OrchardSpecialties.com ($45/lb.; penrynorchardspecialties.com). Of course,
they’d work well in recipes that call for dried fruit—couscous, salads, desserts—but
for an ingredient made with such handcrafted care, sometimes it’s best to enjoy
the amber treasures simply, either on their own or with a cup of green tea and
some roasted almonds.
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