On Food and Cooking

apples are to Americans. Japanese
persimmons are sweet, low-acid, mild fruits,
with a few brown seeds surrounded by flesh
that’s bright orange from various carotenoid
pigments, including beta-carotene and
lycopene. They have a very mild aroma
reminiscent of winter squash that probably
derives from breakdown products of
carotenoids.
Japanese persimmons come in two general
kinds, astringent and nonastringent.
Astringent varieties, including the tapered
Hachiya, have such high levels of tannins that
they’re edible only when completely ripe,
with translucent and almost liquid flesh.
Nonastringent types, including the flat-
bottomed Fuyu or Jiro, are not tannic, and can
be eaten while underripe and crisp (they also
don’t get as soft as the astringent types).
Centuries ago, the Chinese figured out a way
to remove the astringency from unripe
persimmons before they ripen. This method