Persimmon Refrigerator Jam

Persimmon season has started and I found some delicious fruit at the Coastside Farmers’ Market this week — a farmers’ market that I had to prod myself to go to. I tend to approach farmers’ markets with both excitement and annoyance. Actually, farmers’ markets trigger a planning neurosis in me. Here’s why:

• I don’t know what will be there, so I can’t plan ingredient lists before I go.
• I don’t know what I’m going to do with what I find, causing multiple trips out for other ingredients.
• I always have risk food waste if I don’t find something to do with all of it.

Go right to the recipe

Persimmons are a safe option for me. If I can’t figure out a new way to cook them, I can easily eat them  by the bushel. Since I forced myself to go, here are my obligatory farmers’ market photos:

So I decided to make persimmon crostini. I’m leaving that for another post because it still needs a [quite] a bit of work. Instead I will share the byproduct of one of my experiments, persimmon jam. This is ridiculously easy and is great on buttered English muffins or atop ricotta cheese on toast.

Ripe Fuyu persimmons are a peculiar fruit. They are extremely sweet, but crunchy when just ripe. They turn into a sweet delicious mush when the get really ripe. Naked, they have some little hints of allspice favors, so classic pumpkin spices are an easy match. PSL spices didn’t add much complexity to the crostini I planned. However, can be wonderful if you make an autumn persimmon refrigerator jam with really ripe fruit. Which I did and it was yummy!

It’s just cooked fruit, what could go wrong? Right?

• Actually nothing went wrong for me. Hah! But here are a few hints anyway.
• This recipe needs really ripe [meaning squishy] fruit, given the short cook time.
• I didn’t try any fussy canning techniques with persimmons, so I have no idea what would happen if you tried to actually preserve the stuff … probably bad things … just saying.
• Be aware that there are 2 major varieties of fruit. Fuyu are sweet whey they are firm or soft. Hachiya are bitterly astringent when firm and sweet when they are squishy soft. Use Hachiyas at your own risk.

Recipe

Persimmon Refrigerator Jam

• Servings: 1 cup
• Time: 10 min
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

Pumpkin spiced persimmons in spreadable form

• 3 very ripe, soft Fuyu persimmons
• Spices – pepper or cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg (optional)

Directions

1. Cut persimmons in half and scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Discard skins, core and seeds (if any).
2. Puree persimmons in a blender or small food processor.
3. In a small saucepan, cook the puree over medium heat until liquid is reduced and the jam is spreadable, about 5-10 minutes depending on how juicy the fruit is.
4. The jam is delicious as is, but you can also season with ¼-½ tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp ginger. Add a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg if you like. No one will judge you if you use pumpkin spice mix .

Serving suggestions – on buttered English muffins or on ricotta cheese toasts, drizzled with honey. It would also be good mixed into oatmeal.

Jam keeps in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.