Persimmon Jam

The southern heat is finally beginning to crack down here in Pensacola. Driving to work this morning with the windows down reminded me how much I enjoy the cooler months.

Another thing to love about this time of year is the end-of-year crops. The summer harvests have concluded (no more watermelon ☹️) and we’re headed towards citrus season.

Soon the markets will be smothered in satsumas. But before then, we have a brief month of persimmons.

Ever since I read Holly Davis’ book ‘Ferment’, I’ve looked forward to persimmon season.

If you’ve never had a persimmon before, they’re a bit hard to describe. The exterior is smooth, like a tomato. When you buy them, they’re hard like an unripe mango. After a few days, they become soft on the inside. Again, like a tomato.

The flavor is a delicate, light sweet. When it’s unripe, it tastes astringent and chalky.

The season just began and naturally, I bought two dozen from a local farmer. I plan to do a lactoferment, a wine, and a jam during this season.

The first five became ripe today and I decided to make a simple jam with them.

Into a heavy bottomed pot they went, with a cup of sugar and the juice of four lemons. It bubbled for about 40 minutes before it was transferred to jars.

The jars are cooking now but I’ve already had a spread across toast. It’s so light and delicately sweet. I’ll make biscuits this weekend to accompany the jam!

I look forward to fermenting some of the remaining persimmons into a sour concoction. The wine, I’ll probably start when I pick up the next batch of persimmons!