I’ve always thought of persimmons as that bitter or slimy fruit we use to make nominally good cookies once or twice a year. They are sort of plump and heart-shaped. Before they’re ripe they’re too bitter to eat; and after the first frost they ripen to a golden slime.
You scoop out the pulp to make persimmon cookies. I’m not a huge fan, but the cookies are okay…
Then a few years ago I discovered the Fuyu persimmons, also called Japanese persimmons. (Note the difference in appearance of the two varieties.)
Unlike “regular” persimmons, you don’t have to wait for Fuyu persimmons to freeze before you can use them. They ripen in the fall and you can pick them off the tree and eat them like an apple. They’re sweet and crunchy and tasty!
The problem – just like with most fruit – is that they all come at the same time. What do you do with a hundred ripe crunchy Fuyu persimmons?
Last year we came up with the idea of drying them, and discovered a yummy treat that will keep for a long time.
This is how we did it:
Wash and slice the persimmons. You can slice in any direction but if you slice them horizontally you’ll see a pretty star shaped design in the center.
Lay the slices out on a cake cooling rack, and place in the oven at the lowest setting. (My lowest is 170°.)
It will take about 2-3 hours for them to dry completely.
Check as the persimmons dry, they will shrink in size and you can move them closer together on the rack, and add new slices to dry. Remove the slices as they become completely dry and crisp.
Allow them to cool completely at room temperature.
Store them in an airtight container. They will keep for months and they’re a great nutritious snack!
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Welcome! My name is Andrena Paladini and this is a blog about family and love and faith and fun. I call it Paladini Potpie because a potpie is like an adventure in a crust. You never know what might come up, but it’s always going to be good!
Think of the best potpie you’ve ever eaten…hot flaky crust holding a rich savory sauce and all kinds of pieces of meat and vegetables…and who knows what?
As a family, we’ve chosen to live within the parameters of God’s love and protection. This is the crust of our Paladini Potpie. The crust never changes. Within this crust, the savory sauce of family love binds it all together. That is also fairly constant. But beyond the crust and the sauce we can add just about anything!
Good ideas come our way and we’ve adopted and adapted them to add to what John calls our treasure box of memories. These stories and ideas from John’s treasure box of memories are the ingredients I’m putting into our Paladini Potpie.
(Okay, so this ridiculous mixing of metaphors about treasure boxes and potpies is exactly what I’m talking about. Silly and ungrammatically correct. But both illustrations work… so we’ll mix them together and it’ll be just fine!)
John and I have been married for 30 years. Our children have wonderfully doubled in number since David married Amanda, Monica married Dan, and Matthew married Sarah.
And the newest little treats that have been added to our potpie are six adorable grandchildren - Ethan, Angelina, Nathan, Audrey, Maleia and Caleb!
I hope you’ll subscribe to my Paladini Potpie blog, and keep up with all the fun new ingredients I add. Hopefully you’ll enjoy our stories and ideas, and find something you’ll want to put into your own potpie! Bon appétit!
Paladini Potpie 
November 19, 2011 at 5:39 pm
That is a great idea. I didn’t know there was a difference until Kathy brought them in. They were great.
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