My mother-in-law loves persimmons. I had never even heard of
the fruit until I moved to the U.S. and saw them in her fruit bowl! The first
time I tried them was only a few years back when I volunteered for a
nutrition class during which I prepared a persimmon quinoa salad – I think
previously I wasn’t yet very adventurous when it comes to trying new flavors,
which is unfortunate, as I have noticed that I like most everything I try these
days, including persimmons. Since I still don’t know much about this orange fruit,
and since they are now at the peak of their season, I decided to take a look at
the nutritional value of persimmons, their health benefits and how to eat them.
There are two types of persimmons available in the US:
Hachiya and Fuyu. Hachiya is shaped like a large acorn, and Fuyu like a
flattened tomato. There is no difference nutritionally between these two, but
Hachiya will taste very tart and sour if not quite ripe (or when still firm),
while Fuyu is sweeter (and edible!) when firm. If you bought persimmons that
are very firm, place them in a paper bag together with an apple or banana to
help the ripening process. (1)
WebMD provides this information about adding persimmons into your daily diet (1):
For Fuyu persimmons, rinse the fruit and remove the
leaves and core. Eat with peels. You can add Fuyu persimmons to your salads or
breakfast foods. Hachiya persimmons are mushy when ready to eat.
Scoop seeds out and enjoy with a spoon, or use the pureed fruit in smoothies.
Here are the nutrition facts for raw persimmons with peels (1 fruit): (2).
118 kcal, 1 g protein, <0.5 g fat, 31 g CHO, 6 g fiber (25% of daily value)
270 mg Potassium, 0 mg Sodium
12.6 mg vit C (20% of daily
value), 2733 IU vit A (70% of daily value)
Persimmons are a great source for vitamin A and C, both of which are important for the proper functioning of the body. And I especially love the high fiber content, your gut bacteria will love you (in a good way)!
Here’s an easy and delicious recipe that I modified from
Martha Stewart (5):
Persimmon and Brie
Crostini
Ingredients:
Fuyu persimmons (I needed about half of one for four
crostinis)
Whole grain bagette/bread slices
Brie cheese
Brown sugar (optional)
Black pepper
Olive oil
Preparation:
Toast bread lightly, and brush with olive oil. Then build
crostinis, and broil for 1-2 minutes until cheese begins to melt and bubble. I
made them with Anna’s Daughter’s rye bread (I found it at Berkeley Bowl grocery
store), and it was great. Of course, this bread is not widely available, so
pretty much any bread will work! I prefer whole grain for higher nutrient
content.
Interestingly, when searching through PubMed for research
done on persimmons, most of the studies actually look at the leaves of
persimmons and not the fruit itself. They are for example included in cancer
research with encouraging results (3). I did find one article that studied the
tannins found in persimmon fruit and its effect on adipogenesis (formation of
fat cells). The study found that these tannins may inhibit fat cell generation, which,
in turn may reduce fat accumulation in the body (4). However, the full article
is paid, and based only on the abstract it’s not possible to say whether this
study was conducted on animals or just on living cells. Regardless, it is well
known that eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is good for your overall
health, and thus persimmons are a great addition to any diet.
How do you like to eat your persimmons?
Thanks for reading, and see you next time,
Anna-Kaisa
References:
1. 5 a day: Fruit of the Month: Persimmons. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/fruit-month-persimmons#2
2. Persimmon, raw with peels. USDA Nutrient
Database. https://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/show/2337?fgcd=&manu=&lfacet=&format=&count=&max=50&offset=&sort=default&order=asc&qlookup=persimmon&ds=&qt=&qp=&qa=&qn=&q=&ing=
3. Park SB, Park GH, Song HM, Son HJ, Um Y, Kim HS,
Jeong JB. Anticancer activity of calyx of Diospyros kaki Thunb. through
downregulation of cyclin D1 via inducing proteasomal degradation and
transcriptional inhibition in human colorectal cancer cells. BMC Complement
Altern Med. 2017 Sep 5;17(1):445. doi: 10.1186/s12906-017-1954-2.
4. Zou B, Ge Z, Zhu W, Xu Z, Li C. Persimmon tannin
represses 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation via up-regulating expression of
miR-27 and down-regulating expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated
receptor-γ in the early phase of adipogenesis. European Journal of Nutrition. December
2015, Volume 54, Issue 8, pp 1333–1343
5. Persimmon
and Brie Crostini. Martha Stewart,
16 May 2017. www.marthastewart.com/1160671/persimmon-and-brie-crostini.
