'Tis the season for persimmons

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.