Drying Persimmons

Bill shows how to dry Fuyu persimmons using a convection oven and apple peeler. Delicious.

[@TheASTrader]

With all those lovely persimmons and your gigantic satsuma orange tree, i wouldn't mind being your neighbor, Bill!

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

I keep moving around so I am hard to pin down as a neighbor. We will put this place up for sale in 3 years when I move to the home in Hawaii. Save your change, you can buy the place from us and all the trees will be yours!

[@mcd876]

Great idea. I can't wait to try this with my fuyus. Never thought about doing this as they are so good to eat plain, but now that the tree is producing more this might be the next step. Thanks for your fantastic videos; I'm learning a lot.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

As your tree grows older and the crop gets bigger you will eventually end up with more persimmons than you can eat fresh. I had a good part of my crop sold to friends every year but I still had waste if I didn't process. The dry persimmon is a thing all to it's self, very tasty and unlike the fresh fruit. They make nice Christmas gifts since they store and ship well. You might also consider using persimmons to make Salsa. This wouldn't have occurred to me if I hadn't eaten mango and papaya salsas in Hawaii. I use peeled diced fuyu with salt, lime juice, jalapeno, onion and cilantro. It is really good on fish, poultry or pork.

[@mcd876]

Sounds amazing! I never thought of persimmon salsa, but really a terrific idea. Can't wait to give it a go. Fruit won't be ready here (east coast) for another month or so. Looking forward to using your ideas:)

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Make sure to harvest Fuyu persimmon when it is very firm if you intend to use the apple peeler I had in the video. If they begin to soften the core breaks lose and it won't peel right.

[@bjutgaard8481]

Good morning, Bill. We reside in So CA (so fortunate :) Have not tried to dehydrate outside due to concerns about the critters and insects our garden attracts. We use the convection oven and dehydrators. So appreciate your videos, been watching for years, from when you lived in Hawaii and now in CA. Wishing you a wonderful Thanks giving.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

I have videos from a decade ago using outdoor dyring in CA. I never had trouble with insects or critters with one exception, figs draw ants. I used saw horses with custom made screens. One under the fruit, one over. the legs of the saw horses were banded with tangle foot for ants. Coffee cans fill of water work too.

[@carolpreved6055]

I've dried persimmons and they are unbelievably delicious!!! Please try this!!!!! Thanks

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

They are so good, I had to plant new persimmon trees in Hawaii after I moved from California. Lucky for me they are growing.

[@plantabundance]

Looks good! Some great ideas here, thanks!

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Grow more persimmons, excellent trees. Slow growing, pest free, great fall color and enough sugar to rival dates.

[@patriciasaturnio571]

Ok I have 4 racks of persimmons. You said 140 degrees. My convection oven starts at 170 degrees. Is this too high ?

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Yes, it seems too high. Our oven had a special dehydrating cycle that would set down to 110. If you don't have a dehydrator try using the oven with a thermometer and the door cracked open to regulate.

[@oliverjason]

the core is the best part of the persimmon. It has that nice snap crunch.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

The core is hard, woody and often astringent. Whether I cut it out with a knife or I use this peeler it goes to the compost. The volume of fruit that our trees produced made it practical to use this tool for peeling and not worry about a bit of lost core.

[@oliverjason]

​@@GreenGardenGuy1 We pretty much eat everything our trees produce since they have a good shelf life but once we start overproducing, I'll definitely give this a try. How many trees do you have?

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

@@oliverjason The CA property had a single tree that produced over 500 fruit per year. In HI we have two trees just getting to age. I had tried to store but more than half would spoil before eaten. Eventually drying, selling and giving away was the solution.

[@oliverjason]

@@GreenGardenGuy1 Nice yield. We lose a lot to the birds every year, even with netting around the tree. I'm sitting there thinking "They aren't even ready yet!! don't eat them green you stupid birds!!"

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

@@oliverjason The first year I had a persimmon crop I thought the same thing. Let them get orange. One day as the sun was setting behind my tree all the fruit lit up like Jack-o-lanterns because the birds had hollowed every fruit out from the back side. Sneaky little buggers.

[@bjutgaard8481]

Question Bill. Outside drying make the fruit available to animals and or bugs??

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Out door drying will depend on the climate where you live, the crop being dried and the technique you are using. While living in California's Bay Area we could dry apples, figs pears, cherries and apricots out doors on screens from June to September. Once Oct. set in the fog and rain would return and set in and fruit would mold. Persimmons are ripe Oct. to Nov. In that locality we could not dry them outside unless we used the ancient Japanese method of kneading the flesh and turning them inside out daily. For me it is too much work and the product isn't nearly as nice. If you live in Arizona or a desert state then you might try it outside. Or maybe a rather fancy solar drier that shelters the fruit from dew and hastens the drying time.

[@10yearvet]

CRAP! You just reminded me, I forgot to get persimmon trees! Been way overloaded this year and lots of things have fallen through the cracks. This looks like a good idea. Started dehydrating more stuff this year and really like it. Did what few pears we had. Didn't last a week. Wonder if they would make good schnapps.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

I just ordered up a few more persimmon trees myself. I'll be selling the current property in a few more years and moving to my place in Hawaii. I have no Fuyu persimmons on the Island and the trees have been hard to find there. I had to ship them from the mainland. You should be able to make good alcohol out of anything with a decent sugar content. Fuyu Schnapps. Funapps.

[@ktsfisherman9550]

Which brand peeler/corer do you have? The one I have that looks similar to yours breaks my persimmons before I can finish peeling .

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

I am using the Victorio peeler. It seems to work well for us but there is one catch. If the persimmons become too ripe the center will come loose before the tool is finished peeling and cutting. If this happens there is no choice but to continue by hand. If the fruit is the right firm crunchy texture it usually works perfectly.

[@joansmith3492]

Can i do this with eureka persimmons? I just picked 40 persimmons yesterday after our first hard freeze. They are still firm.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Eureka is an astringent persimmon where as Fuyu is a non astringent type. The only problem with following my video with an astringent persimmon will be the consistency of the flesh. Eureka, like most astringent persimmons, must be soft to be sweet. This will cause more difficulty in processing the flesh for drying. The apple peeler will not work. Provided you can find a stage where the fruit loses the astringency but the flesh is still firm enough to slice the process will work out. If the flesh is very soft you would have to use the traditional Japanese method of drying them whole on bamboo poles.

[@VTECsqznN2O]

Thank you for your video. I have a mature tree and didnt want to waste any.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

My dry persimmons never make it past Christmas time. They make great gifts. Another recipe is to turn the persimmon into salsa by replacing the tomato, papaya or mango that might have been used in the original recipe. Addition of lime juice will balance the sweet taste.

[@jackiso1433]

Hi bro , is it posible to get the persimmon sticks from you ,,,

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

I will assume you have seedling persimmon root stocks ready to go? The video you watched was recorded several years ago in California. Since I moved to Hawaii. I did replant two varieties of Persimmon here but they grow slowly and I have not had to prune them yet. It will be a few years before i have wood to share. Not sure where you are located but the bare root persimmon trees grown in California will be distributed to nurseries across the western US including HI this month. The Japanese Persimmon is hardy only to USDA zone 6 so there may be limitations for you depending on location.

[@cslifestyle9597]

Look good great ideas.!

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

That apple peeler made life much easier.

[@maryabraham9182]

Thank you so much for the video I appreciate your hard work🙏🏻🙏🏻🌺 one question can you tell me ‏ where I can get the sheets that you put in the fruit on it for the oven؟ ??

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

They came with the convection oven. While living in California we had city gas lines and owned a Jenn-Air gas convection oven that had a dehydrator cycles. The racks were part of the dehydrating equipment that came with the oven. These days we live in rural Hawaii and converted everything to run on sunlight. Currently we use a California made Excalibur electric dryer. It's a wonderful thing but the drying racks are poly. They are easier to peel fruit off of because they flex.

[@MaryLitzenberg]

Thanks for the video. Just so I didn't miss something, you don't dip them or coat with anything before drying? Can you leave the peel on? For the ones too soft to dry, I've let them get soft on the counter and then puree the sweet pulp with a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice, then free the pulp to make fruit leather or baked goods later (or just use as fresh jelly). But I wanted to try drying this year! Do you have any easy ways to crack and/or roast macadamia nuts? The brown shell I mean after the green husk has come off. I figured with you going to Hawaii you might.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Nope, we don't coat them with anything. They are so sweet the sugar oozes out and lubricates. I use a TJ's Nut cracker for my macnuts, both the husk and the shell. For small scale production they are the best tool around. I believe i show it in one of my macnut videos. Amazon sells them.

[@nahidach9995]

Very nice

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

They are wonderful, can't keep them around all the relatives and friends eat them up.

[@permie3535]

Consider using a lower temperature. If you keep the temp under 104, the heat will not kill enzymes and vitamins.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Thanks for the tip but you own different equipment. Mine doesn't register below 105 degrees. By your mark the fruit was already damaged before I picked it since the outside air temperature got that hot while the fruit was in the tree.

[@permie3535]

Right! Go figure. I'm in Central Texas, so I feel your heat. By the way I love your channel. I have sent sooooo many people here for your pruning videos, especially. Yours are the best on youtube.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

I have noticed that no matter what I put on this channel the pruning videos are always the most viewed. I always figured it was people find pruning difficult while I find it simple. My music and ghost stories don't even come close to the views about pruning. Thanks, Bill

[@levmoses742]

I only have a regular oven so I’ll try not to bake them, which will also be okay. Thanks!!

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

110 to 120 degrees f. is right. They get toasted if the temp is much higher. If you live where the sun shines in fall, drying them on screens also works.

[@chookvalve]

Im in Australia. I have 1000s of them. I hang them and cook with them. Now I’ll have a go at this.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

This method is easier than the traditional Japanese way.

[@chookvalve]

@@GreenGardenGuy1 I don’t think its nuking the tannins though, just had a taste, bloody awful ! Pity, because Hoshigaki is extremely time consuming. I have 150 hanging now for 2 weeks at this moment. Hanging suits (Japanese Hoshigaki style) me as tannins polymerise in the process.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

@@chookvalve Guess i didn't make a big deal out of the fact that these are Fuyu, the non-astringent form. This slicer won't work with the astringent persimmon. They have to be too ripe and soft to cut in order to eat them. Fuyu Jiro and Fuyu Imoto are good choices for this method

[@chookvalve]

@@GreenGardenGuy1 yeah I don’t personally have access to fuyu variety but I have a friend who has a few trees.

[@LibertyGarden]

Awesome. Thanks.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Wait until you try them! Between giving these out for the holidays and snacking on them myself I will have to do another batch today.

[@LibertyGarden]

I have a small persimmons tree. I'll keep this video in mind for when it produces abundantly.

[@MsTokies]

might turn it into some persimmon sugar. we got a tree and a grape vine. which we dont eat enough of.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

I am sure dry persimmon could be used as a sweeten agent by just grinding the fruit. I already spend enough time in the kitchen though. I believe I will leave further processing to some other inspired soul. I posted this video to help motivate gardeners to make more use of the food they grow. Thanks Bill

[@MsTokies]

GreenGardenGuy1 have you tried making a beer or mead from it?

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

MsTokies I am sure you could make lots of alcohol out of a fruit that has this much sugar. I hardly ever drink anymore so the effort would be wasted on me. I'd end up give all the produce away to people that like liquor. My step father was a vintner and as a young man I was a brewer. I eventually decided that alcohol didn't do anything good for me. I just get loud and tell off color jokes.

[@rodrigocarranza3845]

nice video

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

I miss this tree. I sold the CA house and moved to HI. I planted a new Fuyu but it isn't bearing yet. Can't wait until I have to start drying fruit again. Aloha, Bill

[@KittyHerder]

OK. I'm getting an apple peeler yesterday.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Just make sure your fruit is still crunchy. If it gets soft this tool doesn't work.

[@KittyHerder]

@@GreenGardenGuy1 - Good tip. I just pulled a bunch of fuyus off the tree yesterday afternoon and the peeler arrives tomorrow. Should be good.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

@@KittyHerder Well then enjoy! This video actually got a spot on the Tokyo evening new when Japan exported the first Persimmons to the USA. They we showing how a American had modernized the job of drying. The traditional method is very laborious.

[@SouthpawDavey]

Nice one Bill cost about a dollar each here.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Wow, I'm rich if I could get my crop over to you. Here in CA I can hardly give them away. They have planted trees in yards all over town. Before I left the nursery we used to sell up to 350 of these trees a year. The dry fruit seems to be attracting a lot more interest than the fresh stuff. I have been handing out bags of dry persimmon to my clients for the holidays. I hear no complains from anyone.

[@SouthpawDavey]

The dried look fantastic.I looked today one Swiss frank for one well 95 rapper thats like cents or pennies . I do need to see if I can grow a tree even if we get something in five or six years lol got to be worth it,-)

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Southpaw Davey Davey, Sounds to me like there is a future for anyone who plants persimmon in Switzerland. You could make a decent living with 20 or 30 trees. At the very least, if you can get one to grow in the yard you will be happy for a long time to come. 6 is a reasonable figure. It takes these trees a while to get started.

[@SouthpawDavey]

Lol If I could afford the land here for 20 or 30 trees here. But I would like to get one or two in. Our garden is about 700 mrt2 I Keep adding to the growable space every year and some trees where I can. I am trying to get as many perennials in as I can.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Southpaw Davey I suppose the USA just happens to have large tracts of land being used for little or nothing. Here I have owned plenty of my own land but even when I didn't I could still find some land for growing. Most owners are glad to keep the weeds down. I've even had the surface owners pay for the water in exchange for my maintenance. The only down side to borrowed land is you have to move on when the situation changes.

[@AJ-bf6hw]

A little shorter video would be better. Thanks Bill.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

Sure is good to hear my videos are not good enough for you. Considering you are the first to complain in the 8 years this videos has been posted I will assume the trouble here is a short attention span not the video.

[@AJ-bf6hw]

@@GreenGardenGuy1it's just my opinion Bill. I'm not trying to offend you.

[@GreenGardenGuy1]

@@AJ-bf6hw The video has been viewed by 44,246 people in the past 8 years. 317 left a thumbs up, there were no thumbs down. Japanese Public TV in Tokyo used excerpts from this video in a news cast the year Japanese farmers began exporting persimmons to the USA. If you have nothing good to say about someone then hold your piece. Considering your comment is the first negative to surface on this video I will assume the problem is your attention span is too short for full coverage of this subject. What do you expect me to do, pull the video and edit it just for you after thousands thought it was fine? The problem is yours it has little to do with me or this video. I post a nice video about drying persimmons for free to the world and all you got to say is it is too long. I'm not impressed. Do you usually start conversations by being a critic?