Persimmon Bread

[thomas pendrake]

About 20 years ago I was working at a remote site in the Great Smoky Mountains and we had both wild persimmons and Hickory nuts. I used a standard banana bread recipe, substituting persimmon for banana and Hickory nuts instead of pecans. We did have thin shelled nuts. I imagine Japanese persimmons and pecans would work, but the American wild persimmon is far tastier (be certain they are thoroughly ripe!!!!!!!) and Hickory nuts have more flavor. Hickory and pecan form a spectrum of related nuts, with some varieties being sort of both.-

 

[Trellum]

Awesome! I'd love to try something like that, but I doubt I'll ever taste this tasty bread LOL, I don't even know what Hickory nuts are, had never heard of them, but I'm sure they're tasty, just like most nuts are!

 

[thomas pendrake]

Pecans are actually a variety of hickory, although the term is usually reserved for members of the family with more globular nuts with harder shells. Some of the .members of the family (there are about 20) are inedible or bitter. There is actually a hybrid called a Hican which has the shell of a pecan and the flavor of a hickory. If you can't get hickory, use a pecan, best not a papershell. You can probably find Japanese persimmons at a fruit market.

 

[Trellum]

Awesome! Thank for the bit of info, it's really interesting I had no idea those two were even related. I will surely try to find those, you made me curious! I want to compare the flavor of those two!

 

[JessiFox]

Thanks for the inspiration....that sounds really interesting, and I wasn't aware of that about hickory, either. Now I'm really wondering about the differences in practical application (taste testing, anyone? lol) I may have to see if I can pull the ingredients together and give it a shot . Sounds like it may be a bit more intense of a flavour profile.

 

[thomas pendrake]

The variety of Hickory I have used has a more intense, less buttery flavor than a pecan ( compare black walnut and English walnut). American persimmon ( Diospyros virginiana) is less sweet and has a more intense flavor than the Japanese persimmon. The American persimmon is also far more nutritious. It is smaller and you really do not want to eat one before frost, as it is rather astringent. Black Walnut would probably be excellent in this recipe, especially with the wild persimmon. If you have access to date-plums (Diospyros lotus) you may want to try it as it is reputed to be very tasty. American persimmon trees can be bought in the U.S. and are usually selected cultivars which can be profitable to grow.

 

[HealthyWealthyWise]

Yum! We have a friend who gives us persimmons and I am always looking for ways to use them. I haven't made bread from them, but it makes perfect sense. I am going to try this! Thank you!

 

[GenevB]

This sounds great Thomas! I'll make sure I check this out on the next days. I'll keep you updated on my opinion about it.

 

[JessiFox]

The variety of Hickory I have used has a more intense, less buttery flavor than a pecan ( compare black walnut and English walnut). American persimmon ( Diospyros virginiana) is less sweet and has a more intense flavor than the Japanese persimmon. The American persimmon is also far more nutritious. It is smaller and you really do not want to eat one before frost, as it is rather astringent. Black Walnut would probably be excellent in this recipe, especially with the wild persimmon. If you have access to date-plums (Diospyros lotus) you may want to try it as it is reputed to be very tasty. American persimmon trees can be bought in the U.S. and are usually selected cultivars which can be profitable to grow.

Wow, guess you really do learn something new all the time- I had no idea about any of that! Useful to know, though, thanks for the quick persimmon lesson, Thomas .