What’s in it: Fuyu persimmons, whole milk or Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Recipe: Subtle Asian Baking Persimmon Pudding Recipe

Price: $

Review:

This fall I became obsessed with persimmons.  Their flavor is so unique and delicious.  I have heard they were called “fruit of the gods” by the Greeks, and I couldn’t agree more.  I can just imagine the Greek gods on Olympus biting into golden, juicy persimmons.  The persimmon’s sweet, delicate, honey-like flavor is truly heavenly.  

Persimmon pudding only requires two ingredients and is so easy to make, so I thought I’d give it a try. I used Subtle Asian Baking’s recipe from Instagram.  All you do is blend together persimmons (without the skin) with any milk, and then leave it in the fridge until it sets.  It sets very quickly (in about twenty minutes). They recommend that the ratio of persimmon to milk should be 2:0.8. This means if you have one cup of persimmon you would add 2/5 of a cup of milk (between 1/2 and 1/3 of a cup).  They use the smaller Fuyu persimmons.  Either of the two common types of persimmons can be used (the bigger, longer Hachiya persimmon or the smaller, rounder Fuyu persimmon).  I like using the Fuyu persimmons as well.  The Hachiya persimmons have such a soft, lovely texture I prefer to eat them untouched while I don’t mind blending up the firmer Fuyu persimmons. You must use very ripe persimmons, so they are softer and sweet.  I find them to be sweet enough for the pudding without added sweetener but you can add honey to taste.  Because Fuyu persimmons are slightly firmer, it is really easy to simply cut off the top and scoop out the fruit with a spoon.  I scoop the persimmon into a measuring cup so that I can see how much fruit I have to figure out how much milk is needed.  The hollowed out fruit is great to save because you can pour the pudding mixture back into the scooped out persimmon skins to serve as cute little bowls.  Just make sure to leave a thin layer fruit on the skin so the “fruit bowls” are sturdy enough.  You will end up with more pudding than can fit since the milk adds more volume (I usually just eat the extra because it tastes just as good not set).  If you replace the top, they look like little pumpkins which is great for fall.  You can even carve them like a pumpkin as Subtle Asian Baking did (just make sure not to cut all the way through or unset the pudding will leak out).  After twenty minutes in the fridge, the pudding will become a gelatinous, flan-like consistency.  I have made the pudding with both whole milk and almond milk.  With the whole milk, the pudding firms up very well. It melts in your mouth and has a perfect, fresh persimmon flavor.  If you want a less firm whole milk persimmon pudding, you can increase the ratio of milk.  With the vanilla almond milk, the pudding was slightly looser but still delicious. I loved how the vanilla flavor of the milk complimented the persimmon. It gave it a more dessert-like flavor.  If you want a firmer almond milk persimmon pudding, you can decrease the ratio of milk. Either with whole milk or almond milk, the pudding is a delicious and fun way to use persimmons.  Since the only ingredients are the fruit and milk, I like to eat it with my breakfast as my fruit or as a snack.  It is a wonderful and interesting fall treat!