I have long been an admirer of persimmons. Each fall I’d see them at the market and marvel at their vibrant orange hue and smooth shiny skin. Yet, until a few weeks ago, I never actually bought them. I had no clue what to do with them.

Because 2020 hasn’t presented enough challenges already😉, I decided to confront my ignorance and brought a bagful home with me. I’ll share with you what I learned. There are two main varieties of persimmons. The first are known as Fuyu. They are the squat tomato shaped ones you see in the picture above. The second variety, Hachiya, are oblong shaped with a pointed base, like a large acorn.

The Fuyu variety is non-astringent. These can be eaten when firm and crisp, just like you would an apple. The skin is tough, but edible, so I prefer to peel them. They are quite sweet, with an almost vanilla-custard flavour. They are best eaten raw, in salads.

The Hachiya variety is astringent, and a completely different story! If you bite into an unripe persimmon you will be sorry. Loaded with tannins, it will make your mouth pucker and go dry. These need to be ripened completely, until they are soft. Inside they will be creamy, almost pudding like. They are great to use in baking, much like bananas for breads and cake.

Because they are so sweet, I though that I’d pair them with hardy, bitter lettuces. I used kale, arugula, radicchio and frisée. I found some beautiful red carrots so I made carrot ribbons with a vegetable peeler with one carrot, and sliced a second carrot into coins for a variety of shape and texture. Pomegranate seeds added a pop of crunch and shine.

For additional texture, I candied some nuts and seeds with maple syrup. My mix included pistachios, pecans and pumpkin seeds. I finished the salad with some crumbled ricotta salata cheese. Salty feta would also be great.

If you’re anything like me, you fall into a salad rut, making the same bowl every night. I think that’s why salad always tastes so good when someone else makes it. It’s different than yours and your tastebuds crave change. This salad was certainly new and exciting in our house! Let me know if you try this and that you think.