Persimmon

Diospyros kaki

fruit

An orange autumn fruit from a Chinese tree, with sweet, melting flesh when fully ripe; some varieties stay astringent, because of their tannins, until they are very soft. It provides beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin.

Origin

China

Season (United States)

all year round · grows in your region

Preparation

An astringent persimmon is only eaten very soft, once its flesh has turned translucent. Its skin is eaten, and that is where its polyphenols sit: worth keeping, then — but under running water, rubbing it, which is what takes off most of what settles there, organic or not. Its tannins hold back plant iron: better away from an iron-rich meal than during it.

Molecules

Beta-carotene (vitamin A) · Beta-cryptoxanthinIn small amounts, not counted Flavanols and procyanidins · LycopeneWhat slows things down Tannins (iron brake)

Did you know?

Its name is Japanese: kaki, written with the Chinese character for the fruit; in French it is also called plaquemine.