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Try this delightful persimmon pudding

Recipe: Old favorite made with (finally) ripe Fuyu

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 5, 2020

Persimmon pudding is a delicious, easy dessert based on a Midwest classic. Add raisins if desired.
(Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Fuyu persimmons take awhile to get to pudding stage. Several weeks after harvest, my Fuyus are finally reaching that jelly texture needed for baking and puddings.

This delightful pudding is legendary in the Midwest. For three decades, it appeared as part of the directions for using Dymple's Delight canned persimmon pulp.

Dymple's Delight was the creation of Dymple Green, who operated with her husband, Vernon, a persimmon packing company that shipped the sweet pulp worldwide. The Greens used only native persimmons, a variety that grows from Virginia to Indiana.

Mrs. Green passed away in 2012, but her pudding lives on. Her hometown of Mitchell, Ind., celebrates an annual Persimmon Festival each September. The top prize goes to the best persimmon pudding.

Persimmon puddings have a slightly lighter texture and different flavor made with Fuyus or Hachiyas, the persimmons most commonly found in California. But they still make delicious pudding.

In this version, I scaled the recipe down for 1 cup of pulp (about two or three large persimmons) and added raisins.

Dymple's Delight persimmon pudding

Adapted from Dymple's Delight

Makes 9 servings

This recipe can use ripe Fuyus, the flatter persimmons, above,
or Hachiyas, which are more heart-shaped.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup sour cream or buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup persimmon pulp
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
2 tablespoons whipping cream
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking dish.

Sift together flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Set aside. Stir baking soda into sour cream or buttermilk. Set aside.

Combine persimmon pulp and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well. Add egg, beating well. Alternately, add sour cream/buttermilk mixture and flour mixture. Stir in cream and honey. Add raisins, if desired. Fold in melted butter.

After an hour of baking, the pudding is ready.

Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Smooth surface with a spatula. Bake until the center is set, about 55 to 60 minutes. Serve warm, with whipped cream if desired.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

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Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.

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