Persimmon Jam

Every Saturday, Marie and Elizabeth and I go to the Farmer's Market/Flea Market and sell Jamberry Nail Wraps.  It is a fun day for us as we work this booth together and get caught up on everything we want to talk about.  We look forward to Saturdays and justify our fun with the fact that we are conducting business :).    While we are there, we all like to get our fruits, vegetables and eggs, which are abundant, beautiful and local.  Last Saturday in my purchase load, I got a basket of Persimmons.

I had never had them before and wanted to give them a try. In Colorado, we didn't always get a lot of fruits and vegetables that are common in other States. The Persimmons, remind me of a cross between a plum and a Mango in flavor. I brought them home for Steve and Luke and I and we ate several of them peeled and sliced.  Yum.  The rest I decided to make into a jam.  I looked up several recipes and liked the simplicity of this one, which I am sharing with you.  Here is the link to the original recipe that I used…. I did make some little changes, such as using lime juice instead of lemon, because it is what I had on hand, and the lime flavor sounded good to me; I also increased the amount of the lime juice, because I wanted a  little more lime flavor in it.  I  left out the honey, that she called for because I wanted to try it without the honey, at least the first time I tried it.  

Wash Peel and Dice 2 pounds of Persimmons.

Place in a medium sized stock pan and add sugar; stir thoroughly.

Cook on medium heat and simmer until fruit is soft and tender.

Add lime juice.

Stir and mash until well combined, or use a handheld mixer and mix well together.

Pour into 2 sterilized 1/2 pint jars, and store in refrigerator.

Persimmon Jam

Ingredients:

2 lbs  Persimmons 

1 cup Organic unbleached Sugar

2 Tablepsoons lime juice (or the juice of 1/2 of a medium sized lime)

Instructions:

1.  Peel and dice the Persimmons.
2.  Place the diced Persimmons into a saucepan and add the sugar. 
3.  Cook on medium low until the Persimmons are soft enough to mash. 
4.  Mash the fruit with a masher, or use a handheld blender, to blend and mash.
5. Add the lime juice and stir until it is well incorporated.  
6. Cook a little longer if needed. The jam should be thick.
7. Remove from heat and pour into 2 sterilized half pint jars.
8. You can seal in the jars if you like, however this batch is so small, I just refrigerated it without sealing the lids.

Note:  Hachiya Persimmons remain tart and chalky until they are extremely ripe, which you will notice even in the Jam making, so make sure they are nicely ripe.  Fuyu Persimmons are sweeter and can be eaten while still firm.  The Hachiya are acorn-shaped and the Fuyu  are the squat, round bottomed tomato-shaped… the ones I am using are the Fuyu.