11/24/2025
At the Garden at Mavens’ Haven the America persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) are ripe!
The American persimmon tree is native to the eastern United States and is found thriving in forests, open woodlands, and along riverbanks. The tree is dioecious, needing separate male and female trees for pollination and fruit production. Mr. Persimmon tree will also service the Japanese persimmon that I have growing in my personal cottage garden, which should produce fruit this coming summer. Small, fragrant, pale-yellow flowers appear in late spring. The orange, quarter-sized fruit ripens in late fall. Mavens’ Haven’s tree has shed all of its leaves. Only the sweet, custard-like fruits are left clinging to the limbs.
As with the large persimmon, the fruits need to be fully ripe and squishy soft, otherwise you get “pucker mouth”. I think that there has been a light frost at Mavens’ Haven, so I plan to harvest the fruits this coming weekend. The fruit will be processed into jam and quick bread (recipes follow).
As you can see, there are lots of the little persimmons to harvest. Should anyone wish to join me in the harvest this weekend (November 28th and 29th), I would welcome the help. Email me at [email protected].
SPICED AMERICAN PERSIMMON JAM
Makes 3 half pints
2 ½ cups American persimmon pulp
3 cups granulated sugar
2 tbsps. freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 pkg of powdered pectin.
Gather ripe American persimmons. Wash them and mash them, then run pulp through a mill or o strainer to remove the seeds. Add the persimmon pulp, sugar, lemon juice and spices to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring to prevent scorching.
Add the pectin to the persimmon/sugar mixture and boil for one minute. (To keep pectin from clumping save 1/4 cup of the sugar and mix with the pectin and then add to hot mixture.
Ladle mixture into jars to 1/4-inch headspace, remove air bubbles, wipe rims, and assemble lids.
Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
AMERICAN PERSIMMON – HAZEL NUT BREAD
2 cups mashed ripe American persimmons, seeds removed
1 cup granulated cane sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup melted butter
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped hazel nuts
Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan. In a large bowl, combine mashed persimmons, sugar, brown sugar, and melted butter. Whisk in 2 large eggs until the mixture is smooth and well-blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined—do not overmix. Gently stir in 1 cup chopped hazel nuts.
Pour the batter into a well-buttered loaf pan and spread it evenly. Bake at 350°F for 55-65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Allow bread to cool completely before slicing for clean cuts.
