Warning: Persimmon Products Coming....

Okay - tonight is going to be a hard enough freeze to hit even the persimmons ripening off the tree in tidy racks in the barn. That's it! The moment when all leftovers become persimmon pulp, frozen and later turned into holiday treats. Unless your doors are locked, you can pretty much bet on a tasty persimmon pudding cake, persimmon bars, persimmon-ginger cookies and/or whatever else I can whack out in the kitchen over the next month. Forget dieting!

PS - I couldn't resist this beautiful photo by Marco Del Grande of a persimmon slice with whipped cream on great bread. It was online in the Sydney Morning Herald along with the recipe. (Although, looking closely, I suspect that in an artistic flourish he left some of the leaves on up top, which would not be tasty.) The recipes are in metric units. Get out the Weight Watcher measuring scale - it's the only thing in most of our kitchens that will do grams!

Persimmon and pine nut bread (pictured)
Cream 185g of unsalted butter with a cup of sugar. Add 2 beaten eggs and mix.
Sift 2 cups of plain flour and a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda together and mix in.
Add 400ml of soft, ripe persimmon pulp and 1/2 a cup of pine nuts and mix - the dough should be quite firm.
Butter and flour two 26cm long by 10cm wide loaf tins and distribute the dough evenly. Place into a preheated 170C oven for an hour. Cool before slicing.
To serve, whip some single cream with a little vanilla. (that's whipping cream in the US)
Cut the persimmon and pine nut bread into 1cm thick slices (toast them if you like). Top with the cream and half a ripe persimmon.

Persimmon biscuits
Cream 125g of butter and 250g of sugar. Mix in 1 cup of ripe persimmon pulp and 1 whole egg.
Sift 2 1/4 cups of plain flour and 1 teaspoon of baking powder together and mix in.
Add 1 cup of chopped, roasted hazelnuts, 1 cup of sultanas and a 1/2 teaspoon each of ground cinnamon, ground cloves and ground nutmeg.
Drop with a teaspoon onto greased baking trays. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 190C oven. Makes about 90 biscuits.
smanfredi@smh.com.au