It’s been unseasonably warm in Salt Lake so far this winter…I was able to go out without so much as a sweater until this week.

The snow fall has me yearning for a summery day.

Until that day comes, in-season pomegranates and persimmons are the perfect way to punctuate my days with color.

We do have native persimmons in the US, but most of the ones we eat in the States are from Japan – Fuyu (in the pictures) and Hachiya are the most common.   Interestingly, they are of the berry family, but have a texture more like that of a peach – dense and a bit fibrous.  Fuyu can easily be eaten raw when ripe – they are considered non-astringent and have a sweet flavor that is a real treat this time of year.  More astringent persimmons like Hachiya need to ripen up a bit or be cooked in order to taste very good.

Having only been acquainted with persimmons for a couple of years, I’m still trying to grasp how to tell when they are ripe. Last month I read Maman’s Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen and the author offered a rather interesting way to tell – a persimmon is ripe when it has the feel of a woman’s breast.  I’ll leave the interpretation to you.  What I will share is a way to prepare a persimmon for eating once it is ripe.

Rinse and dry the persimmon and then cut off the top, salvaging as much of the fruit as possible.

Cut off a sliver of the bottom or peel it along with the rest of the fruit.

Peel the skin off of the persimmon.  The skin is tough and a bit bitter.  Peeling it lets you enjoy the soft fruit inside without distracting your tastebuds.

Cut the peeled persimmon in half and core it.  The center does not have seeds, but it is fibrous and a bit chewy.  It’s better to remove it.

Slice the persimmon or eat it by the half – depending on what you plan to do with it.  Persimmons are delicious raw, by themselves.  But, they are also very good roasted with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or used in your favorite holiday recipes that include fruit.

This salad  includes baby kale and spring greens, persimmon slices, a handful of hazelnuts, half an avocado and some slivered red onion.  It’s topped with a little balsamic vinegar.  It was pretty amazing!