Orange – part 1
A PERSIMMON A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY
This sweet juicy fruit, also called a Chinese apple, presents a challenge to the apple, which is reputed to keep the doctor away.
A study conducted by the Hebrew University suggests that its properties that prevent heart disease exceed even those of the apple… and that a persimmon a day will reduce the chance of having arteriosclerosis. However, between us – you know me, I don’t discriminate between crops, so if it's fresh, tasty and organic, eat it!! Labriut!! – I would not replace the apple with a persimmon, but do eat persimmons also. I do hope you get better acquainted.
The persimmon that we know originates from the southeast of china, where they produce jams, wine and juice from it. In Japan, they make sake from green persimmons (in Japan the persimmon is the national fruit) and of course it is everywhere eaten fresh when it turns sweet, juicy and orange. In Japan it is preferred really soft and sweet sweet and orange orange…
The name "persimmon" that we use is taken from the native American language which means something about being dried out, which indicates that they ate the persimmon (a smaller species than ours) dried out.
The American persimmon is slightly smaller and is not divided into 4 segments like ours.
The persimmon needs only a bit of cold and ripens in the fall. Once, when the fruit had seeds, the original Americans would predict the coming winter by the seeds. Remember the black smooth seeds of the persimmon?
When the seeds were cut you can find one of three designs: a knife – which means that the winter will be rough and frozen and the wind will cut like a knife; a spoon – which means that a shovel (big spoon) will be needed to evacuate the snow; or a fork – which means the winter will be moderate.
I'm happy that it maintained its shape of being divided to 4, and occasionally you can find one sticking out its tongue or with a very large nose…. fortunately we have not fooled around with nature too much.
Persimmons arrived to Israel in the previous century. Today Israel is not a small exporter of the fruit. The tree is short, easy to pick and has a beautiful colorful foliation. Also, a mama-tree can grow baby shoot a long distance away from it :). I love it!!!
The sweet juicy orange colored fruit represents in feng shui success and abundance in the aspects of career, business and money. The Chinese tend to serve their wealthy successful guests with persimmons and citrus fruits (more winter orange colored fruit) and thus to bless them with financial growth, lots of kindness, vitality and longevity.
The vitality and longevity is due to the orange color, a mark of all of the many phytochemicals from the carotenoid group (some are anti oxidants) which gives the fruit its color.
Moreover, studies have shown that the persimmon is the richest fruit in the total amount of different kinds of carotenoids, some of which are known to reduce the risk for heart disease and certain types of cancer. Some are known help maintain the health of skin and eyes. Others are known to reduce heart and cardiovascular disease.
The amount of vitamin A in a single persimmon is about half the recommended daily amount for kids and a quarter of the recommended daily amount for adults.
Remember that much of these (good) materials are in the skin!!!! Do not peel them. Eat the skin.
As sweet as it is, if you don’t wish to eat it just plain raw, you can also combine it with other tastes, such as goat cheeses, it is great in salads, fits in well with olive oil and other salty, spicy dishes. You can also cook it, and there is a wide range of baked goods, casseroles and cooked dishes that you can find it in. Following is a nice recipe.
Shirli Nemesh: persimmon cake for Tu Bishvat
Have a sweet week.
Yours,
Maggie, Michelle, and the garden staff
We expect in our Weekly Baskets (draft only):
Let's start with fruits:
Annonas and persimmons of course 🙂
Larger ones also:
Variety of citrus fruits
Baskets of vegetables:
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
And lettuce
Kyle
Peppers
Radishs
Eggplants
Arugula
Sweet Potato
And Potato
Larger ones also:
Celery
Bunch of beets
Sweetes or grapefruit
