I think a persimmon dose not have a wasted part.
Of course, it doesn’t mean every part of a persimmon can be eaten completely.
But I think this unusual fruit is very helpful in living a Zero-Waste lifestyle.
So I’ll explain to you how persimmons are useful for our lives.
Non-astringent persimmons
Firstly, in the case of non-astringent persimmons, you can eat the fruit raw ordinarily. You’ll hold a knife and cut it, bite it and that’s it! This is a simple way of eating a non-astringent persimmon. Of course, you can make some desserts of using this fruits, too! For example, a persimmon pudding, cookies, cakes and jams, etc. Not only as the dessert, but also as the meal, persimmon can be used. For example, a persimmon salad, soup, smoothie and overnight oats, etc.
In this way, as far as a non-astringent persimmon, we don’t have to use some special way for eating this fruit. There are just two ways which means cutting or cooking! So, we can enjoy it’s taste with a little effort, fortunately.
Non-astringent persimmons is a very simple fruit compared to astringent persimmons!
Astringent persimmons
On the other hand, an astringent persimmon can’t eat raw usually. If you put it into your mouth directly, you would regret doing such a silly thing. An astringent persimmon that is not still ripen is very very puckery, so a person who ate it raw would feel like the mouth get wrinkled. So, the most of countries in the world, the astringent persimmons is eaten when it ripe completely. This is a very simple way. You can easily eat sweet persimmons without taking a long time. But there are some other ways that we can eat the astringent persimmons sweeter than just ripen.
In Japan, and in the other countries such as China and Korea, there are the way of making a dried fruit with an astringent persimmon. The dried fruit which is made with an astringent persimmon is called Hoshigaki (干し柿) or Anpo-gaki (あんぽ柿) in Japan. Their tastes are awesome! Hoshigaki is a little bit firm, and its texture is like a gummy, and its taste is sweeter than raw persimmon. And Anpo-gaki which is a variation of Hoshigaki is very soft and juicy, its taste is sweeter than Hoshigaki. In this way, an astringent persimmon can be used not only just ripe but dried fruit, actually.
But, that’s not all. There are some other way of using an astringent persimmon in Japan. The representative way is Kakishibu (柿渋). Kakishibu is a dye which comes from unripe and astringent persimmons. The color is dark brown like a soy sauce. This liquid is commonly used for dyeing clothing such as a shirt, tie, towel, handkerchief, wallet, and so on, and for coating a wood to prevent it from rotting. Kakishibu has a waterproof and antiseptic quality and has not chemicals, so it is very eco-friendly and harmless to the human body. For this reason, I think it would be very useful to improve the current condition of the environment.
As you can see from the above, we can use the astringent persimmons for food, such as just ripen, Hoshigaki or Anpo-gaki, and for material like Kakishibu.
An astringent persimmon is very puckery, so many people tend to regard it worthless rather than a non-astringent persimmon. However, we can use it effectively, depending on how we use it.
Calyx of a persimmon
Every persimmon has a calyx on the top of the fruit. Many people might think this part is just a wasted part. So they might throw it away in the trash without thinking so much. But in fact, this part is also useful for our lives just like the fruit.
But, of course, a calyx itself can’t be eaten like the fruit. So we have to find the other way to use it effectively.
In China, a dried calyx has been used as a herbal ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine from about a thousand years ago. A dried calyx is called Shi Di (柿蒂) in Chinese and the effect on a human body is to stop hiccups.
In the same way, a dried calyx has been used in Kampo (漢方) in Japan. Kampo is a traditional Japanese medicine influenced by Chinese medicine. So it is very similar to Chinese style. And therefore, its effect is the same as that, too. A dried calyx in Kampo has the effect of stopping hiccups and it is called Shitei (柿蒂) in Japanese. It’s a same character but pronunciation.
In general, the dried calyxes in China and Japan are used for making a decoction with cloves and ginger, and the liquid is called Shiteitou (柿蒂湯) in Japanese. A powdered medicine made from the decoction’s extracts is sold at Kampo specialty store in Japan or at online like Amazon.
In this way, a calyx of a persimmon can be used for a herbal medicine even now. It is not just a waste. It turns into a worthwhile thing by a creative and traditional way.
If you can’t stop your hiccups, why don’t you give it a try?
Seed of a persimmon
Not all persimmons have a seed in their fruit, unlike a calyx. Some persimmons have it, but some don’t. It is different depending on the variety of persimmons. For example, Fuyu and Hachiya have seeds in their fruit, while Hiratenenashi and Tonewase don’t have it. Moreover, it doesn’t matter to the difference whether astringent or non-astringent. Because Fuyu is a non-astringent persimmon and Hachya is an astringent persimmon, but they have seeds in their fruit likewise. So every persimmons don’t always have seeds, with this in mind I will introduce the two unique ways to use persimmon seeds to you.
The first one is a way to use it as an alternative to coffee beans. The way is very simple. Prepare some seeds as much as you need, and place them on a cookie sheet in oven at 350 degrees for 15 to 25 minutes to roast. Stir a few times during this process and remove it and grind it with a coffee grinder or a food processor. That’s all.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell you what’s taste it has. Because I haven’t tried it yet, actually. I just referred to this site. If you have an interest in a persimmon seed “coffee”, why don’t you read the site and try it?
In addition, during the US Civil War, persimmon seeds were used as a substitute for coffee beans. This is because the coffee beans became unavailable to people in the south by the Union blockade. So the Southerners made a coffee with persimmon seeds instead of coffee beans.
The other one is a way to use it as a tool for predicting the weather in winter. Surprisingly, it’s said that a persimmon seed has an ability to predict the weather. Apparently, this lore was mainly believed in the United States. So, actually, I haven’t heard of that lore in Japan, and many people in Japan are probably the same as me. I learned that information from a book, The Perfect Persimmon: History, Recipes, and More. According to the author, Michelle Medlock Adams, the details about it is as follows.
Another bit of folklore that many still embrace as absolute truth is the persimmon seed’s ability to predict the coming winter weather. If the pattern inside a persimmon seed is a spoon shape, that means there will be lots of heavy snow to shovel; a folk pattern indicates the winter will be mild, with dustings of powdery snow; and a knife shape means the winter will be very cold, with cutting winds.
As stated above, the prediction using a persimmon seed was believed in the past times. But now, unfortunately, it is no longer realistic to predict the weather with a persimmon seed. So you might as well just know it as a little tidbit.
Anyway, as seen above, a persimmon seed can be used for an alternative to coffee beans and a tool for predicting the coming winter weather. The second one is a little bit unrealistic, maybe. But the first one is still useful for our lifestyle even now.
Leaf of a persimmon
A leaf of a persimmon is also useful for our lifestyle in the same way as the seed and calyx. There are two ways to use it effectively. I’ll introduce the two ways to you.
The first one is a way to use it as a herbal tea. We can make a herbal tea with some leaves of persimmon. The way to make it is very simple. Pick some young leaves from an oriental persimmon tree in before summer, wash and cut it into some small pieces. And steam it for 10 to 50 seconds. Dry it for three to seven days in shade. It’s done. Now you just have to make a tea with the dried leaves.
The persimmon leaf tea is drunk in Korea, China and Japan. It is called Gamnip-cha (감잎차) in Korea, Shì yè chá (柿叶茶) in China, and Kaki-no-ha cha (柿の葉茶) in Japan. It is more popular in Korea than in China and Japan. In Korea, it is drunk as much as green tea, but in Japan it isn’t well known unlike green tea and other types of tea. So it is rarely seen on a grocery store in Japan, but some Japanese people who love this healthy tea can buy it at an online store like this one (but, this item is not available for shipping outside Japan, unfortunately). So if you live in the outside of Japan, it would be difficult to buy it at online store, maybe. But it is easy to buy Korean’s one like this.
The another one is a way to use it as a tool to prevent foods from rotting. A persimmon leaf has an antiseptic quality, so it can prevent foods from rotting for a while. It is used for making Kaki-no-ha-zushi (柿の葉寿司) which is a type of sushi wrapped by persimmon leaves. By wrapping it with persimmon leaves, it makes the sushi difficult to be rotten for a while. Kaki-no-ha-zushi is generally eaten by the people in Kansai region. Especially, it is popular in Nara, Wakayama and Ishikawa prefecture (actually, Ishikawa is not Kansai region, but it is famous as a local food in Ishikawa like Nara and Wakayama). But, in the outside of Kansai region in Japan, it is a little bit difficult to find them in the ordinary store, because it is not common to eat Kaki-no-ha-zushi in these area compared to Edomae-zushi (this is the typical sushi known as “Sushi” in the world). Anyway, persimmon leaf has an antiseptic quality, and it can be used for preventing foods from rotting. Off course, persimmon leaf is natural, not artificial. The leaves preserving effect is a natural ability, it’s not by a chemicals. So it can prevent foods from rotting without any harm to the human body.
In this way, persimmon leaves can be used for a herbal tea and a tool to prevent foods from rotting. We may be able to use it effectively even in modern society, too.
Conclusion
Persimmons don’t have a wasted part.
They can create the new things from themselves.
As mentioned above, the fruit of non-astringent persimmons can be eaten raw and the fruit of astringent persimmons can be eaten on the state of being ripe, can be used for Hoshigaki, Anpo-gaki, and Kakishibu. The calyx turns to a herbal medicine and the seed changes into “coffee beans”. And the leaves can be used for a ingredient of herbal tea and a tool to prevent foods from rotting.
Persimmons have many uses and many functions. And they give us some attractive gifts which make our lifestyle more meaningful!
Eating or using a persimmon is very suitable for living a Zero Waste lifestyle.
Just 1 persimmon can produce various uses 4 us. And the things that are regarded as a waste can be used as an useful thing. This is really eco-friendly at all.
We can adopt it in our lifestyle very easily. So if you are interested to live a Zero Waste lifestyle, why don’t you try it now?
Enjoy!
References
Adams, Michelle Medlock. 2020. The Perfect Persimmon; History, Recipes, and More. Indiana: Red Lightning Books.
濵崎貞弘. 2016. 『柿づくし』東京：農山漁村文化協会.
