Thursday, November 19, 2009

Food Gallery

During the fall, there might not be a lot of fruits and vegetables like summertime but it’s a season that, to me, seems to have the most romantic fruits. Things like the luscious fig or the bejeweled pomegranate or the shapely pear.

Another one is the persimmon with its distinctive shape and color. I can’t say I’m a big fan of eating persimmons because it’s definitely a fruit that is tricky to eat since you have to time it right to get the perfect taste and texture. But the persimmon is definitely one elegant food model, which is why I decided to do a shoot recently with the fuyu persimmon (the squat-looking variety that’s eaten crisp like an apple).

I’ve seen lots of blogs posting about baking persimmons into muffins and breads, but since I’m not a big baker, I typically eat my persimmons in a salad. Below I made an amazing persimmon salad with wild arugula (or what Jamie Oliver would call “rocket”). What took the salad over the top was the simple vinaigrette I made using a bottle of Napa Valley pear-rosé vinegar I bought at the Tyler Florence shop in Mill Valley. The fruity vinegar totally enhanced the sweet persimmons that were balanced by the peppery arugula.

So what do you do with persimmons?

8 comments:

Nate @ House of Annie said...

peel 'em, slice 'em and eat 'em!

Hungry Dog said...

Beautiful photos! And I agree about fall fruit, I love the colors and shapes.

I like them in salads, too. Recently I made cranberry-persimmon muffins, and a persimmon chutney.

Anonymous said...

good....................................................................................................

Kim said...

Is it just me or are your photos getting better and better?

Single Guy Ben said...

Thanks HD and Kim! Nate/Annie, yeah, I think just eating them fresh is the best!

egg to the apples said...

beautiful photos!

Unknown said...

Your persimmon pictures are beautiful! Eating them fresh is the best way!

Carolyn Jung said...

I favor the crunchy persimmons like you do, too. And yup, I use them in salads. They're especially great if you have any kind of nut oil -- like walnut, almond, or even pumpkin seed.