Persimmon Pudding

After the third year of making this, I simplified in a major way… — Finely chop the persimmons, peels and all, in food processor (no need to puree) and put in a bowl. — In food processor, combine all remaining ingredients, except melted butter, and blend thoroughly (this is an enhanced crepe batter). Add melted butter with machine running. [Reduce sugar to a maximum of 1 cup] — Pour batter over chopped persimmons, blend and bake in buttered pan. Delicious and majorly simplified!

Can one use ripe (mushy) Hachiya persimmons in this recipe?

Just made this for the second time. My notes: -- reduce sugar by half and it's still more than sweet enough; -- no need to strain the persimmon pulp; just use it straight out of the food processor. -- it needs a larger pan than suggested. -- I spread sliced almonds over the top before baking

I don't quite believe this is actually a recipe from someone from Indiana, because Fuyu persimmons don't grow here. Indiana persimmons are small, soft, and squishy, not big and waxy. Hachiya (though no one here calls them that, they're just persimmons). I don't want to disparage this dish, but it's definitely not a recipe for persimmon pudding as you'd find it in Indiana. Here you process pulp from persimmons in a food mill (no need to strain after). After baking it's a deep brown color.

In order to get 2 cups of puree, 2 1/4 lbs fruit is WAY to much by about .6 lbs. For those of us purchasing what is in some locale an exotic fruit, the suggestion to "discard the rest of the pulp" is a huge waste. I would suggest start with 1.5 lbs, mix, measure, then add fruit as you need to make the 2 cups. That said, this is the second Thanksgiving I make this pudding and it is my French pastry chef's daughter favorite, with these changes: scant 1.5 cup sugar, no cinnamon.

Delicious, but a 2-qt dish is way too small (overflowed into oven floor). Needs at least 2.5.

I am asking this question as an Indiana native, why not use the wild persimmon pulp mentioned the the introduction? It is available from Dillman Farms, and would be authentic to the original recipe. BTW, we live in northern Maryland, and there are three persimmon trees within walking distance from our property. I have several quarts of wild persimmon pulp in my freezer.

Ripened three firm large Hachiya persimmons in a plastic bag with an apple for 4 days until very soft. Did not strain the pulp. Plenty sweet with only 1.5 cups sugar, might use less next time. Taste the persimmon pulp. If it’s very sweet, consider less sugar. Needs to cool for quite awhile for easier serving and best consistency. Really great flavor. Found out my supermarket throws out really soft Hachiya persimmons. What a waste.

Superb! Used four persimmons (or 1.5 lbs, which amounted to exactly 2 cups of purée), 1 c. sugar, 3/4 tsp sea salt, and baked in 3 qt (9x13”) pan. Served with freshly whipped heavy cream. Big hit at tonight’s dinner! Note: pudding looked a little wobbly when I pulled it out of the oven after 1 hour and 5 minutes but it was absolutely perfect—moist, soft, and just enough structural integrity to cut into pieces. Lands somewhere between pumpkin pie filling and a “Christmas pudding.”

I would think so, since the recipe calls for pureeing the Fuyus. Flavor might be a bit more bland/sweet than Fuyus, so perhaps add a small squeeze of lemon juice or some fine lemon zest for a bit of zing.

Has anybody tried freezing this? I have a large number of ripe persimmons and a small family ...

Yes, Hachiya persimmons can be used but make sure they are ripe and I suggest you use an extra one since they appear to be a bit smaller. Besides being a great surprise finish to a special meal, serve it warm with vanilla ice cream. That way you can sleep through a boring movie on TV later. Last thought; make sure you have plenty of time to do this dessert, the prep can be overwhelming the first time.

As a Hoosier (Bloomington), this will be way tastier and authentic if you use local native persimmons. Fuyu persimmons are a Japanese variety. Find some at your local farmstand! They also sell persimmon pulp at lots of local farm shops, to save you the work of pitting them (if you choose whole local persimmons, put on a good podcast because you'll be at it for a while).

I cut this recipe in half and it fits in a pie pan. Also sometimes I just use the extra persimmon as liquid and don't put in all the cream. Also, easy to convert to gluten free. It's a pretty flexible recipe.

I used wild persimmons, only 250 g sugar, added zest from one lemon, juice from 1/2 lemon, 1 tbsp bourbon, pinch of salt. Topped pudding with whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup. Delicious!