Twice a month this Mad Meat Genius manages the Richmond Farmers Market. One fantastic perk of being involved with the market is coming home with the freshest in season produce. Persimmons are in the market right now There are two different varieties of persimmons the Fuyu and Hachiya. The Fuyu variety can be eaten crisp like an apple. The Hachiya needs to be fully ripened to the soft stage before it can be eaten.The Japanese have a method of drying the Hachiya called Hosigaki and is considered a delicacy. These persimmons are air dried and believe it or not periodically massaged. This is a labor intesive process hence a high price tag if you can even find them. This sounds like a good experiment for me.
As some of you may know I am a big fan of the late great Huell Howser. He is my inspiration for this experiment. He toured a persimmon farm and they created Hosigaki. There is a link below if you would like to watch this episode. The process is fairly simple. You peel the Hachiya persimmon. A string is tied around the stem. The stringed, peeled persimmon is hung in a dry warm place. The first week they are left alone. Then for the next several weeks they are then gently massaged until they are dried to the desired texture. This can take up to two months. I have done the initial steps. Stay tuned and hopefully we will have created Hosigaki.
Huell Howser and Hosigaki
That's the shizzle!
ReplyDeleteAnd, it doubles as a festive holiday decoration. I am interested to see how this turns out.
ReplyDeleteWe have two wild persimmons in the woods and the fruit just ends up going to waste on the ground.
ReplyDeleteYou must be happy Chilebrown. Raiders beat the Niners. No matter how many times I say it, it just sounds strange...
ReplyDeleteGreg, Shizzle the Nizzle, I guess?
ReplyDeleteThree Dogs BBQ, Yesterday's glorious victory from the Oakland Raiders was nut just a win but brought pride back to the East Bay. The majority of my 49er friends are just plain obnoxious. A few of them have gone into hiding, some are in denial and a few have graciously excepted their ass-whoopin.
Big Dude, Maybe Hosigaki creation will be in your future. The Fuyu varieties dry well with a dehydrator.
What is this fascination the Japanese folks have with massaging their food? First Kobe, now persimmons? Hell, can't argue against it, the results are awesome!
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