How to Soak Persimmons So They Last Through Winter? A Detailed Guide to Soaking and Storage Methods

Persimmon is a fruit we often eat in autumn. Its flavor, mildly sweet with a tart astringency, is just like the taste of life. China is also a major grower of persimmon trees, with a nationwide cultivation area of 200,000 hectares. They are extremely adaptable and can grow in mountainous areas with poor natural conditions, and they also have good ecological, economic and medicinal value. So how should persimmons be soaked so they last through winter?

1. How to soak persimmons so they last through winter

Persimmons cannot be soaked for an entire winter. Generally, pick persimmons from the tree just as they change color and are still hard, soak them in 80-degree non-boiling water for five minutes, then wait for the water temperature to drop quickly to 40 degrees, take them out and put them in a crock, seal it and place it in a ventilated spot for three to five days, after which they can be taken out and eaten. Their flavor is sweet and crisp with a fruity aroma. However, leaving persimmons for a long time will also cause them to rot. If you want persimmons to last through winter, you can store them in a refrigerator at 7-13 degrees. Alternatively, use mechanical frozen storage, that is, place the persimmon fruit in a -20°C cold storage room for 24 hours to 48 hours, and after the persimmons are completely frozen hard, put them into a -10°C cold storage room for storage. The storage period is about 3-4 months.

Persimmons have a history of nearly a thousand years in China, and are mainly made into dried persimmons for eating. The Book of Rites, Inner Regulations specifies that persimmon was one of the 31 delicious foods eaten daily by the ruler. The Northern Song poet Zhang Zhongshu praised persimmons: “Its flavor surpasses the fragrant stems of Hualin, its color combines the deep red of Yangjing.” A thousand years of propagation have led to a great variety of persimmons in China. According to a national survey of persimmon resources, China has 1058 varieties of persimmon, many of which are unique to China.

2. The value of persimmons

When persimmons are eaten, besides our usual direct eating and making them into dried persimmons, they can also be made into products such as persimmon wine and persimmon vinegar, with a very fragrant and appealing flavor. In traditional Chinese medicine, persimmons can stop bleeding and lubricate the bowels, ease the swelling and pain of hemorrhoids, and lower blood pressure. Li Shizhen said in the Compendium of Materia Medica, “The persimmon is the fruit of the spleen, lung and blood aspects. Its flavor is sweet and its qi is astringent; its nature is astringent and able to gather, so it has the effect of strengthening the spleen, astringing the intestines, treating cough and stopping bleeding.” In terms of landscaping, the trunk of the persimmon tree is gnarled and twisted, with a vicissitudinous, far-reaching temperament. After the leaves fall, the persimmon fruits remain a deep red and do not drop, like little lanterns hanging from the treetops, with excellent ornamental effect.

The above is some related trivia about persimmons. When eating persimmons, it is best to eat them as soon as they are ripe and not leave them for too long. If it is not necessary, you can buy fresh persimmons from the market.