Persimmon is not a fruit: it’s a registered brand of the Fuyu persimmon

The persimmon is not a new fruit: it’s a CO2-treated persimmon

The firm, crunchy persimmon found in supermarkets and the one that turns to mush come from the same tree. Both are fruit of the Diospyros kaki. What changes is not the species, but what happens to the fruit after harvest. The persimmon is not a new variety or a GMO: according to the discussion, it is a registered brand of the Rojo Brillante persimmon from Spain's Ribera del Xúquer region, treated to remove astringency without softening.

What is an astringent persimmon and how can you tell?

The word sounds scary, but describes a common experience: that dry, rough sensation that leaves your mouth feeling like you bit into a green quince. It is caused by soluble tannins in astringent varieties when eaten hard. The Rojo Brillante is the most widespread of this group.

On the other hand are non-astringent varieties, like the Fuyu, which can be eaten crunchy without any treatment. Their problem is commercial: they are smaller and sell less well. That is the key to the whole business. The traditional persimmon, untreated, requires waiting until it ripens and softens; green it dries the mouth, ripe it falls apart. The useful window to sell it is tiny.

What does the treatment for selling firm persimmons involve?

The solution is applied using CO2 chambers, which insolubilize tannins and leave the fruit firm but edible. At home, on a small scale, it has always been done with alcohol vapors: a strong liquor, like cognac, serves the purpose. With this, the persimmon withstands transport and shelf display without turning into jam.

Some argue the treatment can be applied to any variety, regardless of genetics. Other points in the discussion emphasize the opposite: it is not a different fruit, but a process with a commercial name.

Why were thousands of hectares planted with an inconvenient variety?

In Valencia, thousands of hectares of Rojo Brillante were planted, a variety that cannot be eaten crunchy in its natural state. According to one account in the thread, there was a need to amortize that investment somehow, and the treatment was the answer. Thus, a fruit with little commercial outlet originally became sold firm and transportable.

The trace of that cycle remains in the fields. Some say they have heard of abandoned persimmons near a metro stop, fruit no one collects. And not only in the Ribera: the thread notes that the Xúquer river runs about 500 kilometers and empties into Cullera.

The uncomfortable question remains unanswered: if natural persimmons last only a few days under normal conditions, how much of what is bought as fresh fruit is actually fruit, and how much is logistics with a skin?