Sharon fruit

I bought some Sharon fruit or persimmons the other day; they are such a gorgeous colour and are all smooth and shiny and sunny, I just couldn’t resist, then wondered what to do with them! we had some of them raw, I made some of them into a smoothie with yoghurt and lime and some of them I used in a pork dish, which made the meal rather sweet, but in a nice way.

I got to wondering about Sharon fruit.. I know they are named after somewhere in the Bible, so do they come from Israel?  What I didn’t realise that A Sharon fruit is a particular variety of persimmon, a non-astringent one, (astringent ones are the ones which make your mouth pucker) and the name is actually a trade name rather than a variety; the fruit actually originated in China but there are now many varieties and types.. The name persimmon apparently is an Algonquin name… so it’s a real united nations of a fruit!

I came across some rather nice suggestions of what to do with them, they are apparently lovely in salads, splashed with a little lemon or lime juice and served with  salad leaves such as endive or rocket, sand are particularly delicious with shellfish such as prawns or lobster – oh, yum, that really does sound delightful! Less exotically, and more affordable they are good just simple served with herbs such as chilli, coriander or mint, and Feta cheese.