Soft Persimmons This Year

[PersimmonTom]

Our persimmons this year went very soft very quick after harvesting them. We've been harvesting persimmons from three trees for over 10 years. (I think they are fuyu, but not sure. I can send pics) Usually, they are hard. We clean them up (with a cloth) then ship them to the kids and friends in boxes of about 30. They arrive still hard, and we all enjoy them for a about a month or two. (peel the skin off like a potato and cut into pieces and enjoy that way). This year, they all softened really quickly and some were mush when they arrived at our kids' homes. Why is that? Thanks for your help.

 

[Raintree]

Ripening fruit will emit Co2, in a confined package the hypoxia will trigger rapid softening.

 

[pdqdl]

More likely, since past shipping hasn't caused that problem: Freeze damage. Wild persimmons rely on colder weather to mature, and a hard frost helps them become edible. If you had a freezing temperature prior to harvesting, that would be enough to make them go mushy.

I don't know too much about nursery varieties, but the wild persimmon aren't even edible until they turn all brown, wrinkled, and hideous looking. Then the whole fruit has become a delightful sugary treat. The skin is perfectly edible. I think it's the best part of the fruit, but ONLY if they are mature. Otherwise you get that horrible "persimmon-mouth" feeling, where the bitter fruit also sticks to the lining of your mouth and is generally pretty nasty tasting.

Getting some good wild persimmon is quite difficult too, as the squirrels and opposum eat them up before they ripen.