Have you ever heard of kaki?

I remember collecting buckets of persimmon fruit (also called sharon fruit) with the elementary

school children behind the local school where I worked in Japan. It reminded me of how we

pick apples here in Ireland. 

In the past few years I was delighted to see this beautifully coloured fruit in my local supermarket. It is best eaten ripe otherwise it will be hard and bitter. 

To check if it’s ripe just press on the skin and it should be soft to touch. A really ripe persimmon can be eaten by slicing the top off the fruit and scooping out the flesh with a spoon. 

You should try the "Persimmon and White Chocolate Cream" recipe in my cookbook Japanese Food Made Easy. It's so easy and really delicious!