Persimmon is a delicious fruit that is associated with frost and has a lot to do with one of our traditional health concepts - "food supplements". There are two important reasons for eating persimmons during frost. This is the season when persimmons are on the market in large quantities, and persimmons that have experienced frost are delicious. Vegetables and fruits that have been frosted will taste more delicious.
1. Eating persimmons during frost is good for health
There is a saying among the people: "If you eat persimmons during frost, you will not have a runny nose." Some people also say that if you eat red persimmons on frost, your face will also be clear. Become as red as a persimmon. In our traditional concept of health preservation, we need to eat different foods during different solar terms. Most of these foods are seasonal fruits and vegetables, or foods processed from them.
Persimmons are a late autumn fruit that mature around the time of frost. There are many types of persimmons, including round ones, flat ones, some that can be eaten after being softened, and some that are crispy and can be eaten directly without putting them in. The persimmons I ate when I was a child were round persimmons produced locally, and they needed to be softened before they could be eaten. As a reminder, if you encounter persimmons that need to be softened before you can eat them, don’t bite them raw before they are ripe, otherwise your mouth will be numb. Don't ask me how I know this, just ask, just experience it myself. Later I will add some tips on how to ripen persimmons.
I don’t know whether it’s because of eating the fruit, or because eating persimmons during the frost is indeed good for health. Whenever persimmons are in season, my complexion will be much better.
2. Advantages of buying persimmons during frost
Persimmons mature around the time of frost and are in season during the frost period. There are two major advantages. One is freshness. There is nothing fresher than freshly picked fruits, unless we hold the branches and eat them. The other is cheap. When persimmons are on the market in large quantities, we can buy high-quality and low-priced persimmons.
Frost persimmons are more delicious. Vegetables and fruits that have been frosted will taste more delicious. The reason is that they contain starch (not sweet themselves). After frost, the starch inside will hydrolyze at low temperatures and turn into sugar (sweet), giving fruits and vegetables their own sweetness.
3. Methods of Ripening Persimmons
Persimmon is a delicious fruit. Apart from peaches, persimmons may be my favorite fruit. The love for persimmons may also have a certain relationship with genetics. There are two main types of persimmons sold in the market, soft persimmons and crisp persimmons. Soft persimmons must be eaten cooked, otherwise they will taste astringent. Crispy persimmons can be eaten directly. The waiting time is always excruciating, so here are a few ways I know to speed up ripening.
Soak the persimmons in rice
The rice vat ripening method. Bury our unripe persimmons in a rice vat. The green or yellow ones will turn red within a few days. When I was a child, I often dug out my own rice bag. Every day when I was waiting for my meal after school, I would dig it out to see if there were any ripe persimmons. When I saw a ripe persimmon, I would take it out. This is probably the penultimate encounter between it and its other brothers and sisters soaked in rice. The last time was in my belly.
Herbal Ripening Method. I have the impression that there is a kind of grass growing in the fields that can be used to ripen persimmons. But I forgot the name, so I searched for it. The grass I found is a little different from what I remembered, but it can also ripen persimmons. Its name is Polygonum vulgaris, and soaking green persimmons can achieve a ripening effect. The most recent picture below is of Polygonum vulgaris.
Fruit ripening method. If you put apples and persimmons together, you can ripen the persimmons. I am familiar with this method. After all, I have also used this method to ripen bananas purchased online. The principle is that the phytochemicals and ethylene in apples have the effect of accelerating ripening (both taught in high school chemistry and biology classes). If you don’t like apple-flavored persimmons, it is recommended to use the first method. Put it together with apples, and the smell is inevitable.
Grass for ripening persimmons
Finally, a warm reminder, although there are many benefits of eating persimmons during frost, do not eat persimmons on an empty stomach or eat too many persimmons. If you eat too many persimmons, you may turn into a minion, which will take a week or two to get rid of. It is also strongly recommended that expectant mothers eat persimmons in moderation. I don’t know if it was because my mother ate too many persimmons before giving birth to me, which caused me to look like a cantaloupe when I was born. There was a mesh-like film on the surface that took a month to wash off.