My hometown is in the west of Guanzhong, mainly producing wheat, corn, sorghum, millet, buckwheat and so on. In that era when food was the key link, I had no impression of orchards when I was a child. Nothing more than a few peach trees and pear trees planted in the west, several apple trees or a pomegranate flower planted by the host family, apricot trees, peaches and jujubes scattered on the back of the earthen kiln and on the ridges of people on the hillside. Therefore, when I was a child, my memory of fruit was that the wheat yellow season was full except climbing the wall and stealing other people's peaches and pears.
Persimmon tree is the most common fruit tree in my hometown, which usually grows in front of the house or behind the ditch slope. Fertile land has nowhere to live. I'm afraid its crown will make the crops under the tree delicate and short, and reduce the yield. Therefore, persimmon seedlings sprouting in the ground will be pulled out by hoes, or uprooted by hoes early. Only sand slopes or fields covered with ginger stones have their tall and swaying figures.
Every early spring, the dry and rugged persimmon tree, combed by cold wind and bathed by winter snow, quietly emerges fluffy yellow and light green leaves from its branches, sticking its head out like a green caterpillar carefully. At this time, the shady branches of persimmon trees still have unmelted winter snow. These young leaves, inadvertently, gave the tree a green color. On the persimmon tree, in addition to the old leaves growing on the branches, there will be four leaves clustered into quadrangles on the branches, which is where persimmons breed. Soon, surrounded by quadrangular green leaves, quadrangular bright yellow flowers will bloom, and the stamens are also bright yellow, which is very lovely. When the persimmon withers, the blue persimmon will grow out. The persimmon is too dense and will be found soon.
Persimmon trees are divided into different varieties. When they don't bear persimmons, it's hard to tell them apart. The trees are covered with dark green glossy leaves, which are plump, thick and rich in texture, and the thick green is covered with uneven branches. The old persimmon tree, steady and stout, sits firmly in the field like a kind old man. Squamous bark wrapped around the tree, flourishing, erected a green barrier for the field. Dense leaves blocked the burning eyes of the sun and created a shady place under the tree. After a day of exposure, the once fresh and moist leaves seem to be squeezed dry by the scorching sun and become dry and withered. The next morning, the green leaves of the trees were full of vitality and heroism.
Persimmons grow when they see the wind, and soon you will naturally tell which are delicate and round cup-shaped persimmons and which are square persimmons. Cupping persimmon, the size of a finger egg when I was a child, becomes oval, round and lovely when I grow up, and the big persimmon is divided into different shapes, including a round square, a square with grooves on its four sides, and an extra layer on it, like a pagoda. Persimmons are getting bigger and heavier, resulting in lower branches than usual. The whole parasol hangs down on all sides, and people can pick persimmons as soon as they reach out. Sometimes when you pass by a tree, hard persimmons will hurt people's foreheads.
In late autumn, persimmons with three ditches and five beams are all red all over the mountain, making the leaves on the trees bright red. The autumn wind has passed and fallen, which really has the charm of red maple in late autumn. At this time, it is simple to delete the complex, the fruits are numerous and the leaves are sparse. Persimmons, whether cup-shaped or huge, are smiling faces, greet pedestrians with applause from leaves, proudly show off and present gifts to this season.
It's time to thank (pick) the persimmon. If you don't thank them, those soft persimmons will fall under the tree and break into powder. But some persimmons were pecked out of their holes by greedy tits, flower magpies, sparrows and crows before they softened, especially the most popular persimmons on the treetops. Experienced farmers eat soft persimmons pecked by birds. In addition to feeling pity and being afraid of wasting, there is another reason, that is, birds will always be human teachers in tasting the sweetness of fruits.
In fact, people began to make persimmons before they matured and softened. They tied persimmons to bamboo poles with clips bent with iron wire, sometimes in a string, then clipped them down with leaves and twigs, and brought them back in wicker baskets. Of course, when thanking persimmons, people should not forget that some persimmons are consciously left on the tips of persimmon trees for the birds to share. Birds, like people, are eager to see persimmons mature and soften, and have been waiting for a season in their longing.
Persimmons are shipped home, and big persimmons are put in baskets that even sparrows can't get in and hung on the beams. Persimmons in cupping are tied up with branches and leaves and hung on the stigma, waiting for time to turn them red and soft, and then they will eat persimmons around the stove during the Spring Festival. If there are big persimmons, why don't you find a big urn or vat, lay a layer of wheat straw under it and fill it with leaves, and then boil the water to 70-80 degrees Celsius? Spoon the persimmon until it is submerged, then cover it with wheat straw and cover it tightly with a wooden pot cover. Eight or nine days long, five or six days short, and you can still eat sweet and crisp persimmons. Where we come from, we call it. Warm persimmon? . I remember that my brothers and sisters were always eager to eat persimmons. After a day or two, they tried their best to lift a corner of the lid, reached in, fished out a persimmon in warm water, took a bite, spat out a bitter and sticky tongue, and threw the astringent persimmon into the jar. Father saw it from a distance and waved. We all fled in all directions, even forgetting the lid.
In addition to eating warm persimmons yourself, you can also pick them from the laundry list and sell them in the market. At this time, the naturally mature persimmons have not softened. However, in ten and a half months, naturally mature soft persimmons went on the market. In winter in Guanzhong, when fruits are scarce, red persimmons occupy two rows of a street, which has become a landscape of the fruit market, including cup-shaped persimmons (or red-hot persimmons) and large persimmons. Customers touch here, pinch there, and talk about hardness or price. Some can't hold it. They put their fingers into the persimmon and squeezed out the persimmon juice, but they didn't want to buy it. They smiled awkwardly. The old man selling persimmons, wearing an old white melon skin hat soaked with sweat, generously said that it was not delicious, not delicious (it doesn't matter), while taking the persimmon and peeling it neatly from the tip to the pedicle. The thin persimmon skin was pulled out nearly a foot, continuously, like magic. Then, he put the peeled persimmon into his mouth, not biting it, but gently. Another saying comes from eating persimmons. The old lady eats persimmons and chooses soft ones. ? It not only conforms to the common sense of life, but also has profound meaning. Because the old lady and the old man have lost their teeth after years of life, they can only eat raked persimmons and can't bite their teeth. Are those hard and brittle? Warm persimmon? Only young people with good mouths can enjoy it. Of course, there are many ways to eat persimmons, such as making persimmons, which can be preserved for a long time and exported to other places. Consumers in Xian Yi are suitable for all ages. I remember the process of making persimmons as a child was full of fun. Take mature cup-shaped persimmons or large persimmons, and peel them dry with a knife, leaving only the hard shell and dry handle at the back of the persimmon butt. Expose them in the sun or dry them in the shade of the house, and they will soon become soft. Bite in your mouth, soft and chewy.
However, whether it is naturally softened raked persimmon, or artificially made warm persimmon or persimmon, the taste after eating has some astringency. If you eat too much, it will stick to the tongue coating, and it will be as astringent as the tongue coating becomes thicker. Maybe this is the taste of authentic persimmons. When talking about the medicinal value of persimmon, Chinese medicine also mentioned that persimmon is sweet and astringent, cold in nature, and has the functions of clearing away heat and dampness, moistening lung and resolving phlegm, quenching thirst and promoting fluid production, strengthening spleen and stopping dysentery, and stopping bleeding. It is also a natural health food for chronic tracheitis, hypertension and arteriosclerosis. Diospyros kaki decoction or tea can also promote metabolism, lower blood pressure, increase coronary blood flow, relieve cough and resolve phlegm. It can be seen that persimmons are all treasures. Needless to say, the green leaves of persimmon trees can be used as feed, and dried branches and leaves can also be used as fuel.
It seems that everything is born. As far as fruit is concerned, it is not only sweet, but also bitter, spicy and bittersweet. Perhaps the characteristics and personality of persimmons are sweet and astringent, first sweet and then astringent. If there is only a crisp and sweet taste left, and it can't be softened, it will be eaten in a hurry, and eating persimmons will probably lose a lot of fun.
It can be seen that not all plants or fruits are suitable for improved varieties, and they all need disorderly grafting to become neither donkey nor horse. It is also good to import things with foreign names. Maybe something doesn't suit China people's stomach, which will spoil our taste.
Let persimmons be persimmons and apples be apples. I miss persimmon trees born and raised on hillsides and ditches when I was a child, and I like the sweet and sour taste of persimmon, because this taste is always filled with a lingering homesickness!