Salad
Dressing
Persimmons Australia is proud to be hosting the 2017 Australian Persimmon Industry Conference & Field Day on 14th and 15th June 2017 in the Sydney Region.
Find out more about this premier Persimmon Industry event in the 2017 Conference Brochure.
Register now by completing the attached 2017 Registration Form and returning it to the PAI Office along with your payment.
PAI thanks you for taking an interest in our event and looks forward to welcoming you to Campbelltown in June!
Australian Persimmon Industry Conference & Field Day
Wednesday, 14th & Thursday, 15th June 2017
Sydney Region, NSW
This two-day industry event offers those interested or new to growing persimmons the opportunity to learn about the growing requirements for this delicious fruit and visit persimmon orchards in the Sydney region. The program will also update established growers from across Australia on recent advances in research and management techniques to improve the productivity and quality of the crop, as well as domestic and export marketing trends.
Other industry stakeholders, including marketers and product suppliers, are encouraged to attend.
This project has been funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia Limited using the research and development persimmon levy and funds from the Australian Government.
Details to be released soon.
Contact: Alison Fuss, Executive Officer, Persimmons Australia Inc, 07 4637 9925 or admin@persimmonsaustralia.com.au
Horticulture Innovation Australia Ltd.
Persimmons Australia
“Win a Tray of Aussie Persimmons” Promotion
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
| Open Date/Time (AEST) | Close Date/Time (AEST) | |
| Week 1 | Monday 13 April, 9.00PM | Friday 17 April, 5.00PM |
| Week 2 | Monday 20 April, 9.00PM | Friday 24 April, 5.00PM |
| Week 3 | Monday 27 April, 9.00PM | Friday 1 May, 5.00PM |
Aussie fruit lovers are in for an incredible autumn with the glorious golden glow emanating from orchards across the countryside signalling the return of one of Australia’s best kept secrets – the persimmon.
Excellent growing conditions fuelled by lashings of sunshine and ample water supplies, thanks to previous wet seasons, have paved the way for a bountiful crop of quality fruit with high sugar levels, excellent flavour and a strong shelf life.
One person impatiently anticipating the harvest of the yellowy-orange orbs is Poh Ling Yeow, persimmon-lover, presenter of ABC’s Poh Lends a Hand, best-selling author and MasterChef all-star.
“Despite the fact that persimmons have been grown here for decades, many Aussies are yet to try this exotic fruit, so this season I’m challenging everyone to be adventurous and give them a go. Persimmons truly are the perfect addition to your autumn eating agenda offering an almost indescribable subtle, sweet flavour and fantastic textures to boot,” she said.
Poh said she grew up eating sweet persimmons, which are best devoured crunchy and firm like an apple, but now also enjoys the original variety, which is ready for eating when the flesh is soft, jelly-like and sweet.
“I think the best way to enjoy persimmons is fresh. I like to peel and quarter the sweet type as it’s a brilliantly clean, tasty and healthy snack. With the original, I love to tear or cut away the calyx, or the top, then scoop into nature’s little bowl of ready-made, sweet, silky jelly.”
“Persimmons also make an amazing addition to salads, adding a delightful crunch and sweetness, and team well with strong cheeses, bitter leaves and nuts. Soft, gooey original persimmons or sweet ones that have gone beyond their firm stage are also great for cooking – just pop them into a cake or muffin mix for an autumnal update to your traditional baked goods,” Poh said.
Along with their flavour credentials, persimmons have double the dietary fibre of apples, are high in anti-oxidants and are an excellent source of Vitamin C and beta carotene.
Original persimmons have been grown in Australia for almost 150 years, most commonly as a decorative tree in domestic gardens, and are known for their large, heart-shaped silhouette and colour, which ranges from pale orange to deep red-orange.
In contrast, the sweet persimmon is round, with a diameter of around 10cm, and has a slightly flattened top. Introduced around 40 years ago, this variety now comprises around 90 per cent of production.
Approximately 2500 tonnes of persimmons are harvested Australia annually with the bulk of fruit grown in Queensland. Other key growing areas include coastal New South Wales, the Goulburn and Murray Valleys in Victoria and South Australia as well as some areas of the south west corner in Western Australia.
Media Contact: Edwina Brook, Crossman Communications, 02 9361 6099 or edwina.brook@crossmancommunications.com.au
Aussies mourning the end of the summer fruit season can look forward to a bountiful supply of Australia’s most exotic fruit, persimmons, available from February through to May.
The recent rains have created favourable growing conditions generating some of the best persimmon tree health seen in years. The golden orchards have now fully recovered from the drought and the growers are predicting an exceptional season full of high quality fruit.
Poh Ling Yeow, presenter of ABC TV’s Poh’s Kitchen, best-selling author and first runner up of the 2009 Australian Masterchef series, can’t get enough of the autumnal fruit.
‘Persimmons are considered a delicacy in my family and I always relish the moment when the season comes around,’ Poh said. ‘I grew up eating the sweet variety and only discovered original persimmons when I came to Australia from Malaysia in 1982.’
‘The two persimmon varieties, sweet and original, are often confused as one but they really do differ in taste, texture and appearance. Sweet persimmons are round and stout with a slightly flattened top like a tomato and can be eaten like a crunchy apple but the original kind is a larger, more elongated, heart-shaped fruit and eaten only when it is completely ripe and the flesh is soft and jelly-like,’ she said.
Poh said despite treasuring the fruit since she was a child, persimmons are still largely unknown in Australia.
‘Both varieties of persimmons have such a beautiful, unique flavour that forever eludes me to describe, so people just need to be adventurous and try one,’ she said.
Poh believes one of the best ways to eat the sweet variety is when they’re crunchy and fresh, peeled and quartered.
‘Persimmons are very versatile in the kitchen and their unassuming sweetness marries brilliantly with flavours like smoked poultry, cured meats, cheese, nuts and bitter salad leaves. They also go very well in South-east Asian style salads, as the ‘sweet’ element, together with hot, sour and salty,’ she said.
‘My favourite autumn recipe involves mixing the pureed, gooey fruit from an original persimmon through muffin or cake batter for a delicious flavour combination,’ she said.
The golden orange gems are a good source of vitamin C and beta carotene, fat free and high in fibre. In fact, a sweet persimmon contains almost twice the amount of dietary fibre in an everyday apple and has higher levels of many minerals and antioxidants.
Original persimmons have been cultivated in Australia for almost 150 years but the sweet variety was only introduced in the late 1970s. Whilst the market here is still young, the oriental charms have been grown for thousands of years, considered native to China, Japan, Korea, Burma and the Himalaya.
Approximately 2500 tonnes of persimmons are produced in Australia annually with Queensland the highest producers. Other key growing areas include coastal New South Wales, the Goulburn Valley in Victoria and the Murray Valley in South Australia as well as some areas of the south west corner in Western Australia.
Health data sourced from: Gorinstein, S. 2001, “Comparative Contents of Dietary Fiber, Total Phenolics, and Minerals in Persimmons and Apples”, Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 953-955
As the leaves begin to change colour and summer fruits all but disappear, orchards full of Australian persimmons are now ripe and ready for all to savour.
Persimmons, Latin for divine food or fruit of gods, have experienced favourable hot and dry weather conditions over the past year, signaling a strong season. And that’s good news for those looking to hold on to the taste of summer!
With favorable growing conditions producing an abundant crop, consumers can expect to find gorgeous brilliant orange and beautifully sweet tasting fruit in store from late February, says Kent Andrew, President, Persimmons Australia Inc.
Persimmons can be enjoyed fresh or used in cooking and their sweet, tropical taste compliments either sweet or savory dishes, such as persimmon and custard tarts or crispy duck and persimmon salad.
Persimmon ambassador and two Assiette hatted Head Chef, Warren Turnbull, is passionate about the beauty of the persimmon and believes their natural sweetness of persimmons pairs well with both sweet and savoury dishes.
Celebrate the persimmon season by savouring their mouth-watering sweetness, says persimmon ambassador Warren Turnbull.
Bite into a sweet persimmons like an apple or add to it to savoury dishes like salsas and salads. Simply combine a sliced persimmon, a handful of spinach and pecans and drizzle with vinegar for a to-die-for salad.
For desserts, the soft, jam consistency of the astringent persimmon can be devoured with a spoon, Turnbull adds. Avoid confusion and being caught short in the kitchen by knowing how to decipher which persimmon is which.
According to Andrew there are two types of persimmons, sweet and astringent. Sweet persimmons (also known as Fuyu persimmon) are eaten crisp like an apple while an astringent persimmon is eaten soft like a pudding.
While it’s no secret luscious persimmons are a delectable delight, the two varieties, sweet and astringent, are often confused as one but differ in taste, texture and looks, he says.
Most easily distinguished by their shape, the sweet persimmon has a slightly flattened top. The astringent has a pointed top and is heart-shaped.
Beyond their visual characteristics, the two persimmon styles differ mostly in their flavour, texture and consistency. The sweet persimmon is a larger, round fruit with a diameter of around 10cm. It ranges in colour from pale orange to a deep red-orange when ripe. The fruit, including the skin, can be eaten when crisp and crunchy.
Astringent persimmons are a smaller, slightly heart-shaped fruit, similar in size to an orange. The pale to burnt-orange coloured fruit is ready for eating and sweetest when the flesh is soft and jelly-like. If this variety is eaten too early, the astringency will make the fruit taste bitter.
These bountiful beauties contain a very high level of antioxidants, comparable with strawberries and blueberries. A great snack at your desk or in the lunchbox, persimmons are also a good source of vitamin A and C, are high in fibre and fat free, added Andrew.
Persimmon are grown in most states of Australia, with major growing regions in south east and sub-tropical QLD, NSW, northern Victoria, north west SA and in south west WA. Queensland is the biggest producer of persimmons in Australia. Earlier season fruit (mid February until April) comes from the north while later season fruit (April to the end of June) comes from the southern region.
Annually Australian persimmon growers produce 2,100 tonnes of persimmons or 10.5 million persimmons (approximately).
Selection
Choose persimmons that are smooth, plump, glossy and well-rounded and with their calyx still attached. The fruit can range in colour from a pale orange to a deep red-orange, depending upon variety and stage of the season. Fruit with surface blemishes are fine to eat as flavour and eating quality is unaffected. Read more.
Handling and Storage
After removing the leaves, prepare the persimmon by slicing the fruit or cutting it into quarters.
Despite being firm to the touch, handle persimmons with care as the thin skin is delicate and bruises easily. Sweet persimmons that have gone soft are perfect for use in cooking but they must be handled gently.
When ripe, persimmons should be stored on their own, out of the fridge.
Note: You may make your own roasted ground rice by purchasing glutinous rice from an Asian grocer and dry toasting 1/2 to 1 cup in a wok or frypan on low heat until a pale golden colour. You must exercise some patience while doing this as a high heat will burn the rice but not toast it all the way through. Do not use any other types of rice as they will be unpalatable and a jaw breaker even after toasting, while glutinous rice will shatter nicely between your teeth. Roasted rice is often added to Thai salads for its beautiful nutty flavour and textural crunch but also for helping very runny dressings adhere to salad ingredients. After toasting, cool, then pound in a mortar and pestle or grind in a spice grinder to a sandy consistency. Store in an airtight glass container for up to 2 months.
Cake
Icing
Special Equipment
26cm fluted ring tin
*To toast pecan nuts, simply chop roughly and then dry toast in a frypan on a medium heat until nice and golden. You may also roast in a pre-heated oven at 160ºC for 5 to 10 mins. Cool before using.