As it turns out, fruits don't like winter. I don't blame them. I do as well, if I'm huddled under a blanket with hot tea and Netflix, but then I have to choose between wearing a cute outfit and freezing to death to go to school. Persimmons and Pomegranates are really the only fruits still able to be harvested this late in the season. And even then, the trees that I got with my volunteers were late bloomers–maybe something to do with the drought.
All things considered, picking pomegranates was pretty fun. They're big enough that you don't have to search for them and you can just clip them off the tree. They are rather delicate, so I could avoid just tugging them down. That would most likely tear the top of the pomegranate, and that's a little unappetizing for prospective eaters.
Maybe I should give picking tips in this blog. I've definitely done enough picking to gather at least something helpful. For example, I have learned the hard way that pomegranate trees have thorns. Of course, it was the one day out of the entire winter that I decided to wear short sleeves. Don't try to ignore the thorns and pick anyway, you will end up with scratches all over your hands and arms.
The persimmons were a good deal more mushy than the pomegranates, which isn't very surprising. We had to be careful with this tree because it was very large and very old.
The persimmons ripened at different times, so we just best guessed which ones were ready or not. Typically, with persimmons, you're looking for the ones that are pretty violently orange and can come off the tree with one or two light twists. They should pop off with a bit of pressure that way without taking the branch with it. Of course, this depends on how you like your persimmons and how much you're willing to risk the tree when tugging them off. I'm personally willing to risk a good couple branches, but I was much more careful with this tree because it's a, not my tree, and b, very, very ancient. It was also very tall, so we used a very rickety ladder. We had a few close calls, I think my life flashed before my eyes at least twice that day. The owners of the tree had a really cute rescue dog that didn't seem to like stranger's in its backyard very much, if it's barking was anything to go by. But it didn't bother us and soon calmed down.
Quick tip from an Asian mom that loves persimmons: if you think your persimmons are going to go bad before you can eat them all, freeze them! This doesn't only preserve them, but the texture is similar to ice cream when you take it out let it defrost a bit. Healthy dessert! And if you want to step that dessert up a little, you can never go wrong with a little vanilla ice cream.
And that's it for the day! This is probably the last post I'm going to be able to make until later in the spring when the season comes back around. Until next time!
All the love,
Carrie
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