• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

NC Folk

Helping communities across the state connect their heritage arts and traditions to local development, education, and active citizenship

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Home
  • Explore
    • So You’re New Here: A Guide
    • Shop NC
    • NC Food Blog
    • NC Field Blog
  • Resources
    • Exhibits
    • Folk Artist Directory
    • Publications & Reports
    • Handbook for North Carolina Folk and Traditional Artists
  • Connect
    • Inside NC: The NC Folklife Podcast Series
    • Press
  • About
    • What We Do
    • History
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Contact
  • Donate

Time for Persimmon Pudding

by Ray Linville

Cool temperatures mean fall fruits and vegetables. When the summer temperatures drop, one tree becomes more noticeable as its round fruit ripens and takes on an orange-brown hue. Is it time to pick persimmons and make pudding?

Many of us remember days from childhood when we asked if the persimmons could be picked. Impatiently we had to wait until the fruit was ready. Picked too early, persimmons can leave a sharp or bitter taste. As many children learn, being patient and giving persimmons a long period to ripen (sometimes as long as until the first frost occurs) can improve the flavor. The extended time increases the sugars and decreases the acids that cause the bitterness.

Persimmons recently picked and on display at the Colfax Persimmon Festival.
Persimmons recently picked and on display at the Colfax Persimmon Festival.

The key to enjoy this fruit is to avoid an immature persimmon as unknowingly Captain John Smith did in the Jamestown Colony  when he tasted the attractive fruit that caught his attention. However, because that persimmon that was so unripe, his observation was less than positive, and he described it as a fruit that draws “a man’s mouth awry with much torment.”

Generations of Southerners have been taught to be patient. Wait, wait, wait. If we do, we can appreciate the rich flavor as well as its sweetness – in fact, among fruits the persimmon’s sugar content is exceeded only by that of dates. When my children were young, their favorite time to visit my hometown of Winston-Salem was the fall when persimmon pudding was always the dessert. We would even canvas the backyard to pick up persimmons that had recently fallen to save for another time.

The star of the festival is persimmon pudding.
The star of the festival is persimmon pudding.

Such a delicious fruit deserves a party, and on the first Saturday each November in Guilford County, dedicated persimmon fans celebrate with a festival started by Gene Stafford in 2008. Held on his family farm that dates to the Revolutionary War, the event — the Colfax Persimmon Festival – takes its name to honor not only the fruit but also Colfax, a community now part of the town of Oak Ridge that was incorporated about 15 years ago on the outskirts of Greensboro.

Although the persimmon is the star, chicken stew is a crowd pleaser.
Although the persimmon is the star, chicken stew is a crowd pleaser.

Persimmons are the main attractions, although many festival-goers line up first for chicken stew, Brunswick stew, or ham biscuits. The next choice is usually a persimmon treat – typically pudding but cookies, bars, and breads are also tempting.

Packages and packages of persimmon pulp are sold at the festival.
Packages and packages of persimmon pulp are sold at the festival.

The big delight of the festival, however, is the chance to buy persimmon pulp (that can be kept frozen for an extended time). Lines form early and sales are brisk. (If you truly enjoy the annual pleasure of picking and smashing the fruit to extract the skin and seed, skip the line initially but reconsider how much work is required to prepare the pulp.)

The festival itself is a celebration of N.C. folklife. Brunswick stew cooks slowly over an open fire in a huge kettle, and cider is made by crushing apples. In addition to food and music, traditional crafts — arrowhead making, blacksmithing, wood turning, and pottery — are demonstrated.

American persimmon trees are on sale for aspiring gardeners.
American persimmon trees are on sale for aspiring gardeners.

At the festival some people who recently moved to North Carolina are surprised how small the American persimmon is. This fruit, which is native to this state and other areas in the eastern United States, is dwarfed by its much larger Asian relative, which is widely cultivated and frequently found in grocery stores. However, it’s the American variety that holds such fond memories for most of us.

After at least one serving of persimmon pudding, everyone is ready to rest and listen to music.
After at least one serving of persimmon pudding, everyone is ready to rest and listen to music.

When the fruit begins to fall, you have to scamper quickly. It doesn’t last on the ground much more than about two days. The easy step is picking the fruit off the ground after it has fallen from a tree. Next the hard task awaits – pushing the fruit through a sieve to reveal its mushy texture and to separate the skin and seed. Only pudding that soon is prepared makes this task worthwhile.

Gene Stafford, festival founder and organizer, takes a momentary break to listen to traditional music.
Gene Stafford, festival founder and organizer, takes a momentary break to listen to traditional music.

The resourceful family uses persimmons for more than only pudding. Bars, breads, cookies, fudge, jam, jelly, and pie are popular. However, in my family, every ounce of pulp is guarded and saved for the favorite – persimmon pudding.

______________________________________________

Enjoy this recipe from the early 1900s passed down by several generations in my family.

Persimmon Pudding

Ingredients:
2 cups persimmon pulp
2 eggs
1½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cup flour
1½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter

Directions: Mix pulp, eggs, milk and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients and then stir into pulp mixture. Stir in melted butter. Bake at 350 degrees in greased 9×13-inch pan about 60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the pan comes out clean.

______________________________________________

RESOURCES

American Persimmon

Colfax Persimmon Festival

Common Persimmon

Persimmons Are an Easy and Tasty Fruit

North Carolina Persimmon Growers

Persimmon Provisions

Real Food Right Now and How to Cook It: Persimmons

Stalking the Wild Persimmon

______________________________________________

Ray Linville is an associate professor of English and humanities at Sandhills Community College in Pinehurst, NC, and serves on the board of the N.C. Folklore Society. Read more about Ray’s ramblings at his blog: Sights, Sounds and Tastes of the American South.

Related

Filed Under: Central NC, Destinations, Food, Recipes, Uncategorized Tagged With: Colfax NC, Colfax Persimmon Festival, festival, fruit, Gene Stafford, Guilford County, persimmon pudding recipe, persimmons, pudding, Ray Linville

About deborah-old

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Patricia Strupe says

    September 29, 2014 at 9:29 am

    Thank you and oh, how the persimmons bring back wonderful family memories!!! My family will be attending the Colfax Persimmon Festival this year for the first time and we are very excited!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Reply
  2. deborah mcintosh says

    May 27, 2015 at 11:53 am

    where can i persimmon pulp in n.c.?

    Reply
  3. Alice Ritchie says

    October 30, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    Cooking a persimmon pudding as of this writing. Got 2 cups of pulp from the persimmon tree behind our house. And still more that can fall from tree.

    Reply
  4. K says

    November 30, 2020 at 11:19 pm

    You should check out Mitchell, IN for their 75 annual persimmon festival this year. http://persimmonfestival.org/?page_id=2#.X8V9hbwo7IY

    Reply
  5. Eva says

    October 28, 2022 at 8:55 pm

    WHERE CAN I GET PERSIMMON PULP NOW THAT I AM IN TEXAS? I WOULD LOVE TO ORDER SOME!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Copyright © 2023 NC Folk · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design