Lasagna
Regina Schrambling
8991 ratings with an average rating of 5 out of 5 stars
8,991
4 hours
Hoshigaki (Dried Persimmons)
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus 1 month to dry
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
Yield:24 persimmons
- 24or more firm, unripe Hachiya persimmons, preferably with long stems to make hanging easy
- Kitchen string, or other thin string
Preparation
- Step 1
Wash the fruit well. Remove the leaves, then use a knife or vegetable peeler to remove the peel from the crown of the fruit around the stem. Continue to peel the entire fruit, leaving the stems intact and cutting out any brown spots. Set up a rack or bar, such as a clean laundry rack, near a window with a large piece of parchment underneath. You should be able to suspend the fruit so they don’t touch one another or any other surfaces.
- Step 2
Tie and sterilize the fruit: Cut a 20-inch piece of thin string for every 2 persimmons and tie the string to the stems of the persimmons using no-slip knots on both ends of each piece. Trim excess string if needed. If the stems aren’t long enough to tie, fix binder clips to the stems and tie those. If the stems aren’t long enough for that, run short bamboo skewers through the tops of the persimmons and tie the skewers. Bring a pot of water to a boil and, holding each piece of string at the center, dunk the fruit for a few seconds, then lift out.
- Step 3
Hang each string over the prepared rack, so the fruit is dangling on either side of the bars, but not touching anything. Ideally, keep the rack in a sunny, dry, well-ventilated spot, either indoors or outdoors.
- Step 4
After a week of drying, you can start to lightly knead the fruit every day, rolling each one gently in clean hands to help it dry evenly. Watch for any mold, which you can remove with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol, and for firm spots, which you can focus on when you knead the fruit.
- Step 5
Over the course of about 3 weeks, the persimmons will shrivel and shrink, and its sugars will come up to the surface and crystallize, forming a white layer. Once the sugar is visible, you can eat the fruit or continue to dry them, and you can stop kneading them. When the fruit is firm and dark and more powdery sugar covers the surface, it’s ready to remove from the drying rack and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month or in the freezer for up to 6 months. It tastes best immediately after drying, when you can slice and eat it as is.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Russ Schnapp
You can certainly dehydrate persimmons. I've done this with Fuyu variety, cutting them into thick disks and then drying overnight. They're delicious. But they are nothing like hoshigaki, which I have also made from both Fuyu and Hachiya varieties. Dehydrated persimmon have a completely different texture and flavor from slow-dried. I am pretty sure that a dehydrator would not yield proper hoshigaki, even if you periodically massaged them. I dry my hoshigaki indoors, in front of a tower fan.
PT
When I have made hoshigaki, I left out the dunking in boiling water to sterilize the fruit. And my persimmons dried beautifully indoors with a fan swirling the air around them, drying them evenly. A spray bottle of vodka does miracles in stopping mold from spreading. Nothing tastes as delicious as a home-dried hoshigaki!
nomad_manhattan
Luckily and conveniently, it is not difficult to buy dried persimmons in NYC in either HK Supermarket or H Mart. J'adore NYC
The Dude
We "dry' ours in our gas oven, where the pilot light creates just enough heat to speed up the process. It typically takes 7-10 days for them to finish, depending on the size of the fruit. If they're particularly large (bigger than an average man's fist), it could take up to two weeks. Pro tip: If using this method, be careful not to over dry, as you may think they need more time, but because they're warm, they're more pliable. They tighten up considerably when they cool. Truly magical when done.
jennifer
We started out dunking in bourbon and got LOTs of mold. Some was hidden inside fruit that seemed okay on the outside. I think it varies greatly on your climate; we are in the Bay Area. Second try, we dunked in boiling water, and brought them inside with a fan on. Much less mold. But we found that it was impossible to remove mold if it started, it just took over. So the people who didn't get mold are lucky. But I don't recommend skipping the boiling water. It's too much work to see it ruined.
The Dude
Also, no need to dunk in boiling water with this method, as we've never had them get moldy. No kneading required either. You want to let the fruit approach ripeness to mitigate the astringency, but have the flesh still be firm so that they can be peeled and maintain they're structural integrity while drying. Do not let the fruit get soft prior to peeling!
Tasha
I tend to become obsessed with rather obscure recipes, and 2 years ago it was hoshigaki's turn. So, in my experience: - I didn't dip them, no mold, but I had them in a place where there was no humidity - It's not necessarily a week of drying initially, but that you have to wait for the outside to become stiff so that you can massage them properly. - Yes, it's called massaging. - They start out firm and then get more pliable, so the massage goes from a gentle squeeze to a bit more squishing.
Tasha
More notes: - The drying process took a lot longer than 3 weeks. Most recipes say a couple of months, and that's how long mine took. - They don't always get the sugar bloom. If they don't, once they're sufficiently dry put them in a mason jar and close it; the bloom will form. - Oh, re: hanging them up. Mine never have enough of a stem, so I work a long screw into the top and hang them from that. Works perfectly!
Tasha
They're likely fine. Mine dry out at different rates, i.e. one part gets darker and the other stays lighter. Are you massaging them every couple of days? I've found that redistributes the flesh such that they dry out more evenly.
Charlie
I was really disappointed in the dried persimmons I recently purchased from H-Mart in NYC. They were almost completely flavorless, and now I feel I must find or make the real thing.
North
Last year we didn't dip in boiling water or vodka and no mold. Tried our first batch this year with same method and entire batch got mold. Started over again (so much work) and dipped in vodka and no mold. Hung indoors with fan in windows with sunlight. Delicious. We highly recommend consuming with a great green tea. The green tea elevates the experience to an even higher level. Synergistic!
Richard
I am in the middle of this process, but I'm not sure if it's working out. The tips of my fruit are much darker and softer than the rest of the fruit, so it seems they are rotting rather than drying out. Should I abandon the process? Thanks for any tips.
Tasha
They're likely fine. Mine dry out at different rates, i.e. one part gets darker and the other stays lighter. Are you massaging them every couple of days? I've found that redistributes the flesh such that they dry out more evenly.
Tasha
I tend to become obsessed with rather obscure recipes, and 2 years ago it was hoshigaki's turn. So, in my experience: - I didn't dip them, no mold, but I had them in a place where there was no humidity - It's not necessarily a week of drying initially, but that you have to wait for the outside to become stiff so that you can massage them properly. - Yes, it's called massaging. - They start out firm and then get more pliable, so the massage goes from a gentle squeeze to a bit more squishing.
Tasha
More notes: - The drying process took a lot longer than 3 weeks. Most recipes say a couple of months, and that's how long mine took. - They don't always get the sugar bloom. If they don't, once they're sufficiently dry put them in a mason jar and close it; the bloom will form. - Oh, re: hanging them up. Mine never have enough of a stem, so I work a long screw into the top and hang them from that. Works perfectly!
RF
Pretty much did this exactly, but the sugar bloom never came. Thoughts?
Tasha
Yes! Put them in a mason jar and seal them in (i.e. with lid on, and leave it that way). Something about that environment will bring out the sugar bloom. The same thing happened to me the first time I made them, and this worked beautifully.
A.L.
My Korean relatives would send these from the Bay Area to our Chicago family each season after buying from an elder who specialized in the home drying technique. So delicious, and a rare instance of reaping the fruits of delayed gratification in this world of instant pleasure! The store-bought kind usually are treated with chemicals and I've never found any that are as good as the home dried version.
jennifer
We started out dunking in bourbon and got LOTs of mold. Some was hidden inside fruit that seemed okay on the outside. I think it varies greatly on your climate; we are in the Bay Area. Second try, we dunked in boiling water, and brought them inside with a fan on. Much less mold. But we found that it was impossible to remove mold if it started, it just took over. So the people who didn't get mold are lucky. But I don't recommend skipping the boiling water. It's too much work to see it ruined.
Dawn
I have been making these for years and have never dunked them in boiling water. This step is probably not necessary, and I’m sure they don’t do it that way in Japan. They make lovely gifts wrapped in tissue paper in a small box.
jennifer
Actually, we've seen youtube videos of people in Japan, and they do dunk it in boiling water. Perhaps you live in a climate where it's not necessary, but in ours, it definitely is to prevent mold.
Nice
A gin bath did not stop a wicked mold bloom. A rum bath followed by a move from the kitchen to the living room (with overhead fan) saved the day. Watching the sugar bloom was euphoric.
Mary from Terry, MS
I have a large Hachiya tree in the side yard. I've dried slices in the food dehydrator but they always retain a tannic flavor so I plan to try this method with whole fruits next year. I usually wait till the persimmons are extremely soft and use the pulp instead of pumpkin puree in recipes. Thank you for this new idea.
The Dude
We "dry' ours in our gas oven, where the pilot light creates just enough heat to speed up the process. It typically takes 7-10 days for them to finish, depending on the size of the fruit. If they're particularly large (bigger than an average man's fist), it could take up to two weeks. Pro tip: If using this method, be careful not to over dry, as you may think they need more time, but because they're warm, they're more pliable. They tighten up considerably when they cool. Truly magical when done.
Abides
Are you drying them whole? Peeling them? Resting them on a drying rack? Please tell us more! I've always wanted to make hoshigaki but it's too labor intensive. I have about 30 ripe hachiyas awaiting their destiny.
The Dude
Also, no need to dunk in boiling water with this method, as we've never had them get moldy. No kneading required either. You want to let the fruit approach ripeness to mitigate the astringency, but have the flesh still be firm so that they can be peeled and maintain they're structural integrity while drying. Do not let the fruit get soft prior to peeling!
Anna
Some people may need to dunk in boiling water to reduce mold. Consider yourself lucky, I'd say!
whew knew
This recipe made me sooo happy!!! I love hoshigaki and who can resist a recipe with obsession thrown in? Not me. I’ve already given a pep talk to my dog. I can’t wait Happy New Year!
Andreas K.
Persimmon Haiku (almost): Dried sweet persimmons. Of a culture so patient. A delicious obsession!
Private notes are only visible to you.
Advertisement
