I fell in love with persimmons about 25 years ago when I lived in California and found a dripppingly sweet Hachiya hanging on a tree while taking a shortcut to a friend's for Thanksgiving. As soon as I touched it, it fell into my hands. It was so ripe it was almost liquid; it was like holding a handful of warm caramel. I ate the whole thing right there, and it was incredible -- like a new flavor that I hadn't ever experienced. Since then I've moved to New England, and have planted 7 of our native persimmon trees. The fruit is smaller, but maybe even more delicious than that Hachiya. <br /> <br />I've tried a lot of recipes to best show off the beautiful flavor of a ripe persimmon, and my favorite is this steamed persimmon pudding. This recipe is a combination of many, but most closely resembles a recipe from Martha Stewart. Mostly I reduced spices so that the persimmon flavor isn't overwhelmed, and made simplifications where I found it didn't effect the end result. If you've never had a steamed pudding, that is reason enough to make this; warm, rich and almost light (I'm trying to say not dense). I make one every year at Thanksgiving using my own persimmons, which I let ripen until they fall off the tree (see the wrinkled photo), but I also have made it with store bought Hachiyas, and the difference is minor.

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