This delicious persimmon ginger sorbet is easy to make and both looks and tastes great, the zingy ginger complimenting the smooth, fragrant persimmon. Set any thoughts that a winter fruit and frozen treats don't go together aside.
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Persimmon, or sharon fruit as I knew them when I was younger, are something I first tried when I was fairly young in Andorra, of all places. I admit to being a bit confused by this thing that looked a little like an orange tomato. But any hesitating went out the window once I tried the delicious flesh.
It has a wonderfully sweet but not too sweet, almost fragrant flavor. It comes back to me each time I see them in the shops and tempts me to buy them.
Sadly they don't appear all that often. So if I do find one, I generally just eat it. But last time I saw them, I decided to try a bit of a treat with them: this persimmon ginger sorbet.
For reasons I have yet to fully understand, ice cream and sorbets are eaten in large quantities at any time of the year in New England. We had some really nice sorbet not too long ago as a palette cleanser as part of a lovely meal out and it got me thinking about making my own.
It wasn't too long until I came up with this persimmon ginger sorbet. It makes a great seasonal treat or to break up some of the heavy meals that are often part of this time of year.
How to make persimmon sorbet
I admit that I haven't actually made sorbet before but I have been thinking it was something I wanted to try. I can imagine there will be a few requests for ice cream in the years to come and I find a lot of the ones to buy far too sweet and often with some weird ingredients. Plus it's just a nice thing to have in the freezer as a super-quick dessert or treat.
Persimmon ginger sorbet is very easy to make as persimmons are already very soft and sweet. There's also no stringyness or anything else you need to get rid of so it's simply a case of peeling and pureeing them and mixing them with a sugar-syrup base.
I did the manual version of stirring every hour but with an ice cream maker it is even easier, you just leave it to get on with things.
This sorbet has tiny pieces of crystalized ginger in it as the flavor really compliments the persimmon. I tried a plain persimmon version as well which is also good but with ginger is much better.
It adds a bolder taste, a nice little zing, to the fairly mellow persimmon. Together, they are delicious. It also looks great thanks to the beautiful orange of the persimmon.
Tips for choosing persimmon
The one warning I would give is to check which type of persimmon you have as there are two main varieties and they vary in how ripe they need to be to use them. One kind, the dumpy Fuyu, is fine when just a bit tender, like a ripe pear. These would be great here.
However the other, Hachiya (as you see here) needs to be properly ripe. As in starting to bruise and you are worried you might burst the skin when you touch them ripe. These can work here, though only if properly ripe.
The reason I flag it is under-ripe Hachiya persimmon leave a kind of fuzzy feeling on your tongue that still comes through in sorbet. It's both weird in itself, but the fact that you can still taste that it should be delicious is torturous. Believe me, I know from experience.
Other than that, this persimmon ginger sorbet is a very easy and beautiful, tasty addition to any meal. With great flavor and colors, this is bound to impress any guests. They don't need to know about the easy part, I promise not to tell.
Try these other tasty persimmon recipes:
- Easy persimmon appetizer with minted mascarpone
- Persimmon apple cider mimosa
- Winter beet salad with goat cheese dressing
- Jerusalem artichoke and persimmon stuffing
- Plus get more winter recipes in the archives.
Persimmon ginger sorbet
Ingredients
- 2 cups persimmon 480ml, puree, approx 3-6 persimmon, depending on kind
- ⅓ cup water 80ml
- ⅓ cup sugar 80ml
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon crystalized ginger finely chopped, candied ginger
Instructions
- Cut the persimmon in half and scoop out the flesh to leave the skin behind. Puree the flesh until smooth, only a minute or so.
- Put water, sugar and lemon juice in a small pan and warm over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved. Continue to heat for a further minute then allow to cool slightly.
- Add the sugar syrup and finely chopped ginger to the persimmon puree and mix well. Pour into a container to put in the freezer or put in an ice cream maker.
- If using an ice cream maker, just follow the instructions. If doing manually, take the container out of the freezer approximately every hour for about 4 hours until it is pretty well frozen. Each time you take it out, stir the frozen outside pieces into the center and break up any icy lumps and return to the freezer. Leave overnight to freeze fully after the last time you stir.
Nutrition
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Jeannette
This sounds really refreshing. I am looking for different food items to make with my daughter in homeschool. I stumbled upon this and it looks amazing. I actually never heard of persimmon, so thank you so much for showing a picture of them!
Caroline's Cooking
YOu're welcome, hope you'll give it a try! It's pretty easy and tasty too.
Beth Neels
This sounds like a glorious flavor combination! I don't see persimmons often, but the next time I do, I will definitely pick some up because I am dying to try this!
Caroline's Cooking
Do keep an eye out, they have definitely become more popular around here so I'm looking forward to getting some more and making this again myself!
Alisa Infanti
I love sorbets when they are served between courses as a palate cleaner. They are always so refreshing and I love the flavour combination here. Sounds amazing and perfect for Thanksgiving!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, I agree they can make such a great palate cleanser, plus also a nice alternative to ice cream. The flavors here are so tasty.
Amanda Wren-Grimwood
I've never had persimmon in anything but a fruit salad so I'm really intrigued by this. I love ginger so I think this would be a great palate cleanser for Christmas!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, it would be perfect as a palate cleanser, it's such a great gentle flavor.
Kathryn Pfeffer
Such an incredible idea for persimmons! What amazing flavors!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, it's such a delicious combination and so refreshing.
Julie @ HostessAtHeart
I don't think I've ever eaten persimmon. Your sorbet is so pretty. I make ice cream, but haven't made sorbet. I will be though.
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Julie, both the fruit and the sorbet are delicious. Hope you manage to try!
Michelle @ Giraffes Can Bake
I discovered persimmon fairly recently and I baked it in a galette with pear and almond, which was great. But now I need to get my hands on some more to try this because it sounds delicious, I love the addition of ginger. Yum!
Caroline's Cooking
Ooh, that galette sounds great. It's a great fruit and ginger does indeed go really well with it.
Judi Graber
Your pictures make this sorbet look soooo good! I have not used Persimmon very often, but I obviously should. Do you know the names of the varieties? Like pears and apples... I agree your decision to add ginger must have made the flavor stand out, it usually does. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with making sorbet to all of us at FF#46 🙂
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks! Just had a quick check on varieties - fuyu is a bit smaller and rounder and OK when still firm, hachiya is a bit longer and is the kind that needs to be really ripe.