This Fuyu Persimmon Preserve is a little sweet, a little tart, and simply perfect on buttered toast. Unlike my delicious persimmon jam recipe, this yummy preserves has a chunkier, almost pudding-like texture that can also be served as a topping!
Every year I get Hachiya persimmons from my friend, Roselyn. I use them to make persimmon jam and persimmon bread.
Recently, Scott brought home limes and Fuyu persimmons from a friend at work. Since I'd never tried Fuyu persimmons, I was really excited to try them. And as you can see, so was Mr. Whiskers!
Fuyu persimmons have a firm texture that can be compared to a juicy mango. Similar to an apple, the thin skin is edible, however, some people prefer to peel them before eating them. Personally, I don't mind the skin or the extra fiber it provides!
I have now made this recipe a few times. I've tried it both with peeled and unpeeled persimmons. Although I like it both ways, if you're bothered by a rough texture, you may want to peel them first.
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- Persimmon preserves is delicious and easy to prepare!
- You only need about 8 persimmons to make three 8-ounce jars of preserves. I actually got 3 ½ jars!
- Persimmon preserves make great gifts for friends and family.
- Because persimmons are already high in pectin you won't need to add any additional pectin to thicken the preserves.
- If you use the water bath canning method to process the preserves it should be shelf stable for up to 1 year.
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredients And Substitutions
- Fuyu Persimmons: Fuyu persimmons have a firmer texture than ripe hachiya persimmons. The persimmons get darker as they ripen and eventually get squishier, although their pulp does not get as mushy as Hachiya persimmon pulp.
- Lemon: You'll need ¼ cup of lemon juice, or the juice from one medium lemon along with the zest of the same lemon. Make sure to zest the lemon before juicing it. It's way easier that way!
- Spices: I usually add cinnamon and cardamom powder to the preserves, but if you prefer just the clean flavor of persimmons you can leave out the spices.
🍯 How to Make Fuyu Persimmon Preserves
Step 1: Wash, peel, and chop the persimmons (or leave the skin on like I did). Add to a medium-sized pot and cover with five cups of cool water. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, or until fork tender.
Step 2: Drain the liquid from the pot then add sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
Step 3: Simmer the preserves over low heat for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash the persimmons with a potato masher or use an immersion blender to get the consistency that you prefer. When the syrup is reduced and thickened the perserves is ready.
Step 4: Using a funnel, ladle the preserves into three 8-ounce sterilized mason jars; leave ¼ inch headspace. Run a knife along the edges of the jars to remove bubbles. Hand tighten and add to a boiling water bath canner. Make sure the water level is at least a few inches over the jars. Process in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
Pro Tip: Add 5 additional minutes for every 1000' above 3000' in elevation. Check the seals and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Fuyu persimmons are a lot milder in taste than the Hachiya variety. Hachiya persimmons aren't fit to be eaten until very ripe, due to the high tannin content. By the time they're ripe, the flavor is quite intense!
Fuyu persimmons, in comparison, can be eaten when they're still firm, but have a milder taste. If you let them continue to ripen, they will have a softer consistency and a more intense flavor.
Fuyu persimmons don't need to be peeled, but some people prefer to. The peel is nutritious and thin enough to bite into. Similar to apples, Fuyu persimmons can be eaten with or without their peel.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- It took me a few tries to perfect this recipe. In my first attempt, I peeled and sliced the persimmons, then cooked them in the sugar/lemon mixture. Although the persimmon preserves had a great flavor, the persimmon was not very tender. For this reason, I recommend boiling the persimmons first before simmering them with the sugar and spices.
- If you prefer an even smoother texture, you can use a food processor to puree the chopped persimmons before you cook them. If you use this method, you won't need to boil and strain the persimmons first.
- Stir this delicious preserves into yogurt or oat meal. You can also drizzle it over pancakes and ice cream.
🍇 Related Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Fuyu Persimmon Preserves
Ingredients
- 2 lbs fuyu persimmons (8 medium)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 1 medium lemon (juiced and zested)
Instructions
- Wash, peel, and chop the persimmons (or leave the skin on like I did). Add to a medium-sized pot and cover with five cups of cool water. Cover and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, or until fork tender.
- Drain the liquid from the pot then add sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
- Simmer the preserves over low heat for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash the persimmons with a potato masher or use an immersion blender to get the consistency that you prefer. When the syrup is reduced and thickened the preserves is ready.
- Using a funnel, ladle the preserves into three 8-ounce sterilized mason jars; leave ¼ inch headspace. Run a knife along the edges of the jars to remove bubbles. Hand-tighten and add to a boiling water bath canner. Make sure the water level is at least a few inches over the jars. Process in boiling water for at least 10 minutes.
- Ladle the preserves into two eight oz. sterilized mason jars. Run a knife along the edges of the filled jars to bring any bubbles that might have formed up to the surface. Hand-tighten the lids then process in hot water for 15 minutes.
Notes
- It took me a few tries to perfect this recipe. In my first attempt, I peeled and sliced the persimmons, then cooked them in the sugar/lemon mixture. Although the persimmon preserves had a great flavor, the persimmon was not very tender. For this reason, I recommend boiling the persimmons first before simmering them with the sugar and spices.
- If you prefer an even smoother texture, you can use a food processor to puree the chopped persimmons before you cook them. If you use this method, you won't need to boil and strain the persimmons first.
- Stir this delicious preserves into yogurt or oatmeal. You can also drizzle it over pancakes and ice cream.
Randy says
Loved the chunky texture. I used 1.5 cups sugar and added fresh ginger as well as more lemon peel. It was fantastic.
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you Randy, I appreciate the review!
Cece says
Hello Hilda! I see it's been a while since the recipe was posted! I have not made the recipe just yet, but I was curious if you knew the shelf life of this specific recipe. I'm trying to figure out for long it is safe to store the preserves in my cabinet without refrigeration, or if that is possible. Thank you in advance!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Cece,
Yes, it has been a while since I posted and made persimmon jam for that matter. Thanks for reminding me this recipe definitely needs an update! This jam, if canned, lasts up to a year (or more) in the pantry, but my personal preference is to use it up within the year. Take care!
Maggie says
I made this recipe last year, and spent an hour hunting it down so I could use it again this year. Today I probably had 2.5-3.0 pounds of very ripe fruit, and used only 1.5 cups of sugar and the juice/zest of half a lemon (improvising with what I had on hand) and it turned out perfectly delicious. Thanks for this recipe! I’m bookmarking it so it’s easy to find in the future.
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Maggie. I'm glad you came back for the recipe and having success with it. Enjoy!
Cynthia Johnson says
I look forward to making some of your recipes I have persimmons in my refrigerator and I'm going to attempt to make the persimmon jam. Thank you Hilda for all of your comments and suggestions. I look forward to buying you a cookbook you have such wonderful delicious recipes.
Hilda Sterner says
Thank you, Cynthia, I always appreciate the comments and feedback!
Et Shreeves says
My sister's persimmon tree was over loaded this year. We have mailed them as for away as Nebraska from NC. I can not eat them fast enough. They are getting very mussy. What can I do with the over ripe ones? I attempted to make bread last year, it never got done in the middle. Please help.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi, You can make bread (https://hildaskitchenblog.com/recipe/persimmon-bread-with-cream-cheese-frosting/), jam, and freeze the pulp to use throughout the year. Don't forget shakes and persimmon cookies!
Jay says
Well, I had 10 pounds of persimmons to process, so I used the little calculator tool which auto-figured all the ratios. I sure hope those were right because it was SUPER wrong about how much the batch would turn out. The good news: I had enough jars, seals and lids in our rural house to complete the project anyway; we're set for persimmon preserves (and gifts) for 2021. The bad news: none of it is setting at all. Not enough pectin in these fruits and lemon? Hmmm...time will tell whether this batch holds up. I feel like we need to eat it all right away. Oh...and there's NO WAY prep time is as short as noted, what with the need to peel.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Jay,
I'm sorry to hear that this recipe did not work out for you. I've never had that many persimmons to do a giant batch like you did, however, I've never had an issue with this preserves not setting up. I'd be curious to know if it thickened once it cooled off. It's always a good idea to try the recipe with the original amounts then increase them once you know you like the recipe or have success with it.
MARGOT HARRIS says
I'm going to try this, but with using apple juice to cover, to boil the slices in until tender. Will reduce the amount of sugar added later. Will retain the lemon juice because I know that persimmons by themselves are not acid enough to use a water bath (I've been making orange persimmon marmalade, and orange persimmon jam). You have put a lot of effort into this and I was so happy to find your site!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks for stopping by, Margot. Let me know how it goes! 🙂
Emily Ogburn Givens says
DELICIOUS!! I have a Fuyu persimmon and it was loaded this year. Thank you for sharing this!
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Emily! Thank you so much for the comment. I just bought some a few days ago and excited about making some more. 🙂
Cathy says
I made this and it left almost a drying felling on my tongue. It’s hard to describe the taste. Is this because they were not ripe enough?
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Cathy, I would definitely say that it's a distinct possibility. I haven't experienced this with Fuyu persimmons, however, I've definitely tasted the taste you are describing with the Hachiya variety. Hachiya persimmons are very astringent-tasting when not fully ripe.
DIANNA says
Are you using ripe persimmons for the Preserves?? If I use ripe and cook with 5 cups water and drain all the flavor goes down the drain.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Dianna, I'm curious, have you actually tried the recipe, or are you speculating that would happen? Fuyu persimmons are pretty firm, but they were ripe. When I tried cooking the preserves the way I would with other fruit, the persimmons were pretty firm. Then I tried precooking the persimmons before adding the other ingredients. The persimmons became tender and the preserves was still very flavorful. I hope that answered your question.
Jude knapp says
Hey Hilda, how many cups is in two pounds of persimmons? I prepared the pulp but I need the cup measurements. Thanks for your assistance.
HildaSterner says
I haven't made the preserves in a while, but going by memory, it should be between 2 to 3 cups, just based on the amount of sugar used in the recipe. I hope that helps!
Ruth says
Can this preserve be made without sugar, stevia perhaps, to make it diabetic friendly?
HildaSterner says
Hi Ruth,
I've never tried making this jam diabetic friendly, but from what I've read, it's not recommended. I believe you can substitute sweeteners for jams that are stored in the freezer, or refrigerated, as jams made with sweeteners tend to spoil faster than sugar-based jams.