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You can ripen persimmons at home in different ways. The easiest option is to put it in warm water or in the freezer. Then the fruit can be eaten after 10–12 hours. But to make the taste and consistency especially pleasant, it is better to put the fruits in a bag with apples or tomatoes and wait a few days. There are other ways of ripening. People suffering from constipation and other digestive disorders should not eat unripe fruits.
Signs of an unripe persimmon
Unripe fruits have a number of characteristics:
- greenish-yellowish color;
- small sizes;
- the peel is dense, strong, and does not deform even with strong pressure;
- the surface is smooth, there are no cracks;
- if you cut it, you can see unripe seeds;
- The cut flesh is light, the consistency is very dense;
- the taste is noticeably astringent, tart, unpleasant.
Such persimmons need to be allowed to ripen. You can determine ripeness by the opposite signs - the fruits increase in size, their peel softens, the taste becomes soft, and does not stick.The color changes to orange, “pumpkin”, and the tail becomes dry and dark.
Is it possible to eat unripe persimmons?
It is undesirable to eat unripe persimmons because they have an astringent taste (due to the high content of tannins) and a fixing effect. At the same time, tannins serve as a protective agent - because of them, animals do not eat unripe persimmons, allowing them to ripen.
Unripe fruits are strictly contraindicated for elderly people, as well as patients with chronic digestive diseases and a tendency to constipation. Pregnant and lactating women are in the prohibited group. And children under two years old should not be given this fruit, even in ripe form.
If you eat several unripe fruits, various symptoms may appear:
- feeling of heaviness in the stomach;
- colic in the intestines;
- exacerbation of chronic diseases - gastritis, colitis and others;
- indigestion.
In extreme cases, you will have to seek emergency medical help - similar situations are observed in real medical practice.
Unripe persimmons should not be eaten - they must be allowed to ripen
Will green persimmons ripen in the future?
The fruits may well ripen on their own. To do this, they are placed in a cool place at a temperature of 0–2 degrees, for example, on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. It can also ripen at room temperature. Therefore, if you pick a green persimmon, it will ripen, lying in a basket next to other fruits. To do this, it should be wrapped in a plastic bag. But the process will go quite slowly. To speed it up, you can use several methods.
How to bring unripe persimmons to maturity
You can ripen green persimmons at home either naturally or using other means, for example, warm water or a lime solution.
The natural way
Persimmon of all varieties does not have good shelf life and transportability. Therefore, these fruits are picked while still green and allowed to ripen on the way, as well as during storage in the store. Semi-ripe or even green fruits are often found on the shelves.
They can also be purchased and left to ripen naturally:
- Place in the refrigerator on the bottom shelf and let sit for several days.
- Leave at room temperature in a well-ventilated area.
Warm water
You can get rid of the unpleasant astringent taste by holding the fruits in warm water (37–40 degrees, your hands should be a little hot). The persimmons are placed to ripen in a basin, filled with warm water and left for 10–12 hours. This is one of the easiest and fastest ways.
If the skin has softened, the ripening processes are already underway. As soon as the fruits change color, they can be eaten.
You can ripen persimmons quickly enough by placing them in warm water overnight.
Ethanol
To speed up the process, you can take a needle and disinfect it in ethyl alcohol, vodka or other strong alcoholic drink. Then make several punctures in the peel and leave to lie for several days at room temperature. In this method, alcohol is needed only as an antiseptic - the ripening process will occur precisely due to damage to the peel.
There is another way: finely chop the unripe fruits into pieces and put them in a container where the alcohol used to be (only the smell should remain, without liquid). Seal with a lid and let stand for a week at room temperature. There is no need to be afraid of the smell of alcohol - it will evaporate (to do this, you need to open the lid and simply place pieces of already ripened pulp on the table).
Freezer
The freezer will also help the fruit ripen. They are washed, thoroughly dried and placed in a chamber for 10–12 hours. Then take it out and defrost at room temperature. The advantage of this method is its simplicity and speed. But when freezing and thawing, persimmon fibers are destroyed. As a result, the consistency becomes very soft and mushy. Therefore, such fruits are not served on the table - they are eaten immediately.
Using other fruits
Another effective way to help fruits ripen is to keep them in a bag along with any apples (green, yellow, red) or tomatoes. These fruits emit ethylene gas (C2H4), which allows persimmons to ripen in 3–4 days. The method is convenient not only because of its simplicity, but also because it allows even completely green fruits to ripen.
If you put green persimmons in a bag with apples and leave them at room temperature, they will ripen in 3–4 days
The top can be covered with film or bags, but not hermetically sealed. Ripening also takes 3–4 days.
Lime solution
If you have slaked lime, you need to take half a glass of powder (100 g or 5 tablespoons) and dissolve it in 1 liter of water at room temperature. Mix thoroughly and add fruit. Leave for 2-3 days (maximum for a week).
Which method to choose
Among the described methods that allow persimmons to ripen, you can choose any option. But if you need the process to go as quickly as possible, it is better to put the fruits in the refrigerator or warm water. 10–12 hours are enough for ripening. For example, you can put it at night and eat the fruit in the morning. Moreover, if you use warm water, the fruits do not even have to be defrosted.
However, accelerated methods are not the best option when it comes to flavor intensity. Therefore, if you have time, it is better to put the fruits in a tight bag with tomatoes or apples. They need to be allowed to ripen for 3–5 days, but the taste of such fruits will pleasantly surprise you. In addition, they will retain their normal consistency and will not turn into mush.
How to choose the right persimmon
Choosing ripe and juicy persimmons is quite simple. Ripeness can be determined by external signs:
- color – rich orange or light brown;
- the surface is soft, and from all sides: if you press, there will be a dent that will not be restored;
- the tails are dark and dry;
- stalk brown;
- the surface is smooth, there are no cracks (but small brown-gray stripes are allowed).
It is impossible to determine ripeness by smell, since this fruit does not produce a special aroma.
Ripe persimmon is soft and has a bright orange color.
The time for collecting persimmons is from late October to early December.
If the fruit was delivered in September, most likely it is unripe. It is better to wait for the main wave of the harvest.
Conclusion
You can ripen persimmons at home in the freezer, lime solution, or in a bag with other fruits. Often the fruits are simply left in the refrigerator and stored on the bottom shelf.This is a slow method of ripening, since metabolic processes work better at room temperature. Therefore, it is recommended to purchase ripe or almost ripe fruits. Unripe persimmons should not be eaten. It is very astringent and gives virtually no taste. It is left to ripen and then consumed fresh or for preparations.
