Product Review: hachiya persimmons

My first encounter with persimmons [1] was so positive, that I went looking for more. I found some at the Sunflower Market in Orem. But this variety was hachiya. I originally bought three. When I tried the first one it felt like cottonmouth. Turns out this is because hachiya persimmons are chock full of tannins. So I looked up how to eat hachiya persimmons and learned that they must feel "like a water balloon" before you eat them. It took forever for the hachiya persimmons to ripen. This is unfortunate since every time since that I've found hachiya persimmons since then, they've been as hard as apples.

My verdict: I put them in a brown paper bag with a succession of fruits (bananas, apples, etc.) to try to encourage ethylene-dependent ripening. After a month I tried the second one because it was quite soft (about as soft as a ripe mango). It still made my mouth feel hairy. So I waited another two weeks until the fruit looked like it had gone bad. It was shriveled and mushy. But it was finally ripe. It tasted like a sweet potato with a tangy aftertaste and didn't make my mouth feel funny. Nonetheless, the whole ordeal still left a sour taste in my mouth. I'd rather eat fuyu persimmons since they don't require another month and a half to ripen after purchase. And if I want the taste of sweet potatoes I'll just buy a sweet potato.

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Notes:

[1] Read my review of fuyu persimmons here.