Kaki Persimmon Seasonal Fruit Varieties

Japan (ancient fruit cultivation; Yamato and Kyoto court records; Nara, Gifu, and Wakayama as major production prefectures)

Kaki (柿, Japanese persimmon, Diospyros kaki) occupies a special position in Japanese autumn food culture — both as a symbol of the season (the orange fruit hanging on leafless branches is one of Japan's most iconic autumn images) and as a versatile ingredient eaten fresh, dried, and processed. Japan grows both astringent (shibugaki) and non-astringent (amagaki) varieties. Non-astringent varieties eaten fresh include: Fuyu (the flat, tomato-shaped variety, crisp and mild), Jiro (a similar flat variety, very popular), and Taishū. Astringent varieties are used primarily for drying into hoshigaki or for producing kakishibu (persimmon tannin liquid used as a natural coating and preservative). The distinction between astringent and non-astringent is chemical: astringent varieties have high concentrations of soluble tannins (kakitannin) that produce intense mouth-drying puckering; through oxidation in drying or by artificial carbonic acid gas treatment (deastringency), these tannins become insoluble and the astringency disappears. Kaki season is September-December, with different varieties peaking in succession. In kaiseki, fresh kaki is a classic autumn sakizuke (starter) component; dried hoshigaki appears in osechi and as a winter dessert. The combination of kaki and cream cheese is a modern depachika wagashi fusion that has become widely popular.

Non-astringent: crisp, honey-sweet, mild, slightly spiced; dried hoshigaki: intensely concentrated honeyed sweetness; the flavour of Japanese autumn