Wild Persimmon Jam, Persimmon Onion Jam

 Wild Persimmon Jam, Persimmon Onion Jam

No matter how long you learn in the kitchen, just like horses, you never know enough. This year I learned not to pressure can jam! I have always water bathed my jam, but didn’t think there’d be an issue to pressure can… DON’T. I now had a quart of persimmon jam in a mason jar that had the texture of… brick. Now YOU know!

Can I save it? I added more lime juice and stirred… it softened. Now what? Let’s make onion jam, with persimmon jam to thicken and add a different taste!

Onion Jam with Wild Persimmons:
Slice onions. Sautee in a pan as they carmelize with sugar, balsamic… oh wait here I am in rural Virginia and I ran out of balsamic. Hmmmm. I reached under my kitchen sink, pulled out the jug of vinegar I keep on hand for cleaning, and added a glug. Yep, it’s one of THOSE kind of creative days. I dumped in the pressure-canned persimmon jam, stirred… wait. That looks good! It smells good! It tastes… delicious. Now we’re talkin’! I ladled it into mason jars, added lids, and WATER BATH canned it. This is going to be great over winter!

Wild Persimmon Jam:
I have been sorting and making batches of wild persimmon jam for years but clearly had more to learn. Here are other things I have learned when working with wild persimmons: don’t bother trying to separate pulp from seed with food mills or colanders. Find something with bigger holes that leave the seeds behind but allow you to mush the pulp more easily through- one fave is a basket you use on grills for seafood/to steam veggies so they don’t fall through the grill or stick. That’s my tip! Otherwise just make as any other jam: fruit + lime or lemon (lime goes great with persimmons!) + sugar, then can. Persimmons have a lot of natural pectin, so no need to add any store-bought pectin. Days later after this year’s fiasco, I made another batch of proper water bath canned jam. NOW WE KNOW.

Further tips regarding ripeness:
Wild persimmons look deep orange/red, slightly bruised, and the caps come off easily. When I prepare them, I remove the cap (if ripe, it easily lifts off), turn them over, pinch off the little stem thing at the end. (It looks like a tiny antenna.) It's work, but isn't anything worthwhile?