Old Fashioned Persimmon Pudding, My Grandma's Recipe.

Persimmons grow on Persimmon trees in southern Indiana, at least the one's I know the best.  There are others from other places and I will admit to buying the large Asian variety at the grocery in a fit of desperation.  These are the genuine Indiana variety as my oldest son found them frozen at a farmer's market and bought them for me.  If you find them you must taste them.  You will know if they are ripe as they will be sweet and delicious or they will pucker your mouth worse than any lemon would ever dream of!!  Some varieties are not ready until after a freeze others ripen a bit earlier.  I will NEVER forget my introduction to them.  My Grandpa Burress had several tractors but Dad took us kids a ride on the little Ford tractor down the lane from the barn to the mouth of the "little woods" (yes there was a big woods).  And there stood a tall tree with golden salmon colored fruit the size of an English walnut.  We stood on the tall rear wheel covers to reach them and I popped a not so ripe yet one into my mouth.  I was maybe 7-8 years old and that would have made it about 1955.  BOY!!! What a pucker I got and Dad just fell out laughing as did my brother Gary!!!

This is my Grandma's recipe as written out from My Mother for me when I was first married.  If you obtain persimmons you must first run them through a food mill  to remove the cap, skins, and seeds.  Then you retain the pulp for a fresh pudding or label and freeze for use later.  The recipe goes like this:

1 C. persimmon pulp
1 C. sugar
1/2 T. soft butter
1 C. sour milk
1 C. flour
1 egg
1/4 t. salt
1/2 t. soda
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. ground ginger
The recipe also calls for 1/2 t. lemon extract but no body in my family ever used it so I will call it optional.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and butter a 9" x 13" glass baking dish.  Set aside.

Cream butter into sugar, add beaten egg, and persimmon pulp.  Measure dry ingredients and dissolve soda in the sour milk.  Then add these alternately to the first mixture.  Add flavoring and pour into the prepared pan.   Bake 45 minutes.

Topping:

1 C. sugar
1 T. flour
1 C. water
1 T. butter

Mix the flour and sugar together well in the pan with a slotted spoon or whisk.  Add the water and butter and heat to a boil while stirring.  Pour the cooled sauce over the pudding.  Serve the pudding in dessert dishes and top with sweetened whipped cream.  Yield 6-8 servings.