Description
Book SynopsisWhether served in a batch of cookies or in a soup bowl, the persimmon is a favorite fruit of Midwesterners. Called the "divine fruit" or the "fruit of the gods," persimmons range from the American common persimmon, perfect for every kind of dessert, to Fuyu persimmons, a variety from China that has since won many hearts.
In The Perfect Persimmon, award-winning journalist Michelle Medlock Adams serves up persimmon expertise, from knowing when the fruit is at its ripest to sharing the best preparation techniques. Adams hails from the birthplace of the Mitchell Persimmon Festival in Lawrence County, Indiana, where the Midwest's best-kept secret, persimmon pudding, has people flocking toward what some consider the persimmon capital of the world.
Armed with a love of persimmons that has been nurtured from a young age, Adams has collected the best persimmon recipes, guaranteed to satisfy any hankering for the savory or the sweet. Accompanying these recipes are personal anecdotes detailing childhood memories and folktales about greedy possums, wise turtles, and the persimmon seed's ability to predict winter forecasts, providing a colorful context for this favored fruit.
Trade ReviewI recently got a new cookbook in the mail. It's not very big — at about 8-by-5-inches and a scant 130 pages or so of text, it's dwarfed by many of the books in my collection. But like its subject, it is packed full of yum, sweet and maybe just a little bit squishy. The author is Michelle Medlock Adams, an award-winning journalist and best-selling writer. From what I can see from perusing the 100+ titles on her website, this is her first book about food. And the subject is one that is near and dear to many Hoosier hearts. If I told you she grew up in Lawrence County, Indiana, you might begin to guess what is it is — a tiny orange fruit that is just starting to ripen here in Bloomington, the persimmon.
-- Carolyn VandeWiele * Herald-Times (Bloomington, IN) *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. The History, the Varieties, the Lore
2. A Tale of Two Festivals
3. The Recipes
4. The People
Epilogue
