A Fantastic Quick Bread With a Favorite Southern Ingredient

When my family and I moved into our new house, we heard rumors of the amazing persimmon tree in our neighbor's yard—Japanese persimmons grafted onto a Carolina persimmon trunk. When the tree set fruit, it was magnificent. Bright orange persimmons are a shock against the crisp fall sky. I came home one day, and to my delight, a basket full of these fall beauties was on my kitchen counter.

Two varieties of persimmons are readily available in American grocery stores: Fuyu and Hachiya. Fuyu is lighter in color, a bit squat in shape, and beloved for their honeyed flavor when eaten fresh. Hachiya is darker in color, oblong in shape, and best when eaten ripe or roasted. All 100 counties of North Carolina are also home to one-third variety of persimmons, the American persimmon. These persimmons (including the bountiful one in my neighbor's yard) bear sweet, spicy fruit that must be gathered from the ground when very ripe. Roasted persimmons have a sweet, mellow flavor that lends itself to desserts and savory dishes.

A strong craving for freshly baked bread this weekend inspired me to adapt my classic banana bread recipe to compliment my bounty of persimmons. Brown sugar, buttermilk, raw pecans, and roasted persimmons combine to make a slightly sweet quick bread, which is a bit chewy and crisp around the edges. I've been eating the loaf all week, one slice at a time, toasted and smeared with a bit of salted butter.

As we roll straight into the holidays and my desk fills higher and higher with sweets and candy, it's nice to have a balance. Nothing beats a slice of hot buttered sweet bread with my morning cup of coffee, and I'm so thankful that I have enough roasted persimmons in the freezer to see me through winter. It's the little things, you know?

Elena Rosemond-Hoerr's Persimmon-Pecan Bread

Here's how to make this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 persimmons
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• Butter to grease the pan

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Chop persimmons into bite-sized pieces. Roast for 20-25 minutes, or until they are soft and beginning to bubble. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F.
2. Mix all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Gently smash the persimmons with a fork and mix them into the batter. Grease a loaf pan or eight-inch skillet and pour batter into the pan, distributing the persimmons evenly. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until the bread, is baked through (and a knife comes out clean).
3. Transfer to a rack to cool. Enjoy!

Elena Rosemond-Hoerr is a Southern food writer, photographer, and cookbook author based in Wilmington, North Carolina.