Drying persimmons in the sun 2016/10/31

A persimmon is one of popular autumn fruits in Japan.

We can find persimmon trees with a plenty of red fruits in the farmer’s garden and also in a town people’s garden in late autumn.

Fruits of persimmons were used to be very popular and also precious among all Japanese as tasty and nourishing foods. People tried hard to protect fruits from birds and animals. However, recently people are not as enthusiastic as before to protect fruits. It is probably because nowadays a wide range of sweets and cakes are available at competitive prices. And also people get too old to protect and harvest from branches of a tall tree.

Raped fruits are left on branches without any protection and they are easy thankful preys for wild birds and animals.

They know well and eat sweeter fruits first and finally take astringent fruits. Astringent persimmon is not tasty as it is, however people were wise enough to dry these in the sun for few months. A dried persimmon turns more tasty and nourishing than an originally sweet persimmon. It used to be popular and comfortable scenery in everywhere of Japan that persimmons were hanged under eaves of every house to be dried.  Unfortunately it is getting less and less to find such scenery recently.

b0168808_21222581　drying persimmons under the eaves