OH! Magazine - Australian Version January 2015 (Australian Version) | Page 6

( OH MY! )

FRUITY FACTS

Here’s a few ideas to add some delicious
flavours and vibrant colours to your summer menu.
Tis the season to be berry!

For a tasty treat, try a persimmon

Sure, Christmas has now come and gone, but ‘tis still the season
to be berry – blackberry and raspberry, that is! They’re in
abundance now and until autumn, so here are a few ways you
can enjoy them:

Persimmons are a good source of vitamin C and beta carotene,
they are high in fibre and fat free. A sweet persimmon contains
almost twice the dietary fibre of an apple and higher levels of
many minerals and antioxidants, and the persimmon leaves are
actually several times richer in vitamin C than the fruit itself!
There are two varieties available: Sweet and Original.

Spice-up your salads: raspberries go with peppery greens like
rocket, plus they’ll add vivid colour to a couscous salad.
Blackberries pair nicely with sesame dressing, so try adding
them fresh to a traditional Asian salad, or pop a few berries on
top of rice salads.
Supercharge salsas: substitute tomatoes with raspberries in
your salsa or combine blackberries with nectarine, coriander
and lime juice for a tangy twist.

The Sweet persimmon (non-astringent) is round in shape and has
a refreshingly sweet and mild flavour and is best eaten crunchy
and firm like an apple, but can be left till mushy and soft, like the
Original. The Original (astringent) tends to be more heart-shaped
and is ready for eating once the flesh is soft, jelly-like and sweet.
If you taste astringency you need to allow the fruit to ripen further.
Here are a few tips for selecting and storing persimmons:

Berry delicious BBQ: lightly BBQ fresh blackberries and prawns
on skewers or grill fruit kebabs with pineapple, banana, pear,
peach and figs and top with a dressing of smashed fresh
raspberries.

There is no one colour to look for. The fruit can range in
shade from a pale orange to a deep red-orange, depending
upon variety and stage of the season.

•

Despite being firm to the touch, handle persimmons with
care as the thin skin is delicate and bruises easily. Surface
blemishes are fine and do not affect the flavour and eating
quality.

•

The great news is, raspberries and blackberries can actually be
stored in the freezer for 12 months, so you can even enjoy them
all year round.

•

Choose sweet persimmons that are free from bruises and
still have green, semi-pliable caps. Ideally select ones that
yield gently to palm pressure and allow them to ripen at
room temperature, until mushy. You can put the persimmon
in a paper bag with a couple of bananas to speed up the
ripening process.

Source: www.freshberries.com.au

Source: www.persimmonsaustralia.com.au

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JAN 2015 ( OH! MAGAZINE )