Home to one of only a few persimmon germ plasm collections in the United States, the UC ANR South Coast Research and Extension Center welcomed invited guests, the California Rare Fruit Growers Association and the UCCE Master Gardeners on Friday, November 10, 2016. Attendees were treated to the annual persimmon taste testing held at the REC in Irvine. Of the approximately (59) guests, 50 took part in evaluating the persimmon fruits grown at the Center. Evaluators were asked to rate the 12 varieties using a basic one to five scale based on attractiveness, astringency, sugar, flavor and overallperformance.

 Persimmon cultivars are classified in relation to fruit astringency at harvest: Pollination

Constant Non Astringent (PCNA), Pollination Variant Non Astringent (PVNA), Pollination Variant Astringent (PVA) and Pollination Constant Astringent (PCA). PredominatelyPCNA, the varieties that were evaluated during the tasting included ‘OCFuyu', ‘CaliforniaFuyu', ‘GiantFuyu', ‘Suruga', ‘Hana', ‘Imoto', ‘MatsumotoWase', ‘Fuyu F8', ‘South Coast', ‘Kurokuma', ‘Gosho', ‘TrueGuyu', ‘Jiro', ‘San Pedro', and ‘Tribble'. Giant Fuyu was a clear favorite with Tribble not far behind as the ‘Overall' winner.

The persimmon collection at the Center contains various cultivars that are not widely available and are sought after by avid fans of this fruit. 

Participants, young and old alike, expressed their excitement for the opportunity to sample the various varieties not commonly available in the marketplace and to learn more about this fall gem from knowledgeable volunteers who assist in maintaining the Center's collection. In addition to early cherimoyas, attendees enjoyed learning about Hoshigaki - a Japanese technique of preserving persimmons by peeling and drying them whole over a period of several weeks through a combination of hanging and delicate hand- massaging, until the sugars contained in the fruit form a delicate surface with a dusting that looks like frost – a very special treat.

 Many thanks to the staff, CA Rare Fruit Growers, OC Chapter; UCCE Master Food Preservers and Master Gardener volunteers who helped with the slicing, setup, facilitating, and clean up. Very special acknowledgment to Isabel Barkman and the volunteers who assist with our orchards year round for their hard work pruning, harvesting, labeling, and preparing the persimmons for the event.