如何像专家一样吃柿子

The fall harvest brings in the bright sweetness of apples and the warm richness of pumpkins and squash. It’s also the season of persimmons, a somewhat less common fall fruit. Typically in season from September to December, persimmons are likely to be at the local farmers market around this time of year.

秋天的收获带来了甜美的苹果和丰富的南瓜。这也是柿子的季节，柿子是一种不太常见的秋季水果。柿子通常在9月到12月的季节出现在当地的农贸市场上。

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There are several types of persimmons, and the key is to know which kinds are astringent and which are sweet. The astringent persimmons are still a wonderful food when they’re ripe. If you’ve ever had an unripe persimmon, the experience is memorable. Often described as “furry,” for me the experience was akin to trying to eat a sweet yet dense cotton ball. It doesn’t taste like a good idea, and eating a lot of unripe persimmon can cause digestive problems.

柿子有很多种，关键是要知道哪些是涩的，哪些是甜的。柿子成熟后，涩味依然是一种美味的食物。如果你曾经吃过一个尚未成熟的柿子，这种经历将是难忘的。通常被形容为“毛茸茸的”，对我来说，这种经历就像尝试吃一个又甜又密的棉花球。吃起来不像是个好主意，而且吃很多未成熟的柿子会导致消化问题。

The Two Main Types of Persimmons

柿子的两种主要类型

Fuyu persimmon can be eaten before fully ripe. Jonathan Cant / EyeEm / Getty Images

The two commonly found types of persimmons are the hachiya and fuyu persimmons, which originated in Asia and are now grown in the U.S. and elsewhere. Fuyu persimmons are sweet, and are can be eaten while still a little firm. They’re more squat, and kind of doughnut-shaped (shown above).

最常见的两种柿子是achiya和fuyu柿子，这两种柿子原产于亚洲，现在在美国和其他地方种植。fuyu柿子很甜，还有些硬的时候就可以吃了。它们是矮胖的，有点像甜甜圈(如上所示)。

Hachiya persimmons need to be very ripe before eating. Svetlanais / Getty Images

The hachiya persimmon (shown above) will be sweet only when it’s very ripe or even overripe—when it feels something akin to a not-quite-full water balloon. Hachiya persimmons are acorn-shaped, with a pointy bottom. There’s also a type of persimmon tree that’s native to North America (Diospyros virginiana), and is another type of astringent persimmon.

achiya柿子(如上图所示)只有在非常成熟或者完全成熟的时候才会是甜的——当它感觉有点像一个不太饱满的水球的时候。achiya柿子橡子形，底部尖尖的。还有一种原产于北美的柿子树(Diospyros virginiana)，也是一种有涩味的柿子。

How to Eat Persimmons

柿子怎么吃

Some people prefer to simply scoop out the insides of either type, but the skins are edible. I like to leave the skins on slices of fuyus and add them to salads. They can be used in pies, tarts, on top of ice cream, with pancakes or waffles, or used as a sweet element in savory dishes. Persimmons are rich in vitamins A and B, and are a good source of fiber. To get the most nutritional value from persimmons, it’s best to eat them raw. However, if you are faced with a glut of these fruits (a nice problem to have!), then you may want to consider making persimmon jam.

有些人喜欢简单地把这两种柿子的内部挖出来，但是它的皮是可以食用的。我喜欢把皮切成片，然后加到沙拉里。它们可以用来做馅饼，蛋挞，放在冰激凌上，与煎饼或华夫饼搭配，或者作为开胃菜的甜味元素。柿子含有丰富的维生素A和B，也是很好的纤维来源。要想从柿子中获得最大的营养价值，最好生吃。然而，如果你面临着这些水果的过剩(这是一个很好的问题!)，那么你可能想要考虑做柿子酱。