Two types of dried persimmons

One of my favorite fruits in winter are persimmons. After the season of fresh persimmons ended in December, dried persimmons from several production regions have been sold in supermarkets. They are popular food for New Year’s Day, and my mother gave me packed dried persimmons before I went home. They were called “Ichidagaki” or persimmons from Ichida in the southern part of Nagano Prefecture.

I think Ichidagaki is the best-known brand in Hamamatsu as Ichida is not very distant compared with other production regions of dried persimmons. Ichidagaki are made of astringent persimmons harvested from the end of October to November. They are dried for a month before shipping. Though they look like coated with sugar, the white powder is crystalized glucose.

As dried persimmons are very sweet, they are sometimes used for traditional sweets, but I like to eat them as they are. The ones I got from my mother will last until January 25, and they seemed to have become whiter and maybe sweeter. I have to be careful not to eat too many at a time.

In addition to Ichidagaki, there is another type of dried persimmons. It is “Anpogaki”, and those produced in Yamanashi Prefecture are often seen in supermarkets in Hamamatsu. Like Ichidagaki, they are also made of astringent persimmons, but they are reeked with sulfur before dried.

Though Anpogaki may be categorized into dried persimmons, they are actually half-dried persimmons. When I ate them, they felt much fresher compared with Ichidagaki. They were soft, and somehow, I felt as if I were eating raw fish though they were sweet and had the taste of persimmons. I wasn’t used to eating them but found them interesting.

The other day, I found fresh sweet persimmons sold at a low price. As their season is over, they are usually very expensive in January compared those sold during the season. I was glad to find them.

But I found them not so delicious as a month ago. Now it’s much better to eat dried persimmons instead.