We have persimmon tree in the back yard that seems determined to drop tons of persimmons on us every year.  We’ve come up with a recipe that works well.  Our persimmons are sweet, never tart like alot of others.  It’s an American Persimmon.  We’ve tried making persimmon perserves, but that was absolutely nasty.  Won’t do that again.  This works well.

Here’s a rough recipe.  Keep in mind, we adjust sugar according to taste.  We’ve doubled this recipe without any trouble at all.

First, you’ll need to make your infusion.

Place about 1/8 a bushel of persimmons in a big pot and cover them with water.  Bring to a boil and boil for a bout 5 minutes, then steep at least 15 minutes.  Run through a colander.  You need 3 cups of infusion for 1 batch of jelly.  If you don’t have enough, repeat this process.  Running it through the colander rather than a jelly bag may give you some impurities, but persimmon is so hard to strain, this is alot easier.  I think the jelly tastes better as well.

Ingredients

3 c of infusion from above

5 1/2 c. sugar

1 box of pectin – We buy ours in bulk.  1 box = 1/4 cup

Directions

1. Place infusion into a large pot and heat to a boil
2. Add pectin, stirring constantly.
3. Bring mixture back to a light boil and add sugar, a cup at a time until you get the taste you want. I actually use a little less.
4. Stir to ensure that it dissolves.
5. Return mixture to a full rolling boil.
6. Boil for no longer than 2 minutes.
7. Ladle jelly into clean jelly jars and seal with heated lids.