A Simple Guide To Making Old Fashioned Persimmon Pudding

If you are looking for an old fashioned persimmon pudding recipe, look no farther. Our version is authentic and pure and full of true persimmon flavor. This simple recipe tastes like just like it should – like persimmons! Move over pumpkin, here comes the persimmon.

Persimmon Pudding History

Are you familiar with persimmons? They are a fruit that grow wild in parts of the United States, including Indiana. Persimmons are orange in color, and they most often taste sweet and mellow. In appearance, persimmons are oval shaped with a waxy skin, thicker than that of a tomato.

While persimmons can be eaten raw, they are often turned into a dessert called Persimmon Pudding. This dessert comes in many forms – sometimes persimmon pudding is thicker and is cut into bars, or you’ll find it as a true, scoop-able pudding.

Some persimmon pudding recipes contain cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to make it a taste like fall, but our recipe is true, pure persimmon flavor. Take a bite, and you’ll know it’s the sweet flavor of persimmon season.

How to Pulp a Persimmon

Our first tip: find a friend to gift you persimmon pulp already processed (Thanks Corey). Or purchase persimmon pulp already processed.  IF this doesn’t work, or you can’t find persimmon pulp, proceed as follows to make your own.

1. Cut persimmon in half.
2. Remove seeds with a spoon.
3. Add persimmons to food processor, and pulse until smooth.
4. Pour persimmon mixture through a sieve, using the back of a spoon to force the mixture through.

Old Fashioned Persimmon Pudding Recipe

Let me tell you the story of this vintage persimmon pudding.

I’d like to say a friendship began with this version of persimmon pudding.  At work, I was making small-talk with a client, and we began talking about food (my favorite topic).  The conversation turned to These Old Cookbooks, and my love for old fashioned, vintage recipes.

Vintage recipes are a great topic of conversation. Everyone has a favorite recipe to share and a story behind it.  This recipe is famous in the family of its owner.  My client’s mom has been making this persimmon pudding for almost 30 years, and legend has it that anybody who truly loves persimmons goes bonkers over it. His mom had searched high and low for the perfect persimmon pudding recipe, and eventually she found a winner with this one.

Here’s the best part! They gifted me a copy of the recipe, and 2 cups of persimmon pulp all ready to go.  It was epic!

How to tell when persimmon pudding is done?

This recipe is actually pretty unique.  For one, it doesn’t contain any spices; instead the flavor comes straight from the persimmon.  Secondly, the pudding bakes in the oven, and every 20 minutes, you open up the oven to stir.

The first time, it looks like a cake batter starting to form.  The second, the color starts to darken, and each time more caramelization occurs and the color develops more and more. As a food scientist, I loved making this persimmon pudding.  The science, the color change, the texture change – it was so much fun to bake!

Ingredient List

• All Purpose Flour
• Granulated Sugar
• Baking Soda
• Milk
• Large Eggs
• Persimmon Pulp

How to Make Persimmon Pudding

Step by Step Instructions

1. Whisk flour, sugar and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. Add 2 eggs, one at a time to the flour mixture, whisking until mixed. (No electric mixer needed.)
3. Next, add 1 cup of milk while whisking; then add the persimmon pulp, followed by the remaining milk.  Stir wet ingredients until a batter-like mixture forms.
4. Pour into a deep, oven-proof baking dish (like a Dutch oven).
5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 1 hour, 40 minutes.  Stir mixture every 20 minutes of baking.
6. Remove from oven, and pour into a serving dish. Let cool completely before refrigerating.
7. Serve topped with whipped cream

For the full recipe for Grandma’s Persimmon Pudding, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Recipe FAQs

• Bake uncovered in a deep vessel.  A dutch oven works great.
• Stir the pudding every 20 minutes of baking until smooth.  The color and texture will change each time.
• Remove from oven and immediately pour into a serving dish.
• Let cool completely before refrigerating.
• Eat warm or cold from the refrigerator.
• This keeps great when covered in the fridge.
• Serve topped with whipped cream.
• Love old fashioned pudding desserts? Try our Date Pudding with a warm sauce!

Our Favorite Vintage Dessert Recipes

Check out some more of our favorite vintage dessert recipes:

Lemon Meringue Pie

Sour Cream Apple Bars

Grandma’s Rhubarb Pie

Cream Cheese Mints

Grandma’s Fantasy Fudge

Is persimmon pudding supposed to be refrigerated?

Yes, the moist nature of persimmon requires it to be kept in the refrigerator to prevent mold growth.

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