The Art of Dried Fruits
Dried Persimmons (Hoshi-gaki)
Hoshi-gaki or persimmons being dried outside the house are common sights during the autumn months in rural Japan.
Golden rice fields, farmers harvesting crops, and the smell of mushrooms from the nearby mountains are some of the standard changes that signal the coming of autumn in Japan. However, there is one particular practice in rural Japan where the Japanese particularly feel and sense autumn. This is the practice of preparing the “hoshi-gaki”, or dried persimmons. (“Hoshi” = dry and “gaki” = “kaki” = persimmons)
When one walks through town in rural Japan during the autumn months, he/she will see the residents picking the persimmons from their trees and preparing them to become dried fruits by hanging them outside their house. This picturesque scenery of the hanging persimmons is a seasonal artwork that lines the townscape and blends in perfectly with the scenery.
The persimmons used in the dried version are called “Shibu-gaki” which are a different type of persimmon than those consumed raw. “Shibu-gaki” literally means “bitter persimmon” in Japanese, and as the name points out they are too bitter to be consumed raw. However, drying them for a couple of months brings out the sweetness to a point where the sugar content from the fruit creates a white frost on the surface of the persimmons. Despite being a dried fruit, the dried persimmons are usually surprisingly soft and succulent.
In most households, they are often eaten as snacks by itself, but certain households have invented creative ways to consume them such as frying them in tempura batter. Japanese ryokans have also been using hoshi-gaki in their cooking, and visitors may encounter the versatility of the hoshi-gaki in the autumn months when they travel in Japan.
