A Little Unexpected Learning

 I was scrolling through comments on a group I have recently joined  on social media.  I came across a comment and thought that like me someone had typed too quickly.  However, on reading further I realised that no, this was a word which I had never heard before.

Off to my trusty dictionary, yes, I am old school; dictionaries before Google every time. Our son added a "Bloomsbury English Dictionary" to the “Reference Library” and I just love it.  It has encyclopaedic features which for me just adds to the dictionary.Yes, I have gone off on a tangent yet again.

Back to why I was searching in the dictionary.  The word I was looking for was “persimmon”.  I can hear so many of you laughing wondering how she could never have heard of a “persimmon” but there you go I never had. Just in case there is a slim chance that there is someone else out there who has never heard of “persimmon” let me give you the definition: “a juicy smooth-skinned orange-red fruit that is sweet only when ripe”.  Really, I had never heard of this fruit which led to further investigation. 

Whenever I have a query regarding plants, it is to The Farmer’s Almanac that I turn to.  Persimmon is a berry which is also known as “The Divine Fruit”.  What a wonderful name.

.According to folklore if you open the persimmon seed it will forecast what type of winter is to come.  A fork shaped seed indicates a mild winter.  A knife-shaped seed indicates it will be bitingly cold and “cut like a knife”.  A spoon-shaped seed indicates a large amount of snow.  How accurate this forecast is I am not too sure?

There is even a “chocolate” persimmon. I didn’t realise that today I would be learning about an exotic fruit which originated in China, is widely grown. in the is U.S.A. It is grown in areas from Florida to Connecticut and Iowa to southern Texas.  The two main areas in Spain are Valencia and Huelva.  It is grown in New Zealand and as their harvest is a few weeks in advance of the Californian harvest they now export to California for that short period. It is grown in Japan, Korea and China.

The saying that education never ends is certainly true. So I am on the lookout for "persimmon" in my local greengrocer an eagerly waiting to try one!!!!!!