Turn a persimmon into a pudding with one simple ingredient

No gelatin necessary for this no-bake Japanese purin recipe!

As much as we love eating sweets like creme caramel or custard pudding, known in Japan as “purin“, making them always seems like a time-consuming task.

That’s not the case if you’re using the humble persimmon, however, as this particular fruit contains some special magic that does the hard work for you, solidifying itself into a delicious purin on its own with the addition of one secret ingredient.

The secret ingredient is one we’re all familiar with, and it’s probably something you have in the fridge right now. It’s not gelatin, it’s not agar, and it’s not eggs. The special secret ingredient is…

Milk!

That’s right, if you have a persimmon and some milk, you can turn the fruit into a delicious dessert right now. The process is super simple, so take a look at the quick recipe below to see how it’s done, and if you want to add a pinch more sweetness to the mix, you can use sugar and vanilla extract to give it some extra dessert-like flavour.

Ingredients (makes 6 small jars):

• • Persimmons (3 whole)
  • Milk (200 millilitres / 6.7 ounces)
  • Sugar (to taste)
  • Vanilla extract (several drops)

[Method]

1. Remove the skin and seeds and cut the persimmons into wedges.

▼ It’s fine to use both slightly hard (left) and slightly overripe fruit (right).

2. Place the fruit into a mixer and add the milk. The best ratio of persimmon to milk is about 2:1. If you want to add sugar and vanilla essence, you can do that now as well.

▼ Then mix until well blended (bottom right).

Congratulations — you’ve just made persimmon pudding! Now all you have to do is pour the mix into some small jars or cups, then cover and keep in the refrigerator overnight.

As it cools, the pectin in the persimmon reacts with the calcium in the milk, solidifying it without gelatin or agar. This magic reaction does mean you’ll need to use dairy milk rather than alternatives like soy milk, but the result is truly remarkable.

Scooping into the pudding with a spoon shows just how plump and well-set it is, and the smooth texture gives it a wonderful mouthfeel. As for the taste, well that’s another nice surprise as well, as it tastes a bit like custard, despite being totally egg-free, and the milk gives the persimmon a delicious creaminess.

This is a fantastic way to eat persimmons, and so quick and easy to make that even total novices in the kitchen can achieve spectacular results. Just like this easy peasy no-bake chocolate mousse, which comes highly recommended by our foodie reporter Mr Sato!

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