In Japan, to be alive in autumn is to live on persimmons. The sweet ones, crisp or soft, are everywhere. You’d know an astringent variety at first taste—you would spit it out immediately and run to rinse your mouth. Or, if you were among those fruit magicians privy to the art of making hoshigaki, or dried persimmons, you’d happily take a crateful home and get to work. Hoshigaki—the making, relishing, and sharing—are an inextricable part of Japan’s fall and winter landscape. A centuries-old preservation technique turns the season’s fruits into some of the most elegant confectionaries—and an impressive gift, traditionally given for the New Year. It is an art indeed, to transform this bitter, inedible fruit into a sweet, supple delicacy, rich and floral and tinged with caramel and cloves. One cannot simply lay a persimmon to dry and walk away. The process requires time, sun, sometimes a bath of …
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