Mark's Bad Date

[mark_asphodel]

And here I thought unripened persimmons were the limbo-stick of inedible foodstuffs.

The local produce market had fresh dates for sale.  Fresh dates, at least this sort, are smooth, pale-yellow, and oval, a bit like tiny potatoes.  And they taste absolutely bloody terrible-- astringent as FUCK, leaving a film of starch across the tongue.  Apparently these ones weren't ripe, though; I bought another batch of them[*], from the Arabic grocery store at the other end of town, and had a much different experience.  I guess actual fresh dates should be pleasantly crisp and mildly sweet, kind of like an Asian pear.

Sadly, the unripe sort and the ripe sort look pretty much identical.  Buyer beware! 

* Yes, this is my MO-- if at first you buy something disgusting, buy more in hopes of doing something good with it.

Comments

[amielleon]

Could the difference be in the texture? I think the way you test persimmons, at least, is by gently squeezing them to test for firmness. If they're not soft, they're not ready.

[mark_asphodel]

Hachiya persimmons need to be extremely soft-- basically mush. I've had "soft" ones that weren't nearly ripe enough, or that had underripe patches inside. Fuyu persimmons are good even when they're firm.

Dates, apparently, need to have some translucent patches to be ripe. Otherwise the good ones and the bad ones look the same.