It’s that time of the year to harvest those Indiana persimmons.  Many of my patients make that traditional persimmon pudding and have offered to share their favorite recipe.  We have modified it some to make it a little friendlier to the Angela MD plan.  Persimmons have wonderful health benefits in that they contain the tannins catechins and gallocatechin which are antioxidants and help improve lipid metabolism.  They also contain the anti-tumor substance betulinic acid.  There is no fat in persimmons and they are loaded with vitamin c and calcium.  They also contain the substance Zea Xanthin which is thought to help with age related macular degeneration.  Cooked persimmons are used in many other cultures as a treatment for diarrhea.

Traditional Indiana Persimmon Pudding

2 cups persimmon pulp, removed from the skin

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup sugar  (substitute with agave syrup)

2 cups all-purpose flour (substitute with 2 cups gram flour)

1 teaspoon baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 cups milk (substitute with almond milk)

1 egg  (pastured and organic)

1 tablespoon melted butter, plus more for buttering dish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter a 9×9 baking dish and set aside

Stir the baking soda and sugar into the persimmon pulp and set aside.  This mixture may thicken as it sits… that’s ok!

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and spices.  Add to the persimmon mixture all at once and stir until flour is almost completely incorporated.

Whisk together milk, egg and butter and add to the persimmon and flour mixture.  Batter will be very loose.  Pour into the baking dish.

Bake for 1 hour covered with foil, or uncovered.  If you make the pudding covered, you’ll have a very wet and moist pudding.  If you bake the pudding uncovered, you’ll have a drier pudding topped with a bread like crust.

Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.