Illustration by Becky Buher
Persimmons
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What few people know and what the film Kinsey might not reveal when
it makes its general release to theaters next month, is that IU
researcher Alfred Kinsey was a gifted cabinetmaker and enjoyed a
really good recipe when he came upon one.
We have no pictures of Kinsey’s carpentry projects to share, but IU Home Pages can give you a bit of a kitchen chemistry experiment, particularly timely as Southern Indiana reaches its season peak for ripe persimmons. (Mark Colglazier of the Office of Risk Management at IUB has been collecting the fruit from two campus trees for the past several weeks, but a tree of one’s own is not mandatory. Processed pulp may be purchased ready to use at some food co-ops and health food stores.)
In 1943, five years before his first book on sex was published, Kinsey co-authored Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. Here are the ingredients and instructions on making his favorite persimmon pudding:
Persimmon pudding
Enough fully ripe cultivated or wild persimmons to make two cups of pulp
(Clean persimmons and put through food mill; discard skin and seed residue)
2 C. pulp
1 large egg
2 C. milk
2 C. flour, fork-stir before measuring
1 C. sugar
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cloves
1 t. cinnamon
On wax paper, thoroughly stir together flour, sugar, soda, salt, allspice, cloves and cinnamon. In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg and milk until blended; add the two cups persimmon pulp and beat until blended. Add the flour mixture and beat well until blended. Turn into a buttered 2-quart oblong glass baking dish. Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean—about 1 1/4 hours. The pudding will look brown. Serve warm with whipped cream. Makes about 12 servings. Leftover portions may be reheated.
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