Granny's Persimmon Puddin'

    2 c  Persimmon puree *
2 1/2 c  Sugar
    1 c  Butter
    3    Eggs; beaten
  3/4 c  All purpose flour
  1/4 ts Salt
  1/4 ts Baking soda
    1 tb Cinnamon
    1 ts Vanilla extract
    1 c  Buttermilk
    1 sm Raw sweet potato; finely grated (optional)

* You can use the large persimmons from the grocer or farm market in
this recipe and it will be good, but the native persimmons have a
much grander flavor.

Combine all ingredients, stirring until smooth. Pour into a greased
9x13" Pyrex baking dish. Bake at 300 F for 1 hour. Let cool and cut
into squares.  Can serve with some whipped cream if you want; we
always ate it plain. And it's delicious slightly warm, but also good
cold; room temperature-cold, not refrigerator-cold.

Yield: 16 Servings

This is my grandmother's persimmon pudding that she usually made at
Thanksgiving and/or Christmas for the family. When I was little, I
didn't know what that funny brown stuff was, but even then I thought
it was pretty good. Now I love it but don't get it very often. It's
tough getting persimmons--we always use native persimmons, which are
mostly seed and skin, and getting an entire batch of persimmons that
are ripe (not "puckery") is a feat in itself. You have to collect
them only after a freeze and they fall from the tree and before
critters get them; clean them up as best you can of ground trash; and
put them through a food mill to separate the pulp from the skin and
seeds. And then, make this pudding, and oh, when you do, it's
heaven...