Poached Persimmon

I love going to the market--Reading Terminal, check it out--and buying something completely random. On my last visit, I bought a persimmon. Back in the 'Sip, there was actually a wild persimmon tree across the road from our house. We never really ate the fruit but my mother did mention that they could be used to make jelly. In keeping with my goal of stepping outside my comfort zone, I decided it was time to give them a try.

I love eating poached fruit on my pancakes. So, I decided to use persimmon this morning. This is arguably the best poached fruit combination that I've had.

Ingredients:

1 ripe persimmon
1/2 cup of water
1 teaspoon of butter
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 heaping teaspoon ginger preserves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon of dried cranberries

Directions:

Stem and peel the persimmons, discard any seeds, and cut the persimmon into 8 wedges. In a saucepan combine the persimmons, water, butter, lime juice, brown sugar, ginger preserves, and cinnamon. Bring the liquid to a boil, stirring occasionally, and simmer the mixture, covered, for 15 minutes, or until the persimmons are tender. Add the cranberries when the fruit is almost done and serve immediately over hot pancakes. Alternatively this could be eaten chilled over ice cream, rice pudding, cake, or bread pudding.