It's confusing. It's complex, and its in season right now.
The persimmon, its flavor is hard to define.
Most will tell you that you have to try it for yourself and you can for the next few months. The persimmon is most commonly found in China or Japan, but you can get them right off the tree in California.
At Otow orchard in Granite Bay, they are preparing dried persimmons the traditional Japanese way. After the fruit is plucked from the tree it is skinned then tied up on long drying sticks. The fruit will bake under the sun for three-to-four weeks.
To help distribute the sugar inside, farmer Tosh Kuratomi periodically massages the drying fruit by hand.
"Air drying tastes better than if you were to do it with a machine. We found that there is more flavor in the ones that dry for 4 to 6 weeks," said Kuratomi.
Dried persimmon is an Asian delicacy, but it's a very labor-intensive process.
One dried persimmons can cost upwards of $5. You can buy the fresh fruit for much cheaper but, only for a short while. Persimmon season ends in December.