Food writer Sonoko Sakai, chef Christine Wong and YouTuber Emily Kim, aka Maangchi, have all written cookbooks featuring the distinctive and exotic fruit
Japanese-American cooking teacher and food writer Sonoko Sakai loves everything about persimmons, from admiring their appearance to eating them.
“Traditionally in Japan, people would plant a persimmon tree to bring good luck. But unfortunately, people live in these high-rises now and they don’t plant trees any more in the cities,” she says, speaking to Style by video call from California.
“But if you go to the countryside, it’s so beautiful to see persimmons. In the fall, the leaves turn red and then fall. It gives you the sense of seasons. And when you see the persimmon, it is fiery red. That crimson colour is just so beautiful.”
Although persimmons are grown in Japan, they are actually a native fruit of China. Persimmons are also cultivated in Korea, Spain, Brazil and the US, mostly in California.
