Soo Jeung Kwa (Persimmon Punch)

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Bring the water to a boil with the ginger and cinnamon sticks. Cook over
moderate heat for 1/2 hour. Strain the liquid and discard the ginger but
leave the cinnamon in the punch.
2. Add the sugar while the liquid is still hot, to dissolve it. Add the
persimmons to the lukewarm liquid and cool. The color of the punch becomes
an old rose shade. Refrigerate the punch and serve cold.
Serve whenever wanted with any Asian food.  Makes 1 gallon.
NOTE: The Korean persimmon (Diospyros kaki) used in the punch is the large,
orange, egg-shaped type. It is eaten when fully ripe -- very soft,
orange-colored and with a creamy texture. In Korea, the unripe persimmons
are picked in the autumn when the fruits are becoming ripe. The fruits are
peeled and strung together but spaced like the lights on a Christmas tree.
The strings of fruit are then attached to the persimmon tree to dry. Cool
nights and warm days accelerate the drying, but during the week that it
takes to dry, certain microbes that are floating freely in the garden air
attach themselves to the peeled persimmons. After several days, the
persimmons wilt and each one is then pushed together by hand to flatten on
the drying string. When a white mold appears the fruit is dry enough to be
packaged and sold, to be used in the punch. This procedure is a good
illustration of the Korean ingenuity used in preserving their seasonal
fruits and vegetables. It may also explain why dried persimmons are so
expensive and uncommon.
Source: "The Korean Kitchen" by Copeland Marks
Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #012
From: Linda Place <placel@worldnet.att.net>
Date: Sat, 11 Jan 1997 20:57:34 +0000

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