A Persimmon Salad from the 1940s

I have lived in California all my life, so it is easy for me to take the abundance we have for granted.  While I have traveled around the United States and in a few other countries, I don't always recognize that the climate we have is different in a wonderful kind of way.  Where I live, we have a mild climate year-round with the opportunity to grow a variety of fruits, nuts, and vegetables.  

That got me wondering, "What exactly IS California cuisine?"  Sure, I can look around me now and see all the current influences, but what fun is that?  I wanted to know what made California cuisine distinct in prior decades.  Then I recalled that there was a big influx of people arriving in the first half of the 20th century, including my ancestors, who arrived in the 1930s and 1940s.

This website, California Migration History 1850-2022, offers clickable tabs on a chart showing the birthplaces of California residents to compare to the total population of the state.  For example, 1900 shows a population of  1.4 million with about 650,000 born in California, about 50%.  1910 and 1920 show about 37% born in CA, 1930 about 34%, 1940 and 1950 about 36%.  In other words, two-thirds of the population weren't born in the state!  During this time the population of California grew to 10.8 million (1950).

I looked for a cookbook that captured the cuisine of that time period, and I found The California Cook Book for Indoor and Outdoor Eating by Genevieve Callahan.  

For Indoor and Outdoor Eating

One aspect that makes California cuisine distinct, she pointed out, is the use of "Strange Fruits in Salads" (page 17).  In particular, in Southern California, subtropical fruits can be grown "as ornamentals."  She noted it is worth watching the local markets to get items such as mangos, papayas, guavas, cherimoyas, feijoas, passionfruits, white sapotas, kumquats, loquats, pomegranates, and persimmons.

It is persimmon season in my area and I have an abundance of them in my kitchen, thanks to a colleague whose trees "produce hundreds" and a local homeowner who sells them from his garage at an excellent price.

Ms. Callahan gave several recipes that use persimmons in salads, some in ways unusual to me.  

However, the first one I tried was so very basic:  lemon-flavored gelatin with whole persimmons embedded in it.  What attracted me to it was that she stated on page 26,

The Mission Inn Hotel and Spa is an iconic Riverside location.  It started as an adobe boarding house in 1876 and then became a full-service hotel in the early 1900s.  By the 1940s and early 1950s, it was a "place to be" because famous people stayed there, such as Albert Einstein, Booker T. Washington, Helen Keller, Clark Gable, and a variety of U. S. presidents.  But it later closed and became rundown and was almost demolished until purchased by the current owners in the 1980s who renovated it.  It has returned to being a beautiful location to stay, dine, and enjoy the spa.

I didn't want a "large ring mold" for two people to consume, but I do have some small gelatin molds that were deep enough to hold a small, peeled persimmon.  I wanted to see the persimmons "glowing" through the gelatin!

Here goes:

3 ounce package lemon-flavored gelatin

1 cup boiling water

1 cup cold water

6 small soft-ish persimmons

6 individual serving gelatin molds

Just add water!

Mix gelatin with the boiling water, stirring until it is dissolved -- the liquid looks clear.

Add the cold water and stir some more.

Pour a thin layer of gelatin into each mold.  Set into the refrigerator to chill until firmly solid (about 10 to 15 minutes).

While they are chilling, cut off the tops and then peel each persimmon.  If you see any seeds, remove those by cutting them out with a knife.  You should have at least one flat side on each persimmon -- note which is the most attractive side.

Remove the molds from the refrigerator.  Put one persimmon into each cup, setting the attractive side down on the gelatin and centering it in the mold.  Using a fork made it easy to control.

Pour the rest of the liquid gelatin into the molds, covering the persimmon with at least a very thin layer (if possible!).

Set molds back into the refrigerator and chill until solid.

To serve, put some very warm water into a shallow bowl.  Dip the molds in one at a time, without getting water onto the gelatin, leaving it very briefly.  Just enough to soften the sides of the gelatin.

Turn the mold over onto a plate to serve.

A thin layer to ensure the persimmon is enclosed.

I peeled extra, just in case.

The fork pokes into the "down" side.

The mold is full and the fruit is almost covered.

My Notes

My molds hold about 1/2 cup liquid each.  Once I added the persimmons, I ended up with 5 completely filled molds and several extra with just the bottom layers.  So let's say to plan for 6 molds.

Putting the molds in a small cake pan made it easy to transfer to/from the refrigerator.

The fork was poked into the non-attractive side of the persimmon, which allowed me to place it carefully on the gelatin and center it.  My fingers stayed out of the way.

It took over an hour for the gelatin in the filled molds to feel solid.  I let them chill much longer before I served them.

The Verdict

It was good!  I mean, for all that it was just lemon gelatin and persimmon, it was a light, refreshing salad.  The persimmon flavor goes well with the lemon, so that was a good pairing.

My guest taster thought it was fine.  Not earth-shattering as a recipe goes, but fine enough.

Did the persimmon glow through the gelatin?  You be the judge:

Pretty!

The persimmon was soft enough that it was easily cut with a knife, and the gelatin was firm enough that it held its shape after cutting.

As for presentation, I would probably serve this on a bed of dark green lettuce or spinach greens if for a salad.  It would also be good as a light dessert, especially if a cookie (thin, crisp) was with it.  

To be honest, I had some for breakfast the next day, which was tasty, too.

Success!

I doubt you will ever find the Mission Inn serving this again.  It was fun to find out that they did.