• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 cups bran flakes

¾ cup coarsely chopped black walnuts, wild hickory nuts, or pecans

½ cup seedless raisins or dried currants

1 cup milk

1 large egg

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

½ cup molasses (not too dark)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Coat a 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf pan with nonstick oil-and-flour baking spray and set aside.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together into a large mixing bowl. Add the bran flakes, black walnuts, and raisins; toss 4 to 5 times to dredge the nuts and raisins, then make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.

3. Whisk the milk, egg, and vegetable oil in a small bowl until creamy. In a separate small bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, combine the molasses and baking soda; the mixture will fizz—proof that the soda is good and fresh. Pour the molasses mixture into the well in the dry ingredients, then add the milk mixture and stir only enough to combine. It’s good if a few floury specks show; they prove that you haven’t overbeaten the batter.

4. Scoop the batter into the pan, spreading to the corners, and bake on the middle oven shelf for about 1 hour or until nicely browned, springy to the touch, and a cake tester inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

5. Cool the loaf in the upright pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, loosen around the edge with a thin-blade spatula, then turn out on the rack and cool to room temperature before slicing. Note: This bread freezes well. Wrap snugly in plastic food wrap, overwrap in aluminum foil, date, label, and store in a 0° F. freezer. Serve within 3 to 4 months.

* * *

ABOUT WILD PERSIMMONS

Wild or native persimmons (Diospyros virginiana) thrive throughout the South. About the size of Ping-Pong balls, they are much smaller than Japanese persimmons (Diospyros kaki), sweeter, too, and more intensely flavored. Southerners have long prized them, but today with developers bulldozing miles of forests to build “McMansions,” millions of wild persimmon trees are toppling. As a result, their honeyed fruit is more precious than ever, especially since deer, possums, and raccoons gobble them up almost as fast as they fall from the tree.

Season: It varies from area to area, but as a rule, fully ripe wild persimmons begin to drop from the tree in late September and continue to do so well into December.

Gathering: Contrary to the old wives’ tale, you don’t have to wait till after first frost to gather wild persimmons. If they’ve fallen from the tree, if they’re shriveled and coppery of hue, if their caps slip right off, they’re ready to eat. If not, beware. A green persimmon will turn your mouth inside out. Unfortunately, bees dote upon ripe persimmons, so keep your wits about you when picking up windfalls.

Pulping or Puréeing: First, wash the persimmons by sloshing gently up and down in a sink full of cold water, repeat several times, then scoop onto several thicknesses of paper toweling. Next, force the persimmons through a food mill or colander set over a large bowl, leaving the skins and seeds behind.

Yield: 1 quart wild persimmons makes about 2 cups pulp.

Freezing: Like apples and peaches, wild persimmons darken when exposed to the air.

To prevent discoloration, mix 1/8 teaspoon powdered ascorbic acid (vitamin C) into each 1 quart persimmon pulp. Pack into 1-pint freezer containers, leaving ½ inch head space. Snap on the lids, date, label, and set on the freezing surface of a 0° F. freezer. Use in any recipe that calls for unsweetened persimmon pulp.

Maximum Storage Time: One year.

* * *

WILD PERSIMMON BREAD

MAKES A 9 × 5 × 3-INCH LOAF

This recipe is adapted from one created by Laura Frost, once the chef at Sleddon’s in Southern Pines, North Carolina. That restaurant is gone now—but not memories of the delicious food served there. For tips on gathering and puréeing wild persimmons, see About Wild Persimmons, which precedes.

2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon