干し柿づくり28.November.2020

去年はじめてつくった干し柿が上手にできたので、今年はさらに100個追加して600個の柿を吊るしました。干してから3日目になるときゅっと身が縮み、2週間ほどしたら食べ頃です。普通の干し柿と違い半生の状態でいただくので、中はとろりとして上品な甘みがあります。

柿は佐渡ヶ島のおけさ柿で、干し柿専用のクリップとハンガーは佐渡JAで使っている特注品をわけてもらったものです。当日集まってくれた12人の剝き方にも個性が出て、だれが上手だとか、これは不細工ね、などと会話しながらの作業がまた楽しいのです。600個を吊るした軒先の景色は紅葉と相まって圧巻でした。

お知り合いの皆さんにも季節の滋味あふれる味をお届けしたくてお裾分けをしていたら、今年もあっという間に無くなってしまいました。

そして、12月はいよいよ味噌づくりが始まります。

Making “Hoshigaki”, Dried Persimmons – A Japanese Delicacy

After a huge success in making Hoshigaki last year for the first time, we decided to give it another try again this year. We peeled and hung 600 persimmons, 100 more than last year. After three days underneath the eaves, they shriveled up to about half of the original size and were ready to eat in two weeks, a bit shorter than normal. We harvest them a little sooner because we prefer them to be more juicy, the kind which melts in the mouth with its fine texture and delicately sweet flavor.  
The fruits we used are “Okesa-gaki” persimmons grown in Sado island of Niigata prefecture. JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperatives) Sado was so kind as to offer us some of their custom-made clips and hangers exclusive for making Hoshigaki. Twelve people joined this event and had a good time talking over the peeled persimmons piled on the table praising or criticizing the varying shapes of peeled fruits. It seems the shape of fruits represent the character of the person who peeled them. 

The line up of 600 persimmons hung neatly under the eaves and colored leaves on the background made the entire scenery a real masterpiece on the balcony.
This year again, the Hoshigaki have gone in no time while I was sending them out this seasonal and flavorful delicacy to my friends, acquaintances and staff. 
Now December is upon us, and it is time to start making homemade Miso paste.