Spiced Cranberry Persimmon Sauce

Warm spices plus tart cranberries and sweet persimmons make an unusual Thanksgiving treat.

Last week I was lucky enough to snag not one, but two kinds of persimmons at the grocery store. This is the first year I can remember seeing persimmons locally, although these specific fruits were grown in California.

I happily snatched up three of each kind; squat Fuyu that look similar to tomatoes, and tear drop Hachiya. I combined the Fuyus with cranberries to make this non-traditional cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving.

Apparently the Hachiyas need to be very ripe, and are then used like pumpkin puree. I am still waiting for mine to get that ripe. When they do I have a roll-out cookie experiment in mind.

Persimmons have a sweet taste that has been compared to apricots, although I think the flavor is more like an apple, without the crispiness.

This particular recipes is rather tart. If you prefer a sweeter cranberry sauce, feel free to add more sugar.

Cranberry sauce makes a nice addition to the table all winter long, not just over the holidays. Freeze some of this sauce to serve later with chicken, pork or bean dishes.