Soo Jeung Kwa (Persimmon Punch)

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Title: SOO JEUNG KWA (PERSIMMON PUNCH)
Categories: Fruit, Punch, Cold, Korean
Yield: 1 Gallon

1 ga ;water, cold
1/4 lb Ginger, fresh; rinsed,
-sliced thin with skin on
2 oz Cinnamon sticks; 8-10
2 c Sugar; or to taste
6 Whole semi-dried persimmons;
-cut into 1" triangles

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

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