Granny’s Persimmon Puddin'
 
 2 cups persimmon puree *
 2 1/2 cups sugar
 1 cup (2 sticks) butter (you can use margarine, but it’s worth using the
butter)
 3 eggs, beaten
 3/4 cup all purpose flour
 1/4 teaspoon salt
 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
 1 tablespoon cinnamon
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1 cup buttermilk
 1 small raw sweet potato, finely grated (this is optional, but gives a
   little body to the pudding)
 
 Combine all ingredients, stirring until smooth.  Pour into a greased 9″ x
 13″ Pyrex baking dish.  Bake at 300F for 1 hour.  Let cool and cut into
 squares.  Can serve with some whipped cream if you want; we always ate it
 plain.  And it’s delicious slightly warm, but also good cold (room
 temperature-cold, not refrigerator-cold).
 
 Will serve 16 to 24.
 
 * You can use the large persimmons from the grocer or farm market in this 
 recipe and it will be good, but the native persimmons have a much grander
 flavor.
 
 This is my grandmother’s persimmon pudding that she usually made at
 Thanksgiving and/or Christmas for the family.  When I was little, I didn't
 know what that funny brown stuff was, but even then I thought it was pretty
 good.  Now I LOVE it but don't get it very often.  It’s tough getting
 persimmons - we always use native persimmons, which are mostly seed and
 skin, and getting an entire batch of persimmons that are ripe (not
 “puckery”) is a feat in itself.  You have to collect them only after a
 freeze and they fall from the tree and before critters get them; clean them
 up as best you can of ground trash; and put them through a food mill to
 separate the pulp from the skin and seeds.  And then, make this pudding,
 and oh, when you do, it’s heaven...

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