WEBVTT - How Do You Make Hoshigaki?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum. Here, we've all been handed our fair share

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<v Speaker 1>of lemons lately. So enough already with the lemonade. As

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<v Speaker 1>time sprawls on with ongoing challenges and unhold potential, why

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<v Speaker 1>not grab it by its stem, ties, string around it,

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<v Speaker 1>and give another of life's astringent fruits a shot at

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<v Speaker 1>proverb status. When life hands you per simmons, make hushigaki.

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<v Speaker 1>A hushigaki is a type of dried per simon, Originally

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<v Speaker 1>a method of preserving the fall harvest for winter. Hushigaki

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<v Speaker 1>are a century's old Japanese delicacy that's easy to make

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<v Speaker 1>but is remarkably time and effort intensive. The week's long

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<v Speaker 1>process happens slowly, requiring patience, mindfulness, and almost microscopic attention

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<v Speaker 1>to detail, and a near daily practice of gently and

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<v Speaker 1>slowly massaging each percimon by hand. There are many species

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<v Speaker 1>and varieties of persimmons, though they tend to be about

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<v Speaker 1>the size and shape of a tomato, either squatly round

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<v Speaker 1>or more oval and sort of pointed, and are golden

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<v Speaker 1>to red to brown in color when they're mature. The

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<v Speaker 1>fruits are sweet and taste sort of rich, like squash,

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<v Speaker 1>with a little bit of fruity spice to them. You

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<v Speaker 1>can categorize persimmons into two main categories, a stringent and

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<v Speaker 1>non astringent. A stringency is the quality of things that

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<v Speaker 1>make you pucker. They taste drying and sort of bitter.

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<v Speaker 1>Non estringent per simon varieties like fuyu and gito can

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<v Speaker 1>be eaten fresh out of hand like an apple, or

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<v Speaker 1>peeled and sliced into any dish that you'd like peeled

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<v Speaker 1>sliced fruit in, either while they're still crisp or when

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<v Speaker 1>they're a little riper and thus softer and sweeter. They're

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<v Speaker 1>also dried in slices like apples or mangoes. These stringent varieties,

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<v Speaker 1>like one called hachia, have to be uber ripe to

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<v Speaker 1>be eaten fresh. They're essentially so puckery that they're inedible

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<v Speaker 1>until they're jelly on the inside, at which point you

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<v Speaker 1>scoop out that jelly and eat it straight or incorporate

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<v Speaker 1>it into desserts like puddings. You can take unripe hachia

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<v Speaker 1>and freeze them or blend them up and then incorporate

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<v Speaker 1>them into foods or drinks, probably with some sugar, but

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<v Speaker 1>the most famous way to make them palatable is by

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<v Speaker 1>making hushigaki. Hushagaki are made from ferm hachia with just

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<v Speaker 1>the right tat of softness and preferably a longish stem

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<v Speaker 1>still attached. Anybody can hypothetically make them. There's no one

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<v Speaker 1>exact right way, and people have lots of different tips

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<v Speaker 1>and techniques, and outcomes vary with the maker and the

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<v Speaker 1>year and the individual fruit. All you need is a knife,

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<v Speaker 1>some string, and hatchia per simmons, which in the US

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<v Speaker 1>can be found at many Asian groceries, California Farmer's Market,

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<v Speaker 1>and some supermarkets. You first peel the skin off each

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<v Speaker 1>hattia with a knife, leaving a little bit of skin

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<v Speaker 1>around the stem, and tie length of string around each

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<v Speaker 1>stem four persimons. Without a stem, you can sterilize a

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<v Speaker 1>stainless steel screw, screw it through the top into the

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<v Speaker 1>core and attach your string to that screw. Next, sterilize

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<v Speaker 1>each percimon by dipping it in boiling water for just

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<v Speaker 1>a couple seconds. Some makers will do a quick dunk

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<v Speaker 1>in vodka or brandy instead. You hang the persimons indoors

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<v Speaker 1>someplace warm and dry with good air circulation, like in

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<v Speaker 1>a sunny window, and leave them undisturbed for a week

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<v Speaker 1>to air dry. After a week, using a very gentle touch,

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<v Speaker 1>never squeeze, You press each persimon ever so gingerly once

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<v Speaker 1>a day, working your way up to a very light

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<v Speaker 1>daily massage. This soft coddling helps break down the pulp

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<v Speaker 1>and smooths the outside of the fruit, where wrinkles could

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<v Speaker 1>entrap moisture and harbor mold. It also forces out internal

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<v Speaker 1>air pockets and lets the natural sugars inside rise to

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<v Speaker 1>the surface of the fruit, where they eventually form a white,

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<v Speaker 1>powdery bloom, a sort of crust that looks like powdered sugar.

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<v Speaker 1>Over several weeks anywhere from as few as three weeks

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<v Speaker 1>to a few months, the fruit will soften and shrivel,

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<v Speaker 1>forming a craggy exterior with deep grooves in the folded skin.

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<v Speaker 1>At the end of the process, you gently roll the

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<v Speaker 1>hushigaki with a rolling pin to achieve even thickness and

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<v Speaker 1>get rid of any remaining air bubbles and VOILA a

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<v Speaker 1>time to test the literal fruits of your labor. If

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<v Speaker 1>all goes well, your hushigaki should be amber colored and firm,

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<v Speaker 1>but pliable, almost gummylike in texture, sort of like a

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<v Speaker 1>whole fruit petato fruit. The drying process brings out flavors

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<v Speaker 1>of honey and caramel and warm fall spices. They can

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<v Speaker 1>be stored in an airtight container and shared with your

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<v Speaker 1>most appreciative friends, or say, at your ledger, for up

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<v Speaker 1>to a year or more. Because of their labor intensive

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<v Speaker 1>creation process, pushikaki are expensive for a dried fruit. They

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<v Speaker 1>tend to run about five bucks apiece if you're buying

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<v Speaker 1>them instead of massaging them yourself. In Japanese tradition, they're

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<v Speaker 1>often given as gifts at New Year's or other winter holidays.

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<v Speaker 1>Pushadaki are often savored in small slices as a snack

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<v Speaker 1>alongside tea or incorporated into New Year's themed dishes, and

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<v Speaker 1>they're a lovely treat on a cheese or charcuterie plate.

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<v Speaker 1>You can find them online if you don't happen to

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<v Speaker 1>have any markets that carry them in your area. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode is based on the article when life pansy persimmons

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<v Speaker 1>make Koshigaki on how stuffworks dot com, written by Kerry Tatro.

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<v Speaker 1>Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how

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<v Speaker 1>Stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four

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<v Speaker 1>more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.