Picking and Eating Persimmons in the Countryside

This year's persimmon harvest is clearly a bumper crop, even to someone like me who knows nothing about persimmons.

On mountain paths, in the middle of village fields, at bus stops, in the yards of every house...

The persimmons were so plentiful that I worried the branches might break.

They were abundantly ripening.

But no matter how abundant the harvest...

They aren't from my persimmon tree, so they're just a picture to me ㅜ.ㅠ

While taking a walk, I saw someone picking persimmons at a persimmon farm,

so I bought a basket full,

lined them up, and made a solid plan to eat them one by one as they ripened. But then...

The village head offered me some persimmons, saying they may not be big, but they are sweet.

The neighbor offered to let me pick some persimmons from their tree.

An old lady I met while walking also

pointed to three persimmon trees in the shade below the mountain,

and told me to take as many as I wanted.

Her son usually picked them, but he couldn't come this year...

This is what you call a "serendipitous windfall." Haha

I immediately ordered a tool similar to a fishing rod for picking persimmons, got ready,

and went persimmon picking.

Ah~ It was hard, but not hard.

The joy of harvest.

Even just picking from three trees, I got three baskets full.

With the persimmons I already bought...

I decided to leave plenty for the birds.

I bought a food dehydrator and made dried persimmons.

Oh dear~ Because of these persimmons, my minimalist life is going to be thrown out the window.

Thanks to the dried persimmons, my autumn salad has been transformed :)

The finished dried persimmons are great as a snack, a wine accompaniment,

or as a salad topping.

I should take the rest of the dried persimmons with me as a gift when I go back to Seoul.

Truly local food from clean Gokseong. Haha

I learned a valuable lesson.

In the countryside,

persimmons are for picking, not buying.

Even without your own persimmon tree, you'll have more persimmons than you can eat.