Instant Pot Persimmon Butter is full of sweet, fresh persimmons. Make it in just a couple of hours using your Instant Pot!
I have always deeply loved fruit butters.
When I was a little girl, we lived just down the road from a restaurant in Indiana called the Beef House. Now, the Beef House is an Indiana institution, particularly because of their rolls.
Beef House rolls are pillowy soft and the epitome of a classic yeast roll. In fact, they have made an entire business out of selling frozen rolls around the Midwest, allowing you to bake them up hot and fresh at home.
Of course, in my family we are now obsessed with making my no-knead refrigerator rolls or Texas Roadhouse rolls, but in the past we have absolutely been known to enjoy Beef House rolls for a holiday meal or two.
I have not been to the Beef House in years, but when I was a little girl they served their rolls with strawberry jam and apple butter. This is my first concrete memory of fruit butters, and clearly it is one that has always stuck with me.
I mean – don’t get me wrong. I love jam. But there’s something about fruit butter that I just cannot pass up. Its smooth texture and rich, sweet flavor – oh man! Especially when served on a fluffy roll that’s also been slathered in (dairy) butter, there’s just nothing better.
Just after Thanksgiving, my friend Kathleen paid Alex and I a visit. Kathleen lives in Sacramento, and is lucky enough to have a variety of fruit trees in her backyard.
(Tough life, huh??)
On this most recent visit, she was kind enough to gift us a giant bag full of oranges, Meyer lemons, and persimmons – all things that we normally have to pay an arm and a leg to enjoy here in Illinois.
I immediately headed into the kitchen, grabbed my Instant Pot and went to town making this luscious persimmon butter.
Types of persimmons
If you’ve never had a persimmon, remedy this immediately.
There are two types of persimmons:
Hachiya persimmons have a more elongated shape and should be eaten when they are completely ripe and soft. They are super astringent if you eat them before then.
If a hachiya persimmon feels like an overripe tomato to you, then it’s ripe enough to eat.
Some folks simply dig into them with a spoon. If you want to use them in a recipe, something like chocolate persimmon cake is great because it calls for pureeing the persimmons first.
Fuyu persimmons are more squat in shape and are like a cross between an apple and a tomato. It sounds weird, but I promise it is actually completely delicious. They are sweet and a bit crunchy (like an apple) but with a smooth flesh and thin skin (like a tomato).
Since they are much less astringent, you can eat fuyu persimmons while they are still firm or when they are soft.
I, personally, find it completely acceptable to simply enjoy fuyu persimmons with some tangy cheese as part of a cheese and charcuterie board.
But when Alex suggested I make persimmon butter out of them, it was like a lightbulb went off.
How to make persimmon butter
Fruit butters are so rich in flavor and smooth in texture that you could easily think it takes a lot of work to make them.
Mostly, it just takes time. Fruit butters require a two-step cooking process: first cooking the fruit, then reducing the puree until it is thick and sweet and full of concentrated fruit flavor.
In the case of this persimmon butter, I made this process more hands-off by using my Instant Pot.
Ingredients you’ll need
To make my persimmon butter, you will need:
- 8-9 ripe Fuyu persimmons
- 1/4 cup water
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 2-3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 splash vanilla
- Pinch of salt
I typically use fuyu persimmons in this recipe because they’re my personal favorite and they’re easier to get my hands on here in Illinois.
However, you could totally swap in ripe hachiya persimmons if that’s what you have on hand. Just keep in mind that you might not need to cook them as long in the first stage, since they start out so much softer.
I toss a cinnamon stick into the pot while the butter is in the second stage of cooking. If you don’t have a cinnamon stick, add a big pinch of ground cinnamon to the pot instead.
Making this recipe
Prep your persimmons by hulling them and cutting them into rough chunks. Add the persimmons along with the water, lemon juice, and sugar to an Instant Pot.
Lock the lid into place, make sure the steam valve is closed, and set the cooker for “Manual” on high pressure for 45 minutes.
When the timer beeps, quick release the pressure and carefully open the lid. Puree the cooked persimmons using an immersion blender.
Leave the pureed persimmon mixture in the pot. Add the cinnamon stick and set the lid on the pot, but don’t lock it in place – leave a small gap to let steam escape.
Turn on the slow cooker function to high for 1 hour.
After an hour, the persimmon butter should be smooth, thickened, and luscious. Note that it will thicken more as it cools.
If the texture isn’t as thick as you’d like, feel free to continue cooking for a bit longer – I suggest checking it every 20-30 minutes if you do cook it longer.
Turn off the pot and add a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Taste the butter; add more sugar or vanilla as needed.
Remove the cinnamon stick before storing the persimmon butter.
If you do not have an Instant Pot, you can follow the same stove-top cooking method as for my Apple Cherry Butter – just note that you will have to babysit it a bit more than you would in the Instant Pot.
Storage tips
Your persimmon butter will keep in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks. Only use clean spoons to dip into it and keep your fingers out of it to help it keep as long as possible.
You can also freeze it for longer-term storage. Make sure you leave enough head room in your jars if freezing so they don’t crack. Freeze for up to 6 months.
Just pull out a jar when you’re ready to eat it, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight and enjoy the (literal) fruits of your labor long after persimmon season is over slathered on everything from dinner rolls to Sweet Potato Biscuits or your morning toast.
Instant Pot Persimmon Butter
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8-9 Fuyu persimmons
- 1/4 cup water
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon
- 2-3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 splash vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Hull the persimmons and cut into chunks. Place into the bowl of an Instant Pot with the water, lemon juice and sugar. Lock the lid into place, making sure the steam valve is closed, and set to cook on “Manual” on high pressure for 45 minutes.
- When the timer beeps, quick release the pressure and open the lid. Puree the cooked persimmons in the pot using an immersion blender.
- Add the cinnamon stick to the pot and set the lid on the pot, leaving a small gap allow steam out. Do not lock the lid into place.
- Set the slow cooker function to high for 1 hour.
- When the timer beeps, add a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Taste and add additional sugar or vanilla as needed. Remove the cinnamon stick before transferring to airtight containers for storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
Notes
- For an ultra-smooth butter, peel the persimmons before cooking.
- If you do not have an immersion blender, allow the cooked persimmons to cool slightly before carefully transferring to a blender to puree. Add the pureed fruit back to the pot for the next stage of cooking.
- If you do not have an Instant Pot, you can follow the same stove-top cooking method as for my Apple Cherry Butter – just note that you will have to babysit it a bit more than you would in the Instant Pot.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Makes 1 quart
Ahmygeeeeerd! I haven’t consumed nearly enough persimmons in my life and the thought of making up for lost time by smearing persimmon butter on ALLTHETHINGS is making my mouth water! I need to get me an Instant Pot STAT!
You would looooove it! It’s made my breakfasts extra amazing the past couple of days.
Do the persimmon need to be ripe before making this recipe? I have the same kind of fruit. Thanks
They should be ripe, although they don’t need to be super ripe (they can still be firm, they don’t need to be mushy or anything like that). Hope this helps!
What would you say is the approximate weight of the persimmons you used? I’m going to try this with smaller, wild Tennessee persimmons.
Hey Doug – Maybe a couple of pounds? If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
I would drive from NC to Tennessee to be able to pick a batch of those! I can’t find any American persimmons anywhere around me 🙁
They’re so hard to find if you don’t live in the right area for them. There’s only one grocery store near me that reliably carries them once/year and I always get so excited to find them.
Will this work with hayashi persimmons?
Hi Cathy – I haven’t made it with hayashi persimmons so I can’t say for sure. They would definitely need to be fully ripe. If you happen to give it a try, I’d love to know how it turns out!
I’m short on freezer space; I wonder how well this recipe would work using a canner to seal the jars?
I personally haven’t tried canning it, so I am not sure of the result. I’m sure it can be tweaked to be safe to can, but I am just not sure what the right method would be. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
Hi Stephie !
Would date paste work in place of the sugar in the persimmon butter recipe. I’ve been trying to eat sos free (sugar, oil, salt). Maybe the same amount ..2-3 T as to granulated sugar ?? I also have an Instant Pot and lately I,ve been cooking my steel-cut oats in it with water and almond milk AND cut cup chunks of fuyu persimmon in it. Only 3 minutes with natural pressure release 12 minutes . Tastes sweet and so creamy good !
Hi Stephanie – I have never used date paste in place of sugar in recipes like this, so I’m not sure how it would work or what the right amount would be, but I’d be interested to hear how it turns out if you try it!
Could I do this with persimmon pulp and skip the first step or does the persimmon still need to cook for a bit?
Hi! I haven’t tried this starting with persimmon pulp, so I’m not sure of the right way to go. I think it would still need to cook for a bit. If you happen to try it, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you!
If I double the recipe do I need to double the cooking time in my insta pot?
Hi Camile! You shouldn’t need to double the cooking time in your IP, at least based on my own experiences with my Instant Pot.