Persimmons are the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus Diospyros. The most widely cultivated species is the Asian persimmon, Diospyros kaki. Persimmon fruit originated in China and is also known as ¿Fruit for Gods¿ in Japan. Persimmons are good source of vitamin C, vitamin A, iron and dietary fibers. They are rich in manganese and contain other minerals like Ca, P, K, traces of Zn, Cu and amino acids. Lycopene present in it protects against prostrate cancer. Tannins in persimmon also have antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic activity. Keeping in view the health and medical benefits of persimmon the research was done to study the physico-chemical characteristics of Persimmon fruit from Uttarakhand, India and to develop a product with less astringent properties that can match the Indian taste. The results of this work reveal that persimmon can be processed successfully with or without incorporation of similar kind of fruit pulp like mango, papaya etc. into products like chutney and slab, to exploit the tremendous market potential of Persimmon.
