How Persimmons Became A Pantry Staple with Surprising Benefits
At Figure Ate, we believe in creating delicious foods that tell a story—one that’s rooted in time-honored tradition, innovation, and a bit of serendipity. Enter our persimmon vinegar, a star of ancient preservation techniques blended with climate-resilient agriculture. How did this vinegar come to be? Let’s rewind.
Our Director of Land Stewardship, Jesse Smith, and his wife Ana first had inklings of a persimmon product while running Casitas Valley Farm, a few years before they joined the White Buffalo Land Trust. They managed orchards brimming with avocados, apples, and—you guessed it—persimmons. Through their experiences on the farm, they had two key “aha” moments. First, while running a creamery they quickly learned the value and power of preservation. Fresh cheeses spoiled quickly and were harder to sell, while aged cheeses gained value over time without refrigeration. This realization sparked an intriguing idea: could they create sustainable, long-lasting products through natural preservation?
Gathering persimmons during harvest in California
The second realization came when they noticed that persimmons were one of the most abundant, productive crops on the farm, requiring minimal water (the amount of water avocados used 
in a week was equal to all the water persimmons needed for an entire year!) and producing extremely pest-resistant fruit. With such a massive supply, they decided to partner with a local distillery, Ventura Spirits, to turn the surplus into persimmon brandy. One day, a happy accident led to the discovery of persimmon vinegar. A forgotten bucket of fermenting fruit had transformed into something incredible – a unique, naturally fermented vinegar with traditional roots across Asia. After tasting it, the distillers and Jesse knew they had stumbled upon something special.
Fast forward a few years, to when Jesse joined White Buffalo Land Trust and met its founder, Steve Finkel. Though the idea of a persimmon vinegar still lingered in Jesse's mind, it hadn't yet materialized. Then, White Buffalo Land Trust secured a significant USDA grant through the Local Food Promotion Program. This grant was a pivotal milestone that enabled the nonprofit to fund the creation of Figure Ate, with persimmon vinegar as our flagship product.
Making Our Persimmon Vinegar
Inspired by a long history of persimmon products across East Asia — where persimmon vinegar is a beloved staple, as common as ketchup is in the West — today, we craft our vinegar with a time-honored process. Every fall, our farm partners harvest ripe persimmons from the orchards. The ideal persimmons are deep orange, soft, and practically fall off the tree at the slightest shake. Once the fruit is harvested, we remove the small crown of leaves (calyx) from each persimmon.
Ripe fruits are crushed to release their juice, which is transferred into barrels for fermentation. As natural yeasts start breaking down the fruit’s sugars, the juice becomes bubbly and begins turning into alcohol. In the final step—acetic fermentation—bacteria convert the alcohol into the tangy vinegar we love. This minimal-intervention process preserves the essence of the persimmon, allowing its natural flavor to shine through.
Persimmon Benefits
Persimmon vinegar is more than just delicious – it’s a climate-resilient, shelf-stable powerhouse. Perfect for food preservation – we even use it to flavor and preserve our biltong – this superfood enhances recipes with its lightly sweet taste and unique flavor profile. Packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, persimmon vinegar can also offer health benefits like supporting heart health and reducing inflammation.
Next time you drizzle our Persimmon Vinegar over a salad or mix it into a healthy tonic, savor the bright, complex flavors. You're not just tasting a product; you're experiencing a journey of innovation, tradition, and care. It's a reminder that the best things in life are often simple, pure, and steeped in history.