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 Fluffy No-Knead Refrigerator 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.
If you’ve never had a persimmon, remedy this immediately. Fuyu persimmons (the kind used in this recipe) 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).
I, personally, find it completely acceptable to simply enjoy them 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.
I immediately headed into the kitchen, grabbed my Instant Pot and went to town. Because I made this in an Instant Pot, I was able to make the two-step cooking process required for a truly luscious fruit butter (first cooking the fruit and then reducing the puree until it is thick and sweet and full of the concentrated persimmon flavor) a hands-off process.
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.
The resulting Instant Pot Persimmon Butter will keep in the refrigerator for a week or two. Freeze it for longer-term storage. Just pull out a jar when you’re ready to eat it and enjoy the (literal) fruits of your labor long after persimmon season is over slathered on Refrigerator Rolls, Texas Roadhouse Rolls or Sweet Potato Biscuits.
Instant Pot Persimmon Butter
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
- 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
Nutrition
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!