Persimmons are a valued and prized fruit, especially true for those who enjoy persimmon baked pudding, an early European-American dish which is likened to pumpkin pie or plum pudding in texture. Some autumn and winter meals are not the same without dessert made from persimmons. This red/orange fruit is best harvested after the first frost. From the Western chapter of the United States Regional Cookbook, Culinary Arts Institute of Chicago, 1947.