Sun-kissed persimmons fruit of their labor for Da Lat farmers

By Khanh Huong, Phuoc Tuan November 29, 2020 | 06:02 pm PT

A Japanese technology transfer has many Da Lat families adding value to their persimmons by hang drying them instead of selling them fresh.

Persimmon trees have been grown for decades in Da Lat, located 1,500 meters above sea leave in the Central Highlands and named Vietnams production hub for fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Persimmon has been grown for decades in Da Lat, a town located 1,500 meters above sea level in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. The town is famous as a national hub for flowers, vegetables and fruits.

Persimmon season in Da Lat normally starts in late August and ends in November. But locals do not pick the fruit and sell it immediately. Instead, they dry the persimmons by sun-drying pieces of the fruit with the Japanese technique.

The persimmon season in Da Lat normally starts in late August and ends in November. But many locals do not harvest the fruit and sell them immediately. They dry the fruit in sunshine using a method initiated in Japan.

Persimmons are washed to remove dust and left dry.

First, the persimmons are washed to remove dust and left to dry.

They are later carefully peeled with the stem left intact.Workers must be careful to have a beautiful persimmon, said a worker.

Next they are peeled carefully with their stems left intact. "Workers must be careful to get beautiful persimmons," said one of the farmers.

Peeled persimmons are dried in an oven in a short time to have a firm outer layer. According to Dang Thi Thu Van, an experienced worker, ripen persimmons are kept at 50-60 degrees Celsius for around 3 hours.

The peeled persimmons are then dried in an oven for a short time so that they develop a firm outer layer.
Dang Thi Thu Van, a woman with a lot of experience in using this method, said ripe persimmons are baked at 50-60 degrees Celsius for around three hours.

The fruit is then hung for three weeks in a room, with the temperature settling at around 25-30 degrees Celsius.Dried persimmons are not new to Vietnamese farmers but the magic of the Japanese technique, transferred to Vietnamese farmers around a decade ago by experts from the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), adds to the appeal.

The fruit is then hung for three weeks in a room with the temperature at around 25-30 degrees Celsius.
Dried persimmons are not a new product for Vietnamese farmers, but the effectiveness of the Japanese technique, transferred to Vietnamese farmers around a decade ago by experts from the Japan International Corporation Agency (JICA), adds looks, quality and taste.

Persimmons are separated on plastic hangers and have no chemicals during the slow-drying process with sunlight and wind.

The persimmons are hung separately on plastic hangers. The method uses no chemicals and its final phase is the slow-drying process with sunlight and wind.

Workers check the persimmons regularly to make sure their outer skin is not moldy. When the rain season comes to an end, Da Lat farmers are always busy with their persimmon business.

Workers check the persimmons regularly to make sure their outer "skin" does not get moldy. When the rainy season is about to end, many Da Lat farmers get busy with their persimmons business.

Fans keep insects at bay.
The processing technique depends partly on natural light and wind, so unpredictable weather conditions may affect its effectiveness.