Experimental Food Report

I made the persimmon panna cotta, and it was quite satisfactory, although I probably should have been more thorough in blending the whipped cream into the gelatin cream. Since you will probably not be able to find persimmons until next fall, if you want to do this, I would recommend doing it with canned pumpkin:

I started with about a cup of cooked persimmon puree. I heated it up and added dry marsala, cinnamon, allspice, and freshly grated nutmeg. After it had cooked down, I cooled it and added a packet of gelatin. Then, I added about 3/4 of a cup of cream and heated it back up (but not to boiling, as that disturbs the gelatin). With the remaining cream from the pint (about a cup and a quarter), I added just under a half a cup of sugar, a dash of vanilla extract, and whipped it to stiff peaks.

After the first cream had cooled, I folded them in and put the mixture in a mold, which I then chilled. It was very good, but was definitely in two layers, which, if taken in a single bite were a good balance. I think next time I will work to get the two layers bound together better.