While autumn symbolizes maturity and harvest, how much do we truly know about its fruits? Many farmers are well-versed in this matter—especially as pears, oranges, and pomegranates ripen for picking. Let us all revel in the joy these fruits bring.
Major autumn fruits, both domestic and imported, include: apples, bananas, oranges, hawthorn, sugarcane, pears, watermelons (autumn watermelons, mini watermelons, etc.), lemons, grapes, American grapes, tangerines, pomelos, mangoes, jujubes (various types like winter jujubes, large winter jujubes, red dates, etc.),pomegranates,autumn peaches, persimmons, tangerines, kiwifruit, Hami melons, tomatoes, dragon fruit, Chinese pears, loquats, southern pears, walnuts, lotus seeds, dried longan, dried lychee, water chestnuts, chestnuts, brown fruit, longan, mangoes, olives, ginkgo nuts, pineapples,Papaya, pomelo, durian, crabapple, honey pomelo, etc.Flowers terminal or subterminal, solitary or in clusters of several, or forming cymes; nearly campanulate, with 5-9 lobes; petals 5-9, often wrinkled, imbricate; numerous ovules. Fruit a spherical berry with persistent calyx lobes at apex and thick pericarp; seeds numerous. Fruit ripens September-October.The outer seed coat is fleshy, translucent, and juicy; the inner seed coat is leathery.
Its properties are sweet, sour, astringent, and warm. It possesses insecticidal, astringent, intestinal-soothing, and anti-diarrheal effects. Pomegranate fruits are rich in nutrients, containing one to two times more vitamin C than apples or pears.Persimmons, a berry fruit from the persimmon family, ripen around October. Their shapes vary—spherical, flattened oval, conical, or square—with colors ranging from pale orange-yellow to deep orange-red. Sizes span 2 cm to 10 cm, weighing 100 g to 350 g. Native to China, they've been cultivated for over a millennium.Sweet persimmons can be eaten fresh, while astringent varieties require desouring before consumption. Common desouring methods include aging or soaking in warm water or lime water. Beyond fresh consumption, whole persimmons can be sun-dried to make persimmon cakes. These cakes develop a white powdery coating called persimmon frost. This frost isn't starch but crystallized glucose seeping from the fruit's interior.These crystals do not readily combine with moisture in the air, so the surface of dried persimmons usually remains dry. This also aids in their preservation. Persimmons can also be fermented into persimmon wine or vinegar, processed into persimmon paste, persimmon powder, persimmon frost, persimmon tea, frozen persimmons, and more. In northern China, particularly in some areas of Shandong, persimmons are used to make persimmon pancakes.
In Northeast China, due to the difficulty in transporting and storing persimmons, they are typically left outdoors during winter. The extremely low temperatures freeze them into ice, known as frozen persimmons, which are then transported and stored. Since frozen persimmons are extremely hard, they are usually placed in water before consumption. Through heat exchange, the temperature of the frozen persimmons rises, softening them for easier eating. This process is called thawing persimmons.The texture of thawed frozen persimmons differs significantly from that of unthawed ones. Some people enjoy eating the frozen, hard persimmons directly, which offers a distinct flavor.
If persimmons are unripe, you can place them in a cardboard box with some green apples or pears. This helps accelerate their ripening. This method works very well.
Persimmons are highly nutritious, rich in sucrose, glucose, fructose, protein, carotene, vitamin C, citrulline, iodine, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc.
While several orange varieties exist, the most common is the pomelo. Its thick outer peel encloses segments composed of pulp and seeds. Brightly colored and tangy-sweet, this fruit is a popular autumn and winter delicacy. Rich in vitamin C, it offers significant health benefits.
What fruits does autumn yield? Many fruits can be harvested in autumn. Understanding which fruits are available isn't the goal—it's important to know how these fruits benefit our bodies. Different fruits offer distinct health benefits, providing various nutrients and vitamins. Generally, fruits contain high levels of vitamin C.