Crook’s Corner Persimmon Pudding Recipe with Local Persimmons

How are you eating locally this week?

One weekend trip to any fall farmers market offers lots of delicious choices, from chestnuts and roselle or hibiscus flowers, to leafy green veggies and a delightful array of pumpkins and winter squash.

And while you are cooking, you must whip up a batch of your own Pumpkin Spice Blend to have on hand in your spice cabinet.

Of course, there are apples and pears as well. But today I am here to remind you not to sleep on one fall fruit that comes and goes this time of year in the blink of an eye.

Keep a lookout for locally grown persimmons.

If you love persimmons, like I do, you can’t wait to see them on a farmers market table. I suppose I could freeze the puree to enjoy during the winter or summer, in fact, I know I can. But there is something about eating them right now, that makes them even more special this time of year.

Fall-ing in Love with Local Persimmons

For years, I just enjoyed persimmons raw, as a treat. That first bite is like the first peach of spring, the first tomato or a slice of summer watermelon. It’s like local figs. You just want to eat your fill before the season passes. For me its one of the sweeter sides of fall.

I’d never really thought about cooking with persimmons at all.

That was until I had the persimmon pudding at Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill nearly 10 years ago.

Here is the story.

How I Discovered Bill Smith’s Persimmon Pudding at Crook’s Corner

It was 2019, my first and last time at Crook’s Corner. An iconic, award-winning North Carolina restaurant that, I am sad to say, I didn’t go to more often. A misstep that was my loss.

Crook’s Corner was one of those places I kept saying I would visit someday, and back then I didn’t travel as much as I do now. I discovered it late in the game, but the happy news is that I did discover it.

And I ate the persimmon pudding. ( And the shrimp and grits, but that’s a story for another time.)

I was in the area for TerraVita, a fabulous fall food festival that took place in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, NC. TerraVita was founded by Colleen Minton in 2010 to champion local foodways, North Carolina culinary talent and local agricultural sustainability.

It was a great event, a food festival that had my name all over it. I considered myself lucky to attend for several years, and still tip my hat to founder Colleen Minton who did it well for years until the festival hit the 10-year mark and she opted to end the long run and go out on a high note.

Don’t Ever Miss the Opportunity

That night was a free night for dinner, and finding myself in Chapel Hill, it seemed the right time to try Crook’s Corner.

I sat at a coveted counter seat and got one of the last available orders of persimmon pudding. The couple next to me encouraged me to order the popular dessert before my entrée even came to the table.

“You don’t want to risk missing it,” I remember they cautioned me.

The whole day was serendipitous. I met James Beard and Southern Foodways Alliance award-winning Chef Bill Smith at a cooking demo that day, decided to come back for dinner and actually got in.

Little did I know that Bill’s tenure at the restaurant was nearly done.

Since then, I have met Bill several times over the years.

Next Stop, on the Cooking Stage at the 2026 NC State Fair

I am delighted to have Bill with me on the cooking stage at the NC State Fair at 2 pm on Friday, October 16, 2026

He’ll be there with chef and cookbook author Spring Council, sharing tips for baking the most delicious country ham biscuits. They are going to talk about the upcoming Biscuit Festival in Chapel Hill NC on Oct 24 and 25.

It’s going to be an awesome cooking demo. Spring and Bill will each bake and put together their own version of a NC Country Ham Biscuit and we’ll be joined by Andy Parks of Parks Family Farm Country Ham in Concord, NC. You don’t want to miss it!

Coming up this week, keep an eye out for the schedule of all of the 2026 cooking demos on the GotToBeNC cooking stage at the NC State Fair. I’ll have it up in a separate blog post later this week. I have to say as the host of the stage, its quite an impressive line up of chefs and farmers and we are going to have a blast. Can’t wait to see you there!

Saying Cheers to North Carolina Persimmon Pudding

Bill and Crook’s Corner are known for many things. Biscuits are one; shrimp and grits are another.

In general, Crook’s Corner is credited with helping elevate Southern cuisine and, perhaps, making a whole lot more people aware of it altogether.

Bill is also well known for a recipe he calls “That Stupid Pie.” If you know, you know. If you don’t, it’s a delicious lemon pie made with a cracker crust. Generally called Atlantic Beach Pie, it’s a recipe that went viral before social media ever had a big presence, and really before people even knew what “going viral” really meant.

The Atlantic Beach Pie was a recipe Bill invented based on desserts he remembered from his childhood.

The persimmon pudding, however, was a recipe that preceded Bill’s time at Crook’s Corner.

He told me that it was his favorite of all the recipes that were already at Crook’s when he took over.

You can find it in the cookbook, Seasoned in the South, recipes from Crook’s Corner and Bill Smith. This was Bill’s first cookbook, a collection of his home recipes and those from Crook’s Corner, and one you really need to have in your cookbook collection.

And, thanks to Bill’s generosity, you can also find the recipe at the end of this article..

Where to Find Local Persimmons for Persimmon Pudding

You can find persimmons in grocery stores, but Bill and I will tell you they are just not the same as locally grown.

Your best bet is to buy them at a local farmers market this time of year. Better still, if you know someone with a persimmon tree, offer to come and help collect the harvest. .

For those of you who do not live in North Carolina, the happy news is that persimmons grow in many parts of the United States. Keep your eyes open, and you’ll find them and fall in love, too.

You want persimmons to be ripe and soft before you puree them for pudding. Some persimmons can be quite astringent before they’re ripe, so give them time to soften and sweeten up.

Then, you’re ready to make the pudding.

But first, one note on why we bake this persimmon pudding in a bain-marie

A bain-marie is a water bath, its a way to keep moisture in the oven as the pudding slowly bakes. The result is a softer, moister texture rather than a dry cake like end result. To make a bain-marie or water bath, put the pudding in small single serving ramekins or in a larger 4X8X12 glass baking dish. Place the dish with the puree into a larger pan and fill that pan with water that comes about halfway up the sides of the pan of puree. You want enough water to create steam in the oven, but not so much that it will boil over into your pudding.

The One-Minute Read on Buying and Using Local Persimmons

How do I know when a persimmon is ripe? For native North Carolina persimmons, look for fruit that’s very soft, almost jelly-like, and deep orange in color. Don’t rush the ripening. The sweeter they get, the better they’ll taste.

Do fresh persimmons need to be refrigerated? Let unripe persimmons soften stem side down at room temperature. Once ripe, refrigerate them and enjoy them within a few days. Or puree the fruit and freeze it for later.

Why does my persimmon make my mouth feel dry? That’s called astringency, and it comes from naturally occurring tannins in unripe persimmons. Give the fruit more time to ripen, and that unpleasant, puckery sensation will disappear.

Can I freeze persimmon puree? Absolutely! Scoop the pulp from ripe persimmons, remove any seeds and freeze in airtight containers. I suggest freezing in one-cup portions so you’re ready to bake whenever the mood strikes.

How much persimmon puree do I need for persimmon pudding? You’ll need 2 cups of thick puree for the recipe – that equates to starting with about 7-8 ripe persimmons. cut the stem end off and then its fine to add the soften skins to the puree as well.

---

Meet Heidi Billotto

I’m Heidi Billotto, a Charlotte, NC-based food and travel writer, cooking instructor and the Executive Producer of the NCRLA Chef Showdown. And, host of the GotToBeNC cooking stage at the NC State Fair. Much of what I do comes back to the same thing: connecting people through food.

Over the years, I’ve built wonderful relationships with small family farmers, chefs, independent producers and makers across North Carolina and beyond. I love sharing their stories, introducing you to the people behind the food we eat, and showing you how to bring local ingredients home to your own table.

I write about food and food-focused travel, teach cooking classes, appear on television and radio, and spend a lot of time at farmers markets. Curiosity usually leads the way. I want to know who grew it, who made it, where it came from and, of course, what we can cook with it.

I love what I do, and I love sharing the people, places and food I discover along the way with all of you.

And whenever you see those five little words, #TellThemHeidiSentYou, know that they are my personal seal of approval. It means I have been there, I believe in the folks behind it, and I am sending you their way with my whole heart.

So go on… go on. Make plans for dinner at that restaurant you’ve always wanted to go to. Buy Bill Smith’s Seasoned in the South cookbook – and all of his other books, too. Make plans now to attend the NC State Fair. Shop and support local businesses. And, when you do, be sure to…

TellThemHeidiSentYou