A LIVING RECIPE ARCHIVE

Persimmon Bread

A two-loaf persimmon bread with brown sugar, butter and ripe persimmon pulp baked low and slow at 325°F.
Persimmon bread with a smooth moist amber crumb, a simple browned top, and sliced ripe persimmons nearby.

FROM THE ARCHIVE

75 Years of Caring and Sharing

Jersey County, Illinois ·
2006
Recipe contributed by Tamara Sigrist, Pana, IL; Mail Box member

The recipe

Old-Fashioned Persimmon Bread with Brown Sugar

Persimmon Bread is a simple old-fashioned quick bread built around ripe persimmon pulp, brown sugar, butter, eggs, flour, and baking soda. The batter is divided between two loaf pans and baked low and slow at 325°F for a full hour.

The result is a soft, gently sweet loaf with the mellow fruit flavor of persimmon worked directly into the crumb—a practical way to use a seasonal fruit that rarely gets the quick-bread treatment today.

Why it matters

Why This One Is Worth Bringing Back

Persimmon Bread is worth bringing back because it gives a seasonal fruit a simple, practical home. Persimmon pulp goes into a brown-sugar quick-bread batter with butter and eggs, creating two loaves with a soft crumb and mellow autumn sweetness.

The source keeps the method especially straightforward: sift the flour and soda, cream the sugar, butter and eggs, combine, then add the persimmon pulp last. The lower 325°F oven and full-hour bake give the loaves time to cook through without rushing the exterior.

For another old-fashioned quick bread, see Banana Nut Bread. Browse more preserved recipes in the 75 Years archive.

Modern kitchen notes

If You're Making It Today

These are modern editorial suggestions, not changes to the archived recipe. When a variation comes directly from the original source, we will say so.

Use ripe persimmon pulp

The recipe measures 1 cup pulp, so the fruit should be fully ripe and soft enough to process smoothly.

This makes two loaves

The source divides the batter between two loaf pans rather than one oversized loaf.

The source lines pans with waxed paper

That is the printed method. If adapting equipment today, keep the source note visible rather than pretending another lining method was printed.

Bake low and slow

The loaves bake at 325°F for about 1 hour, giving the moist fruit batter time to set.

Recipe card

The Preserved Recipe

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Persimmon Bread

Preserved from 75 Years of Caring and Sharing, printed page 143.
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: community cookbook recipe, persimmon, vintage bread

Ingredients

  • 1 c. persimmon pulp
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • sticks butter
  • 2 c. flour
  • 1 c. brown sugar
  • 2 eggs beaten

Instructions

  • Sift together flour and baking soda. In a separate bowl, cream together sugar, butter, and eggs. Add flour mixture. Now, add persimmon pulp. Put batter in two loaf pans lined with waxed paper. Bake at 325° for about 1 hour.

Give Something Back

Help preserve the community behind the cookbook.

This recipe traces back to a Jersey County community cookbook created in the spirit of sharing, service and local connection. If you’d like to carry that spirit forward, consider supporting the Jersey County Historical Society and its work preserving local history for future generations.

Support Jersey County History →

Nostalgic Foodie is not affiliated with the Jersey County Historical Society and does not receive any portion of donations.

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