A Natural Solution for California's Herds: African Catfish Peptides
California's cattle producers and agricultural communities are all too familiar with the rising challenge of antibiotic resistance, making common bacterial infections harder to treat in livestock. But imagine a future where we could tackle these infections with a natural, powerful alternative. Our research points to just that: antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) found in African catfish.
We're really excited about these peptides because African catfish thrive in pathogen-rich freshwater, naturally producing these robust immune compounds in their skin mucus as a defense. This natural origin makes them highly appealing alternatives to synthetic drugs.
Predicted Safety and Potent Action
One of the most compelling aspects of these AMPs is their predicted safety for mammals. Our initial computer analyses suggest that various catfish AMPs are generally recognized as safe (GRAS). We predict they'll be absorbed in the human intestine without causing liver, brain, or heart toxicity. Furthermore, lab tests on a promising peptide, NACAP-II, confirmed it was non-hemolytic, meaning it didn't damage rabbit red blood cells—a strong indicator of its potential safety for mammalian cells.
Beyond safety, these peptides demonstrate effectiveness against problematic bacteria. One study revealed NACAP-II's strong activity against Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli—a critical concern for both animal and human health due to its resistance to many common antibiotics. Another peptide, ACAP-IV, also showed antibacterial activity against E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus. We believe these AMPs work by directly disrupting bacterial cell membranes, a mechanism that makes it harder for bacteria to develop resistance compared to how they resist traditional antibiotics.
The Path Forward
While these findings are very promising, we want to emphasize that this research is still in its early, laboratory stages. A key challenge we've identified is that some of these peptides have a high molecular weight, which might hinder their absorption if given orally. This means our future work will need to explore advanced delivery methods, potentially involving nanotechnology, or modify the peptides for better absorption and accumulation where they're needed most. Ultimately, more studies are essential to confirm their effectiveness and safety in living animals, such as cattle, and to develop strategies for large-scale production.
From Our Lab to Your Farm: Smarter Strategies for Antimicrobial Resistance
As fellow researchers who have been studying antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in California dairy cattle, we want to share some important insights from our recent work. Our studies highlight that while we don't focus on new types of drugs to replace antibiotics, the most critical "alternative" is actually smarter, more targeted management and a deep understanding of pathogen behavior on your farm. This approach aims to reduce the need for antibiotics or minimize the development and spread of resistance when antibiotics are necessary.
Identification, Synthesis, and In Vitro Activities of Antimicrobial Peptide from African Catfish against the Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-Producing Escherichia coli
Tackling Resistant Salmonella in Cull Cows
First, we've found that Salmonella in cull dairy cows, which contribute to the ground beef supply, often carries resistance to important antimicrobials like tetracyclines, ampicillin, and even ceftriaxone—a drug critical for human medicine. This is definitely a concern for public health. Our research shows that certain cow-level factors, such as prior antimicrobial treatment or culling due to lameness, are associated with higher odds of isolating resistant Salmonella. Conversely, culling a cow due to low milk production was associated with lower odds of resistance.
At the herd level, factors like the number of milking cows and monthly culling rates can also influence the presence of resistant Salmonella. This suggests that improving timely culling decisions—removing cows with mild disease problems before they escalate and require extensive antimicrobial therapy—could be an economical way to reduce the selection pressure for AMR. We also need to investigate specific reasons for culling, especially lameness, to understand its link to resistance.
Unpacking Mastitis: The Importance of Specificity
Second, regarding mastitis, we've extensively characterized Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (CNS) species, which are the most common cause of intra-mammary infections (IMI). Historically, these have often been grouped into one class for convenience, or sometimes left untreated. However, our findings reveal a diverse range of different CNS species circulating on US dairies, with Staphylococcus chromogenes and Staphylococcus haemolyticus being the most prevalent. We've seen evidence of persistent subclinical infections, especially with S. chromogenes and S. simulans, where identical strains were isolated from the same udder quarter over consecutive sampling stages.
Our message here is that a better understanding of these specific CNS species and their genetic diversity is crucial for improved management and treatment outcomes. Instead of blanket approaches, identifying the predominant species on your farm can guide species-specific control strategies, including targeted treatment decisions to eliminate persistent infections and improvements in milking practices like teat dipping. This precise identification, perhaps through rapid and low-cost diagnostic tests, is a key step to managing mastitis effectively while minimizing broad-spectrum antibiotic use. The low number of clinical mastitis cases from CNS suggests they mainly cause subclinical chronic infections, reinforcing the need for targeted strategies.
Calves and Antibiotic Use: A Clear Connection
Finally, our work with pre-weaned dairy calves shows a direct link between antibiotic use and the rise of resistance. We observed that administering ceftiofur as a systemic injection or feeding neomycin-supplemented milk replacer to calves leads to an increased concentration of resistant Enterobacteriaceae in their feces. The peak of ceftiofur resistance occurred around three to four days after treatment, with levels decreasing to below pre-treatment levels by seven to eight days post-treatment. Similarly, neomycin resistance increased during administration and then decreased once the antibiotic was discontinued.
This clearly illustrates that AMR is acquired during treatment and can be lost when antimicrobial pressure is removed. This finding strongly supports the importance of prudent antimicrobial stewardship. While antibiotics are sometimes necessary, minimizing their use, especially extra-label use or prophylactic feeding where not strictly justified, can help preserve their effectiveness for when they are truly needed. Initial resistance observed in calves might also be linked to residual antibiotics in colostrum or environmental bacteria ingested by the calves.
The Real "Alternatives" are Smart Choices
In summary, the "alternatives" we emphasize aren't necessarily new medications, but rather strategic management decisions. This includes timely culling, species-specific diagnostics for mastitis, and responsible, prudent use of antibiotics in calves, all aimed at reducing the overall selection pressure for antimicrobial resistance on your dairy.
What specific management practices are you currently implementing to address antibiotic resistance on your farm?
Based on
- Molecular epidemiology of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species isolated at different lactation stages from dairy cattle in the United States
- Association between herd management practices and antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella spp. from cull dairy cattle in Central California
- Estimating the Rates of Acquisition and loss of Resistance of Enterobacteriaceae to Antimicrobial Drugs in Pre-Weaned Dairy Calves
Our Research: Guiding California Dairies in the Fight Against Antimicrobial Resistance
As California dairy owners and farmers, our research provides crucial insights into managing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) on our operations. We want to emphasize the importance of judicious antibiotic use and strong stewardship practices to maintain herd health and preserve the effectiveness of these vital medicines.
Understanding Resistance Patterns in Your Herd
Our findings reveal important patterns of antimicrobial resistance in common bacteria (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus/Streptococcus spp.) found in the fecal samples of adult dairy cows across California. We observed very low resistance to several drugs commonly given to adult dairy cows, such as cephalosporins and penicillins. This tells us that these particular drugs remain effective when used appropriately.
However, we detected higher rates of AMR to drugs that aren't approved for use in lactating dairy cattle over months of age, including florfenicol, tildipirosin, tilmicosin, and tiamulin. The high resistance to florfenicol, for instance—a drug typically used in beef cattle or non-lactating dairy cattle and calves—might be linked to co-selection with other resistance genes or how resistance spreads between bacteria. These results truly underscore the importance of sticking to labeled drug uses and understanding how resistance can develop even to drugs not directly used in adult lactating cows.
Regional Differences and Management Impacts
We also identified significant differences in AMR across California's dairy regions and seasons. For instance, E. coli isolates from Northern California showed lower resistance to certain antibiotics like ceftiofur compared to the Northern San Joaquin Valley and Greater Southern California. We believe this difference is related to regional variations in management practices and how antibiotics are used, especially for mastitis prevention and treatment. It's noteworthy that some dairies in Northern California didn't use antibiotics for mastitis treatment or prevention, which contributed to lower AMR in those areas. This really suggests that management practices that reduce the overall need for antibiotic treatments can play a significant role in bringing down AMR. The seasonal variations we observed, with higher resistance often seen in winter for E. coli isolates, could be attributed to weather conditions that favor bacterial growth and increase disease, potentially leading to more antibiotic use.
The Dynamics of Antibiotic Treatment and Resistance
Our in-depth study on the dynamics of ceftiofur resistance further highlights the impact of antibiotic treatments. We found that while systemic ceftiofur treatment leads to a rapid increase in resistant Enterobacteriaceae, these levels typically return to pre-treatment baselines within a few days. However, populations of sensitive bacteria can remain suppressed for a longer period. We even observed a cyclical re-emergence of resistance, though at diminishing levels, possibly due to complex interactions within the gut bacteria. These dynamics are critical for us to consider for future AMR surveillance and when designing treatment strategies.
The Path Forward: Stewardship and Smart Choices
In summary, our research emphasizes that while we weren't focused on entirely new non-antibiotic products, the most important "alternative" approach to combating AMR on our dairies is through robust antibiotic stewardship and judicious use. This means making informed decisions in consultation with your veterinarians, selecting antibiotics based on known resistance patterns, adhering strictly to approved drug labels and treatment protocols, and, crucially, implementing best management practices that reduce the incidence of diseases requiring antibiotic intervention in the first place. By doing so, we can help ensure that the antibiotics we rely on for animal health remain effective for generations to come.
The Joy of Grape Jelly (December 2025)
Ariel Patton, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer
Hand picked cluster of grapes (Ariel Patton, used with permission).
The thousandth grape drops into the bowl. As the wilting days of summer soften into crisp fall mornings, I pick bunches and bunches of grapes from my garden. I dutifully wash and separate the fruit from the stems, one grape at a time.
I love this annual ritual of making grape jelly. Decades ago, my mom taught kids how to preserve fruits and vegetables through the local 4-H youth group. A half dozen kids would come over and spend summer afternoons chopping loads of peaches and stirring hot, spattering pans of plum preserves. Last year, I became a Master Food Preserver through the University of California Cooperative Extension to teach others how to freeze, can, dehydrate, and ferment California’s finest produce.
Once several pounds of grapes are in a pan, I cook down the fruit. Over the high heat, each grape pops and releases its juice and flavor.
There is a misconception about making jelly: that the best fruits for preserving are overripe or bruised, those weeping berries or gouged pears. This is not true. What is true is that there is a shelf life to everything; some things simply cannot wait. As the fruit gets more mature, there are more sugars, sure. But the pectin and acid, responsible for the lovely, wobbly texture that jelly is named for, declines as the grape turns from puckering green to ripe purple. To preserve produce at its peak demands urgency. Not quite the urgent intensity of a dog’s eyes minutes before dinner, but certainly more than a nagging email.
After the grapes are cooked, liquid resembling mulled wine is left, without the spices or alcohol. Every grape is exhausted of its contents, and it’s now time to strain the mixture to separate the grape skins from the deep purple, flavor-and-pectin-rich liquid that will become the jelly. As the liquid cools overnight in the fridge, tartrate crystals form on the surface. I pass the liquid once more through cheesecloth to remove these tiny snowflakes, the precursor to the mysteriously named Cream of Tartar you find in the baking aisle.
On day two, I carefully pour the strained liquid into a shallow preserving pan along with scoops of warmed sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice and crank the heat to high. All fruits naturally have some level of pectin. It is a long-stranded carbohydrate; imagine a mane of silky hair. When combined with sugar, acid, and heat, these strands of pectin get tangled up, trapping microscopic pockets of water to create a gel.
Hand-drawn illustration of the chemistry behind pectin gelling (Ariel Patton, used with permission).
I stir and I wait. There are many ways to know if the “gel point” has been reached, the moment the molecules align to form a delectably firm grape jelly. I’ve gotten better at seeing the specific glossiness on the surface, watching as the bubbles ascend more slowly through the boiling liquid, sensing how the spoon traces a deeper pattern in the bottom of the pan. My cheat code is using an instant-read thermometer – once it reads 220°F (exactly eight degrees above boiling at sea-level, my elevation), the cooked jelly is ready.
After many years of using mason jars only as trendy early-aughts decor, I welcomed the gentle rhythm of food preservation during the pandemic. Canning was a way to measure out time, to bottle it up, to tick it off, to mark its passing. In my pantry, the bright jars of apricot preserves, next to chunky peach chutney, followed by smooth pear jam were clear and inarguable evidence that months and seasons were indeed rolling by.
I pour the still-boiling jelly into hot, clean mason jars. I wipe the rim of each jar and tighten the two-piece lids. This also requires attention to get right – tightened enough to seal, but not so tight that it prevents hot air from escaping. One by one, I nestle all the jars into a pot of boiling water to disarm any remaining bacteria. When ten minutes are up, I fish out each jar from the boiling water and place them on the counter to cool.
While there is a thrill in being a one-woman assembly line, making grape jelly is the opposite of how I typically spend my days. It’s inefficient. It’s inconvenient. It’s manual and tedious. As much as I personally enjoy this process, I emphatically do not believe we would have a better food system if everyone had to do this every time they wanted a PB&J. If anything, this annual ritual makes me marvel at the complexity hidden in every bite of food.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Is there anything more satisfying than hearing the jars on my counter seal, as the tiny breath of hot air within each jar cools and creates a partial vacuum? I’ll save you the two-day journey to find out: the answer is no. Through the alchemy of preservation, what was previously five pounds of grapes threatening to decompose is now six jars of jelly that will last at least a year in my pantry.
To preserve is to grasp the ephemeral and save the very best at its peak for another day. To be able to lick summer off a spoon, past when the leaves have turned and fallen, when our tiny patch of Earth is tilted its very furthest from the sun.
Pumpkin is more than home décor! (December 2025)
Robin Martin, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer
Although the best pumpkins for cooking are the smaller, sweeter varieties of pumpkin, pretty much any pumpkin can have its life extended after its role as an autumnal decoration is concluded. Prepare and freeze* pumpkin purée for soups, cakes, butters, pies, and even lattes and cocktails! It’s so easy, you wouldn’t believe it! What makes a pumpkin undesirable for cooking is if the pulp is excessively stringy. In addition, anything that is moldy should obviously be composted rather than preserved in any form.
To prepare a pumpkin for eating or preserving, it’s important to wash the exterior of the pumpkin to remove any dirt and to reduce the bacterial load on the surface. Even though you won’t eat the peel, surface contaminants can travel into the flesh of the pumpkin on the knife when you cut into it. After washing the pumpkin, cut it in half from the top to the bottom, then scoop out the seeds and pulp. Reserve this – we’ll review how to cook delicious pumpkin seeds later!
At this point, there are two primary ways to cook the pumpkin flesh in advance of freezing:
Boiled: To boil the pumpkin, peel it and cut it into 2-inch chunks. Cook in boiling water until a fork easily penetrates the pieces.
Baked: To roast the pumpkin (my preference), place the halves of pumpkin cut-side down on a baking pan and bake at 350ºFfor about 90 minutes, or until you can stick a fork through the skin and into the flesh easily.
Pumpkin halves in the oven being probed for readiness (Robin Martin, used with permission).
Once the pumpkin is at the desired tenderness, drain and cool it on the counter for no longer than two hours. Remove the roasted pumpkin flesh from the rind. Use a masher or food processor (my preference) to purée the pumpkin. Pack the pumpkin purée as-is into food-safe freezer containers (plastic bags – my preference - or rigid containers) and freeze for up to one year for best quality. Alternately, strain the purée to remove much of the liquid and then pack and freeze. Or make any of the recipes below!
Basic Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are a delicious out-of-hand snack or gorgeous addition to salads and vegetable side dishes. First, extract the seeds from the flesh and carefully wash them to remove any remaining pumpkin tissue. The seeds can then be dried in a dehydrator at 115º to 120ºF for one to two hours, or in an oven on warm for three to four hours, stirring frequently. After drying, seeds can be roasted. To roast pumpkin seeds, toss the dried pumpkin seeds with oil (approximately 1 teaspoon per cup of seeds) and season with your favorite spice blend. Roast in a preheated oven at 250ºF for ten to fifteen minutes. (Process adapted from https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/pumpkin-basics/).
Pumpkin Bread
Pumpkin bread (Robin Martin, used with permission).
Ingredients
2 cups flour (all-purpose or one-to-one gluten free flour for a gluten-free option)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
½ cup softened butter
1 cup white granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup apple sauce
2 large eggs
15 oz pumpkin purée, liquid strained out through a cheesecloth
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325ºF.Set rack in the middle of the oven. Grease two 8” x 4” loaf pans with butter and dust with flour.
Combine the dry ingredients - flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.
In an electric mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until blended, add the eggs one at a time, beating well. Beat until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin and the apple sauce. Don’t worry if it looks curdled.
Add the dry ingredients and mix at low speed until combined.
Divide the batter into the two pans. Bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaves cool in the pans for about 10 minutes then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.
When completely cool, slice one loaf and put it in a labeled freezer baggie and freeze. You can toast and enjoy it later at a moment’s notice. Outside the freezer, the other loaf will be good for a few days.
Freezer Pumpkin Butter
Ingredients
2 pints pumpkin purée
¾ cup apple juice
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
1½ cups white sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Note: you can adjust the spice quantities to suit your own taste.
Instructions
Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan. Stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes or to desired thickness. Stir frequently. Transfer to sterile half-pint freezer containers. Leave half-inch headspace and store in the freezer for up to 1 year.
Yield: about 5 half-pint freezer containers.
Recipe source: https://ucanr.edu/sites/default/files/2019-10/312416.pdf
Easiest Pumpkin Shrub for a Party
Pumpkin shrub in a glass (Robin Martin, used with permission).
A shrub is a sweetened, vinegar-based fruit (or vegetable) flavored mixer for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. This one is delicious with maple bourbon or just some seltzer.
Ingredients
Flesh from a 3 lbs. roasted pumpkin or squash
1½ cups white sugar
1½ cups apple cider vinegar
¼ cup fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Add the pumpkin flesh to a glass or plastic container. Add the sugar, vinegar, ginger, and cinnamon. Stir to combine. Place in refrigerator overnight or for up to 24 hours.
Put the pumpkin mixture through a food mill or sieve, squeezing the liquid into a bowl. Discard the solids and pour the liquid into a jar or bottle.
Shrubs should be stored in the refrigerator, where they will keep for up to a year. Always check your shrub before consuming it, and if there are any signs of mold, or if the shrub starts to look bubbly, cloudy, or slimy, throw it away. When in doubt, throw it out.
Recipe adapted from https://www.seriouseats.com/pumpkin-shrub-fall-drinking-vinegar-for-mixing-cocktails
*Freezing is the only recommended method for preserving pumpkin purées, butters, and preserves. It’s important to recognize that home canning (for shelf-stable) pumpkin purée is not recommended because it, and other winter squashes, are low-acid foods that must be processed in a pressure canner to ensure safety. Purées can be too “thick” and viscous to allow effective heat transfer by fluid convection in the jars; hence heat may not penetrate evenly and completely during processing. Without even heating during the pressure-canning process, spores of the Clostridium botulinum bacterium may survive, putting anyone who eats the food at risk of botulism, a deadly food-borne illness. For instructions on home canning, see https://ucanr.edu/site/uc-master-food-preserver-program-orange-county/pumpkins
Additional resources:
nchfp.uga.edu/blog/plenty-of-pumpkin-possibilities
nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/vegetable/freezing-pumpkin/
The Genius of Fruitcake: A 2,000-Year-Old Food Preservation Hack (December 2025)
Paige Weisskirch, UC Master Food Preserver Online Program Volunteer
Dried fruit bread (Photo caption: Paige Weisskirch, used with permission).
Every November, I open my pantry and face the same situation: half-empty bags of dried apricots from the previous year’s baking; figs I dehydrated with good intentions; some crystallized ginger that seemed essential at the time; and at least three bags of raisins I can't quite remember purchasing. They sit there, taking up valuable real estate, slowly hardening into little fruit pebbles.
This is exactly why I fell in love with fruitcake, or at least the idea of it. Not the neon-red-cherry-studded doorstop version that inspired Johnny Carson to joke about one fruitcake being passed around the world forever. Fruitcake has a reputation problem it doesn't entirely deserve. It's been the punchline at holiday parties for decades, but it's also survived for literally thousands of years. That alone deserves some respect.
War Rations to Wedding Cakes
One of the first known fruitcakes, called satura, originated in Ancient Rome. Roman soldiers carried this dense mix of barley mash, raisins, pomegranate seeds, and honeyed wine on military campaigns. Portable, calorie-dense, nearly indestructible.
The Crusades opened trade routes, flooding European markets with exotic dried fruits and spices. Each region developed its own version. Italy gave us panforte and panettone. Germany perfected stollen, that buttery, sugar-dusted Christmas staple. Britain went all-in on fruitcake for the holidays, along with plum puddings so beloved they inspired Christmas carols.
When sugar from the Americas hit European markets in the 1600s, fruitcakes got sweeter and more decadent. Candied fruits transformed them into luxury items reserved for weddings and major celebrations.
The Victorian Era Goes All In
Victorian England turned fruitcake into an obsession. Dense, boozy, and baked weeks or months before Christmas, these cakes became the centerpiece of holiday tables. Fruitcake became the choice for royal weddings. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert served one at their 1840 wedding. In 2016, a slice from that cake sold at auction for around $1,500. A 176-year-old piece of cake.
Why It Lasts Forever (Almost)
Fruitcake's legendary shelf life is a result of science, not magic. Dried fruits and nuts have low moisture content, so bacteria don't have much to work with. High sugar concentration binds with water, making it unavailable for mold and bacteria to grow while retaining enough moisture to keep the cake soft. Alcohol (usually rum, brandy, or bourbon) denatures bacterial proteins, essentially sanitizing the cake from the inside out.
Traditional bakers often "season" their fruitcakes by wrapping them in liquor-soaked cloth and adding small amounts of alcohol periodically over months. The flavors mellow and deepen, like aging wine. According to the USDA, a store-bought fruitcake can last six months in the fridge or a year in the freezer.
The legends are real. In 2017, researchers found a 106-year-old fruitcake from Robert Falcon Scott's 1912 Antarctic expedition. It was still in "excellent condition."
From Punchline to Nostalgia
Early 20th-century America embraced fruitcake, thanks to mail-order catalogs and the newly established U.S. Parcel Post Service (1913). It became shorthand for Christmas, and for comedians, an easy target.
Still, plenty of people loved it. Truman Capote's 1956 short story A Christmas Memory captures the joy of fruitcake-making: a boy and his older cousin gathering pecans, pouring whiskey into the batter, declaring "Oh my, it's fruitcake weather!" It's sweet and nostalgic, and it makes me want to bake one - almost.
Fruitcake is a time capsule, a joke, a tradition, and occasionally a delicious surprise. You're following in the footsteps of centuries of bakers who understood that the best fruit desserts are the ones that make use of what you've got. Whether you're making a traditional booze-soaked version or this lighter dried fruit bread, you're part of a baking tradition that goes back thousands of years. And unlike Johnny Carson's immortal fruitcake, this one will actually get eaten.
A Lighter Take: Dried Fruit Bread (Cake?)
If you like the idea of fruitcake but find traditional versions too heavy or too sweet or too boozy, try this recipe. This version honors fruitcake's original purpose but skips the candied fruit for the natural sweetness of dried fruit. And I really love this recipe because it's the perfect solution for all those random containers of dried fruit that accumulate in the pantry. That quarter-cup of dried cherries left over from scones, the dates you bought for one recipe, those apricots that are starting to get too chewy, toss them all in. The recipe is forgiving and actually benefits from a mix of whatever dried fruit you have on hand.
Assorted packages of dried fruit (Photo caption: Paige Weisskirch, used with permission).
Recipe adapted from James Beard’s Persimmon Bread via David Lebovitz
Makes 2 loaves
Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
3½ cups (440g) all-purpose flour, sifted
1½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cardamom
Mix-ins:
1 cup (approx 4oz or 120g) pecans, toasted and chopped
2 cups (approx 11oz or 300g) dried fruit, chopped (apricots, raisins, dates, figs, craisins or whatever you have)**
Wet Ingredients:
2 to 2½ cups (400-500g) sugar*
2 cups (475mL) fruit purée (applesauce, persimmon, plum, or pear)
¾ cup (170g) melted butter or (180mL) neutral vegetable oil *
2 large eggs, beaten
2/3 (160ml) cup bourbon, brandy, or rum or ½ cup (120ml) of strong brewed black tea (Earl Grey works well)
1 Tbsp orange zest
1 tsp vanilla extract
*Note: For a moister loaf, use 2½ cups sugar and vegetable oil instead of butter.
**Note: The metric weight for dried fruit can vary depending on how densely it's chopped and which fruits you use. The weight provided is approximate.
Instructions:
Prep (15 minutes before baking):
Position oven rack in the lower-center position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Butter two 9”x5” loaf pans. Line bottoms with parchment paper or flour the pans and tap out excess.
Make the batter:
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda, spices. Whisk to combine.
4. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
5. Add sugar, fruit puree, melted butter (or oil), eggs, bourbon (or tea), orange zest, and vanilla to the well. Stir gently to combine.
6. Fold in pecans and dried fruit. Mix just until no dry flour remains visible - don't overmix.
Bake:
7. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans (each should be about 3/4 full).
8. Bake for 65 - 75 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (internal temperature should reach 195-200°F).
9. Check at the 45-minute mark. If tops are browning too quickly, tent loosely with aluminum foil.
Cool and serve:
10. Remove from oven and let loaves cool in pans for 10 minutes.
11. Turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.
Storage & Serving Tips:
Better with time: The flavor deepens after 1-2 days. Store wrapped in plastic wrap at cool room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to a week.
Freezer-friendly: Wrap tightly in plastic, then foil. Freezes for up to 3 months.
Flexible formula: Swap fruit purées or dried fruits based on what you have on hand, this recipe is forgiving.
