Orchid, the weird taste comes from hachiya, not fuyu persimmons. Fuyu are shaped like miniature squat pumpkins and can be eaten hard or soft. Hachiyas are vaguely acorn shaped and have to be completely ripe/soft or they're bitter. Persimmons are one of my absolute favorite fruits and they're only in season for one month more. Hubbo and I each eat at least one a day.

I use a variety of spices on everything I cook.

fresh raisins are also seasonal available during grape season and maybe 2 months after harvest is done. They're made like regular raisins but the process is cut short before they're completely dried out. The result is both plumper and sweeter, never leathery. They last about 2 months (in theory. We've never had them sit around that long!) as opposed to store-bought raisins which last forever. I've never seen them outside of California.

I'll be buying more citrus in January when persimmons and Asian apple pears are out of season.