[General] tastes acerb

[Silverobama]

Hi.

If I want to describe the taste of persimmon, is it natural to say "The persimmon tastes acerb"?

 

[teechar]

If you're speaking in general, use "persimmons" without "the".

 

[Silverobama]

If you're speaking in general, use "persimmons" without "the".

If I referred to a specific one I was mentioning, is my original sentence okay?

 

[teechar]

If I want to describe the taste of a persimmon, is it natural to say "The persimmon tastes acerb"?

That implies you're talking about one persimmon.
How about "tangy" or "dry"; those would be much more common.

 

[GoesStation]

The word you're looking for is astringent. Unripe persimmons can be inedible because of their astringency.

This isn't a common word, though. I was chatting with the cashier while buying persimmons in a local supermarket. They aren't commonly eaten around here, but she was familiar with them. I said "They have to be really ripe," and she replied "Oh yes! Unripe ones are terribly sour!" Astringency and sourness are entirely different phenomena, but "sour" was the only word she could think of to describe the former.

 

[Rover_KE]

I didn't know acerb existed until I looked it up.

You could use acerbic, though. [link]

 

[GoesStation]

You could use acerbic, though.

I wouldn't use it to describe a taste sensation. It's only used figuratively to describe the way a person says something, as far as I know.

 

[Tdol]

If I want to describe the taste of persimmon, is it natural to say "The persimmon tastes acerb"?

No.