PURPOSE: Food or beverage is treated with a mixture resulting from fermentation of astringent persimon juice with a yeast or its dried product to remove fishy or meaty smell and make sweetness or saltiness of the food midwhereby food or beverage modified in its quality is obtained.

CONSTITUTION: Astringent persimons are squeezed and the juice is fermented with a tannin-resistant yeast such as a yeast in Pichia (IFO 1781, 1782), preferably at 20W32°C for 1W10 days, if desired, subjected to filtration or centrifugation to prepare a fermentation solution. Or the fermentation mixture is solidified by drying into granules or particles. The product is added to, mixed with a food or beverage or dipped in beverage, or food is covered with the product to effect the objective preparation.