Fruktsoppa, Swedish Dried Fruit Soup
Fruktsoppa is a Swedish dessert soup that comes out in the dark months, a bowl of dried fruit coaxed back to plumpness in a spiced, glossy broth. It leans on the northern pantry of prunes, apricots, and raisins, brightened with orange and warmed with a stick of cinnamon and a pod of star anise. There is no sugar in it and none is missed: dried fruit is concentrated sweetness already, and simmering it long draws that out into the liquid. A spoon of potato starch, the classic Scandinavian thickener, gives the soup its spoonable body, and a last squeeze of citrus keeps it lively. Swedes eat it warm as a pudding in winter and cold as a refresher in summer, sometimes over porridge, sometimes on its own.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Prunes
- 3/4 cup Dried apricots, halved
- 1/3 cup Raisins
- 1 whole Apples, peeled and diced
- 1 whole Oranges, 2 wide strips of zest, plus the juice
- 1 whole cassia cinnamon, stick
- 1 whole Star anise
- 1 tbsp Potato starch
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice
Method
- Combine the prunes, apricots, raisins, diced apple, orange zest strips, cinnamon stick, and star anise in a pot with 5 cups (1.2 L) water. Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, until the dried fruit is plump and soft and the liquid has taken on color, about 25 minutes. Everything sweet in this bowl comes from the fruit alone; a long simmer pulls that sweetness out into the water so no sugar is needed.
- Fish out the cinnamon stick, star anise, and orange zest. Stir the potato starch into 2 tablespoons (30 ml) cold water until smooth, then stir it into the simmering soup and cook 1 minute more. Potato starch is the traditional thickener here, and it takes the soup from watery to lightly glossy and spoonable, the texture that makes it a soup and not just stewed fruit.
- Stir in the orange juice and lemon juice off the heat. The fresh citrus lifts the whole pot and cuts the deep sweetness of the dried fruit, which is the trick that keeps it from cloying without any salt to balance it.
- Serve warm in bowls in winter, or chill it and serve cold in summer. Fruktsoppa keeps for several days in the fridge and thickens as it sits, so loosen it with a little water if needed.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 150 calories, 2 g protein, 5 g fiber, 15 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
