Fruktsoppa (, ) is a

fruit soup Fruit soup is a soup prepared using fruit as a primary ingredient, and may be served warm or cold depending on the recipe. Some fruit soups use several varieties of fruit, and alcoholic beverages such as rum, sherry and kirsch (a fruit brandy) m ...

that is typically prepared using

dried fruit Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed prior to cooking or being eaten on its own. Drying may occur either naturally, by sun, through the use of industrial dehydrators, or by freeze drying. ...

s, and usually served as a

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

dish. The dish has been described as a "cold fruit

pudding Pudding is a type of food which can either be a dessert served after the main meal or a Savoury (dish), savoury (salty or sweet, and spicy) dish, served as part of the main meal. In the United States, ''pudding'' means a sweet, milk-based des ...

." It is a traditional dessert in Sweden and Norway. Historically, during the winter months in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n countries, fresh fruit was generally unavailable, so people used dried fruits for the preparation of various dishes, including fruktsoppa. The soup may be served hot or cold. The soup can be made with one fruit or with multiple fruits; a soup which is made with multiple fruits may be called blandad fruktsoppa, which is Swedish for "mixed fruit soup". Fruktsoppa is a

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...

in Scandinavian countries. Consumption of

cold soups Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

is also a tradition in the cuisine of Scandinavia. Fruktsoppa is also a traditional soup served during the Christmas holiday season. The dish is also sometimes served as part of a

smörgåsbord Smorgasbord or Smörgåsbord (, ) is a buffet-style meal of Swedish origin. It is served with various hot and mainly cold dishes. It assumed its present form in the 19th century, following old traditions. Smörgåsbord became known in the US ...

. It may be served with cake, such as

coffee cake Coffee cake can refer to: * Coffee cake (American), a sweet bread typically served with coffee but not typically made with coffee as an ingredient or flavoring * Coffee-flavored cake, such as coffee and walnut cake See also * Tea cake * Tea ...

Ingredients and preparation

Dried fruits used in the preparation of fruktsoppa may include apricots, apples,

bilberries Bilberries () are Eurasian low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' in the flowering plant family Ericaceae that bear edible, dark blue berries. They resemble but are distinct from North American blueberries. The species most often referre ...

, pears, raisins, currants, cranberries, prunes, grapes, cherries, cloudberries,

arctic raspberry ''Rubus arcticus'', the Arctic bramble or Arctic raspberry, Nagoonberry, or nectarberry is a species of slow-growing bramble belonging to the rose family, found in Arctic and alpine regions in the Northern Hemisphere. It has been used to create ...

and peaches. Additional ingredients may include

tapioca Tapioca (; ) is a starch extracted from the tubers of the cassava plant (''Manihot esculenta,'' also known as manioc), a species native to the North Region, Brazil, North and Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast regions of Brazil, but which has ...

sago Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of ''Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is c ...

, red wine, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Preparation involves soaking the dried fruits and various ingredients for some time to soften them, and then adding water and cooking the mixture until it thickens. It may be served as a cold soup, and can be stored unrefrigerated for a "reasonable" amount of time. Its flavor may be enhanced by letting it sit for several hours prior to serving, which allows the flavors to better intermingle and incorporate into one another. Fruktsoppa may be prepared using a

slow cooker A slow cooker, (also known as a crock-pot after a trademark owned by Sunbeam Products, but sometimes used generically in the English-speaking world), is a countertop electrical cooking appliance used to simmer at a lower temperature than ...

. In the United States, fruktsoppa has also been prepared and served both hot and cold before meals as a

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

References

{{Soups Fruit soups Swedish desserts Dried fruit