Persimmon Sauce for Camp Rice Pudding
A Norwegian holiday sauce rebuilt from dried persimmon, simmered in one pot over a stove.
- calories
- 190
- weight
- 2.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 86
- protein
- 1 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 250 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dried persimmon | 4 whole fruits, about 3 oz | hoshigaki or sliced kaki chips; both rehydrate |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 1 cup (250 ml) | plus a splash if it stiffens |
| Sugar | 1/2 cup | less if your dried fruit is already candy-sweet |
| Vanilla bean | 1 pod | split; or 1/2 tsp vanilla powder |
| Dried lemon peel | 1 tsp | stands in for the zest of one organic lemon |
| Citric acid | 1/4 tsp | replaces the lemon juice, weighs nothing |
| Star anise | 2 pods | optional |
Method
- Chop the dried persimmon small at home. Big pieces take forever to soften on a stove you are paying for in fuel.
- In camp, put the persimmon, sugar, vanilla pod, star anise, and 250 ml of water in the pot. Bring it up and hold it at a low simmer.
- Cook 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often. Dried fruit sticks and scorches faster than fresh. Add water a splash at a time if the pot goes dry.
- Fish out the vanilla pod and the star anise.
- Mash it against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon until it is a rough puree. A long-handled spoon does the job of the stick blender.
- Off the heat, stir in the lemon peel and citric acid. Taste. It should be sweet with a sharp edge, not flat.
- Let it cool. It thickens as it cools, so stop while it still looks a little loose. Thin with water if it sets up too far.
The original is a Christmas sauce made from fresh persimmon simmered with water, sugar, and a vanilla pod, then blended and chilled. Fresh persimmon is a bad trail passenger, so this uses dried. That changes the arithmetic: dried fruit brings its own sugar, so cut the sugar back if yours tastes like candy already, and it needs more time and more stirring to break down. The lemon is the part that matters most and the part most likely to get left at home, so it becomes dried peel plus citric acid.
The acid is not a garnish. Persimmon and sugar alone taste heavy and one-note; the sour hit is what makes it read as a sauce instead of a jam. A spoon replaces the stick blender, which means the texture stays rough. That is fine. It also thickens hard as it cools, so pull it off the heat looser than you want it.
Packing
Persimmon, sugar, lemon peel, citric acid, and vanilla powder go in one bag at home. If you carry a whole pod and star anise, tape them to the outside so you are not digging for them in the dark.
Variations
- Dried apricot or dried mango works the same way if persimmon is hard to find.
- Spoon it over instant rice pudding: instant rice, milk powder, sugar, and a pinch of salt in the same pot first, sauce second.
- Freeze-dried raspberries scattered on top are the traditional finish and cost almost nothing in weight.
https://meny.no/oppskrifter/dessert/persimonsaus-til-riskrem