Walnut-Stuffed Prunes
Dried plums split open, packed with a walnut half, rolled in sugar. Romanian preserve logic, no jar required.
- calories
- 390
- weight
- 3.2 oz
- cal / oz
- 122
- protein
- 4 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 0 min
- total time
- 20 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Snack
- Dessert
- No cook
- Backpacking
- Thru-hike
- Day hike
- Bikepacking
- Canoe / raft
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Dairy free
- Gluten free
- Eat in the bag
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Pitted prunes | 40 (about 1 lb) | soft ones, not the leathery kind |
|---|---|---|
| Walnut halves | 1 cup | about 40 pieces, one per prune |
| Granulated sugar | 1/2 cup | for the coating |
| Salt | a pinch |
Method
- At home, open each prune along the pit slit with your thumb. Do not cut it in half.
- Press a walnut half inside and pinch the prune closed around it.
- Toss the stuffed prunes with the sugar and salt in a bowl until the outsides are dusted and no longer tacky.
- Spread them on a sheet and leave them uncovered for an hour so the sugar sets and they stop sticking together.
- In camp, open the bag and eat. Two or three is a snack, ten is dessert.
The original is a boiled preserve: fresh plums stuffed with walnut and simmered in syrup until they candy. That needs a stove, a jar, and an hour you do not have. Prunes are already the finished product of the drying half, so the recipe collapses into stuffing and coating. No cooking, no water, nothing to spoil.
The sugar coat is doing two jobs. It pulls surface moisture off so the prunes do not weld together in the bag, and it puts fast carbohydrate next to the walnut fat. That pairing is the whole point on a long climb: the sugar hits now, the nut keeps working for the next hour.
Packing
One quart freezer bag, sugar coating and all. The sugar is what keeps them from fusing into a single brick, so do not shake it off. In hot weather they will sweat; a second bag saves your pack.
Variations
- Almonds or pecans work the same way if walnuts are out.
- A pinch of cinnamon in the sugar reads more like a dessert than a snack.
- Chop the whole batch and stir it into oatmeal instead of eating it whole.
https://savoriurbane.com/dulceata-de-prune-cu-nuca-reteta-de-prune-confiate-umplute