Smokefruit Brick
Smokefruit Bricks are a compressed, preserved form of fruit mash, dried, smoked, and stone-hardened into palm-sized blocks that last years, even centuries. Where Smokefruit Leather is meant to be chewed and enjoyed, the brick is a legacy ration, made for survival, ritual, or remembrance.
Some of these bricks, called Ancestor Stones, are sealed in Clan Food Vaults — made from extinct fruits and infused with the essence of a time before the Bloom. They are eaten only during great need or great ceremony — such as a new hold’s founding or a bloodline’s end.
“Lasts longer than stone, and tastes like memory.”
Manufacturing process
Instructions
- Cook the Fruit Mash
Slowly simmer mashed fruit with honey, salt, and spice over low heat until thick and reduced — the texture should be dense and clay-like. Stir constantly to prevent scorching. - Mix in Dry Ingredients
Let the mash cool slightly. Then stir in tunnelgrain flour and optional mushroom rind. The result should be stiff enough to mold by hand, with no wetness. - Shape the Bricks
Press the mixture into stone molds or shape by hand into tight rectangular blocks (approx. 3x2x1 inches). Pack tightly, using polished stone or fists. - Dry and Smoke
Lay bricks on racks near a cool, dry smoke source, ideally ashwood, embervine, or sunspine root. Allow to smoke-dry for 5–7 days, rotating periodically. - Finish-Hardening
After smoking, store bricks in a dry-stone vault or clay-sealed jars for 1–2 additional weeks. They should become firm, dry, and shelf stable.
“If it crumbles, it isn’t ready. If it breaks your knife, it’s perfect.”
History
Lore
“One brick was cracked open when Kaldur Hollow fell silent. It fed three hundred, and no one remembers who gave the last piece to the stone.”
Significance
Cultural Notes
Extinct Fruit Bricks
- Some bricks were made from now-lost fruits that only grew near pre-Bloom lava ridges or ancient rootvaults.
- These bricks are marked with stone runes and sealed in Clan Vaults, only to be broken when the clan is in greatest need, or when one of those fruits is rediscovered.
The Vaultkeeper’s Rite
- Only a Vaultkeeper, Chef-Priest, or Ancestral Matron/Patron can break one open. Doing so without permission is considered a theft of memory.
Ceremonial Use
- Crumbled over bread at hold-foundings
- Dissolved into feasts at funerals of founders
- Given as final rations to dwarves exiled or journeying into the Bloom Zone
Item type
Consumable, Food / Drink
Raw materials & Components
Ingredients (Yields 4–6 bricks)
- 3 cups fruit mash
- Best combo: Glowvine melon, Caveberry, Fireplum, or Ashen pear
- Substitutes: any dried or soaked fruit paste with low moisture
- 2 tbsp stone honey or thick fungal syrup (acts as binder and preservative)
- 1 tsp ash-spice (smoked bark, forgepepper, ember fennel)
- Pinch of rock salt
- ½ cup tunnelgrain flour (acts as stabilizer)
- Optional: 2 tbsp powdered fermented mushroom rind for longevity and richness
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