Kitchen Krafts - Rumtopf

One of my favourite things to do, once all the various spring and summer fruit start to show themselves, is to put together a "Rumtopf" or "Rum-Pot" directly translated, which basically boils down to laying fruit in rum over many months. The end result is, well yummy!

It is a dead basic recipe and as we had strawberries on special here this week, I decided it was time to get one going. I will continue posting about my Rum pot as I fill it up with this and that as the various fruits come into season, so do follow my blog and keep yourself updated on progress and various how-tos :-D

My tip for a rum pot is this: Try to use local FRESH produce in season for the best taste, and if possible organic (I know this is not always possible, so just wash the fruit you are using before adding them to the pot).

The rule of thumb for this recipe is - half as much sugar as fruit, and cover with rum. Simple right!

Okay, so what will you need to start up? 

You will need:
A rum pot or a large wide-necked glass container with lid. 
A saucer or plate that fits comfortably into your container
Rum - enough to keep each batch of fruit covered
Sugar
Fruit which is ripe, but not overly ripe!

Start by weighing out the fruit you will be putting inside the pot, wash it and cut into pieces. Weigh out half as much sugar. I cut the stems off the strawberries and cut them in half.
Lay them in the pot, and cover them with the sugar.

Cover with rum so that the fruit is fully submersed.

Place your plate upside down on top of the fruit to hold it under the liquid. This is an important step, as if the fruit float to the top of the liquid they can start to go mouldy, so totally submersed is the key!

Cover your pot with its lid. I also cover my lid and pot with cling-wrap as my lid does not seal, so for the extra protection.

Allow to stand in a cool area.

I only had strawberries and so I started with them. If you have more local produce available to you at the same time, then you would go ahead and add each of the layers of fruit, sugar and rum until all your fruit is inside and covered with liquid. 

Here is a list of fruits that I found via Google which should and shouldn't go inside your pot! I really stick to local here and end up generally adding the following: cherries, plums, peaches, prunes, grapes, strawberries and pears. I have put in cantaloupe one year and it didn't turn out all too badly, but it was rather a firm melon!

Fruits that work well in the rum pot:
Pineapple (remove rind & core and cut in large cubes)
Cherries (any variety, stemmed and pitted)
Apricots (halves, pitted)
Nectarines (halves, pitted) 
Peaches (remove pits and cut in halves, quarters, or slices)
Pears (cored, peeled & sliced)
Plums (remove seed and half or quarter)
Grapes (sweet seedless red or green grapes are ideal)
Strawberries (don't wash, just remove stem & leaves).  Strawberries will soften and lose their bright red color as the soak up the rum. 
Raspberries (don't wash). Raspberries will lose some of their bright red color.
Red currants (removed from stem)
Gooseberries (remove stems)

The following fruits are not recommended:
Blackberries or Blueberries (they can be bitter and can discolor the other fruits)
Watermelon and Cantaloupe chunks (can make the mixture watery)
Rhubarb (can make mixture sour)
Bananas (too mushy)
Citrus (too acidic)
Apples (take on an odd texture)

My rum-pot will now stand in my cellar until I have my next batch of fruit and then I will top it up with the new and again allow to stand. The pot should be filled by autumn where it will once again stand until around Christmas time. 

I generally find that I make one of these once every two years and they last just as long. It is absolutely delicious over vanilla ice-cream or just like that after a hearty meal. Wonderfully warming! But do be careful, it can be quite potent!

Hope you enjoy making your Rum pot.

If you have tips or tricks that help make you run your household more smoothly, or have a wonderful recipe you would like to share...a tradition of your culture perhaps, I would love for you to share here.

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Until next week then x