Christmas Rumtopf

[MedPretzel]

A german tradition that I give as gifts to neighbors and friends. It's for every bottle of rum, 3-5 pounds of fruit, 5 pounds of sugar. I ended up filling my 2-gallon glass jar this year with the goodies.





Here's the label. hehehe, I'm not that good with photo-editing as Waldo... But he was my inspiration!

Original photo:

Edited by: MedPretzel

 

[Waldo]

Very cool Martina.Would like to have that recipe too

 

[MedPretzel]

My husband would rather be dead than caught in Lederhosen.

When he saw the picture he laughed about 5 minutes and said, "My family can never see this".....





We look creepy, I think.





M.





Oh, here's the recipe;


CJJ Berry's recipe, p. 165ish.


"All you need is a capacious glazed earthenware jar with a heavy, well-fitting lid, or some such container. Mine hols just over a gallon.


The idea is to use a mixture of soft fruits as they come in season, and the basic "recipe" is a pound of fruit, half a pound of sugar, and cover it a finger's width with Jamaica rum. In our rumpot we use blackcurrants, red-currants, strawberries, black cherries, peaches, blackberries and plums, and one and a half bottles of rum. It scents the whole kitchen when the lid is lifted, an as for the taste...!


...


This is the way to pack summer into your pot.


Start with strawberries, the first fruit of the summer. Wash the fruits and let dry. Place the fruit in a dish and add sugar, the quanitiy should be half the weight of the fruit. Leave it for a full hour so the sugar is well-absorbed and the flavor extracted...."





Well, He makes it a bit more complicated than you need it. I just dump in the rum, dump in any fruit (apples, pears, kiwis, grapes) and add the sugar. The first year I made it, it was too sweet for me. I lowered the sugar by a little (more to taste than anything).

 

[MedPretzel]

 

[NorthernWinos]

WOW!!!!Does that ever look good. How do you eat it?? Like just with a spoon in a bowl, on a sponge cake, ice cream....etc????? Or do you just drink the nectar????

 

[peterCooper]

I think lying on your back with a funnel would be a good approach

 

[MedPretzel]

Ice cream is usually a good treat. But I've caught my mom "taste-testing" right out of the "topf" (pot). hehehe





Spongecake would be good too. I'll post a pic of what I did this year this afternoon.

 

[NorthernWinos]

My [German] Mom always made Apple Strudel all year, it was great, as well we had homemade egg noodles and other good German stuff.....BUT....for Christmas she would make a fruit cake in October and sprinkle Brandy on it every week....it was grand....maybe that's why my brother and I and all the cousins were so happy at Christmas?????

 

[MedPretzel]

Well, I put them in pretty marmelade jars with lots of fruit, just enough liquid:

I had quite a bit of rum left over, so I bottled those....

Edited by: MedPretzel

 

[NorthernWinos]

Had an English girlfriend who use to make Ambrosia in a punch bowl...she'd layer, pieces of sponge cake with Brandy, then some custard and fruit, whipped cream and repeat....it was awesome....would be good with your fruit and rum....oh my!!!!

Got to make some of your recipe next year.....did you start it in the summer????Or later?????

 

[MedPretzel]

Hahaha, I started this in about late May/early June. When the farmers' markets start popping up in the area. Since I live under 3 huge oak trees, not too many things (like berries or other yummy things) grow here (well, except mums!!!).


The first year, I bought some frozen stuff, which I would not recommend.


Technically, since fruit is available all year at the grocery store, you could do this any time of the year. I don't know how juicy and good the fruits are, but I'm sure it'd work out the same or similar.





I also used brown rum. I guess you could use any kind you wanted. And yes, it's the super-cheapo-drunkard-the-more-the-better kind of rum.

I always got a weird look at the liquor store when I said, "What's the cheapest rum you got?"