Rum

I’m still in the mood for preserving. This time it’s fruit and alcohol. A little while ago, when I posted this recipe for my Poppy Seed and Plum Cake to use up a glut, Mark, from Mark’s Veg Plot asked if there was a Polish version of Rumtopf. Rumtopf or ‘Rum Pot’ is a way of preserving summer or late summer fruits, such as plums, berries, cherries and apricots. There is something similar in Poland,  called Nalewka, made by infusing berries, herbs or fruit in spirit, usually vodka, and letting it ferment for six months.

Strangely enough, on that very same day though, I received a bottle of  The Kraken Rum…so Rumtopf it was!    

First of all, to the The Kraken Black Spiced Rum. I haven’t had rum since a holiday in Cuba many years ago, punctuated with many glasses of rum and coke or Cuba Libre. I seem to recall there being an all-inclusive bar and that rum was on tap.

This Kraken Black Spiced Rum is imported rum from the Caribbean (Trinidad and Tobago) distilled from molasses made from local sugar cane and then aged with spices, such as cinnamon, ginger and clove. It’s named after a sea monster and is very dark in colour. The flavour reminds me a little of whiskey. It makes a mean hot toddy and I’ve also been making hot ‘Calypso’ rum coffees with rum, black coffee and cream. A splash of rum might be hitting some brownies later, too. It is almost winter and there are lots of bugs to fend off… 

The rest of The Kraken Black Spiced Rum has made it into a Kilner jar, with some sugar and fruit, including figs, peaches, pears and more recently, some strawberries and cherries. It should be ready by Christmas.

How to make Rumtopf or Rum Pot

Traditionally, a Rumtopf would be made in a stoneware pot, actually called a Rum Pot. I must look out for one. You can also make it in a large Kilner or preserving jar.

1. The best fruits to use are cherries, peaches, raspberries, plums, apricots, strawberries and redcurrants. Avoid fruit that is overripe.
2. Weigh your fruit as you add it to the jar and then add half the weight of the fruit in sugar. I used golden caster sugar. You don’t need to mix it.
3. Pour in the rum (minimum 40% alc/volume) making sure the fruit is completely covered. Seal so that it is airtight and store it in a cool, dark place. Around two months is best.
4. You can add more fruit as you wait, always adding half the weight of the fruit in sugar. Lots of cherries and plums would be lovely.
5. After 2-3 months, drain the liquid. The preserved fruit can be eaten and the resulting liquid is a liqueur.

With many thanks to The Kraken Rum team for sending me the bottle ‘o rum to sample.

Have you preserved any fruit lately? If so, what have you made?