Rumtopf another go at it

[pokerfacepablo]

Anyone else familiar with the old German tradition of Rumtopf "Rum Pot"? You're suppose to start this in June when the first fruits are in season. Basically you're making a Cordial to drink or pour over ice cream. You usually start with Strawberries because they're the first to come in June. Cut them in half and place them in stoneware jar and cover them with sugar and then cover that with rum. Just enough for the fruit to be covered. Then the next month you add another fruit like raspberries or cherries. You layer the fruit with sugar and rum and pretty much stack it on the old fruit. The rum should be at least 108 proof which is pretty hard to find in the US so you use a mixture regular 80 proof rum with 151. You don't want this to start fermenting otherwise you're going to end up with a nasty cordial. The last addition should be in October, that way you have a tasty Christmas treat.

I ending up doing this a couple years ago but I added too much 151 so this year I'm using regular rum and sticking the jar in the fridge to prevent fermentation.

 

[58limited]

Do you use a white rum or dark rum, or does it matter? For drinking I prefer dark rums myself.

 

[pokerfacepablo]

U can use both but most of the recipes I Googled said dark. I'm also going to use a blend of white and brown sugar.

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[EJM3]

I've have two of them going myself, great flavors come out of those. But we just used regular rum with the first one & it's fantastic, no fermentation of anything funky going on with that one. The other was put together by our friends from Belgium: She used cherries from our back yard, stems trimmed to one inch long, gin & a couple tablespoons of sugar. That made a one gallon batch that I'm still sipping on & nibbling the cherries out of over a year later. A tiny aperitif is all that you need, loads of flavor, delayed kick if you drink too much...

 

[pokerfacepablo]

I've have two of them going myself, great flavors come out of those. But we just used regular rum with the first one & it's fantastic, no fermentation of anything funky going on with that one. The other was put together by our friends from Belgium: She used cherries from our back yard, stems trimmed to one inch long, gin & a couple tablespoons of sugar. That made a one gallon batch that I'm still sipping on & nibbling the cherries out of over a year later. A tiny aperitif is all that you need, loads of flavor, delayed kick if you drink too much...

What's the the proof on the rum?

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[edblanford]

I have had Rumtopf in Germany (homemade by a number of different people) and loved it. I made batches of it for a number of years after (and may start again due to this thread) that were all very good. I find it hard to imagine that fermentation could be a problem as long as enough rum is added (sweet dark rum in Germany, maybe 80-90 proof), since the alcohol level would prevent even a Champagne yeast from working due to the alcohol level.

My .02

Ed

 

[Squatchy]

So how much sugar do you use approximately? Say, for instance, I just added 1 gallon of cherries. How much sugar for that amount?

 

[pokerfacepablo]

Every pound of fruit you add a half pound of sugar. Remember you want a variety of fruit so you layer it every month with a new fruit. Some fruits don't work well. Try avoiding black berries, rhubarb, some varieties of apples, and any type of melon. Just Google it and there are plenty of resources to choose from.

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[Squatchy]

Thanks pablo

 

[pokerfacepablo]

I've have two of them going myself, great flavors come out of those. But we just used regular rum with the first one & it's fantastic, no fermentation of anything funky going on with that one. The other was put together by our friends from Belgium: She used cherries from our back yard, stems trimmed to one inch long, gin & a couple tablespoons of sugar. That made a one gallon batch that I'm still sipping on & nibbling the cherries out of over a year later. A tiny aperitif is all that you need, loads of flavor, delayed kick if you drink too much...

Yeah I was definitely being a little over cautious and it turned out nicht so gut. I added too much 151 and all the fruit absorbed it. Left a pretty nasty taste when I bit into them.
As far as storing them, did you put them in a cold basement, or fridge?...

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[pokerfacepablo]

With the last batch I used an over sized ceramic fermenting pot used to make sauerkraut... I had a huge surplus of mediocre rumtopf. Not again, I said. So I found this little guy searching the web and it just arrived yesterday. I threw in strawberries, nectarines, peaches, pears, grapes, raspberries, and kiwi which will be topped off with pineapple as soon as it rippens. I covered the fruit in layers of rum and brown sugar. Some of the fruit kept floating to the top so Im in the process of ordering cheap ceramic weights to keep the fruit on the bottom.

Here's 2 pics of the jar and the starting process.
<a href="http://imgur.com/a6WX0Sf"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/a6WX0Sf.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

<a href="http://imgur.com/ys9s4Ce"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ys9s4Ce.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>

 

[pokerfacepablo]

 

[pokerfacepablo]

Pineapple added yesterday and sealed with plastic wrap and lid. Placed in the back of my fridge until Christmas... maybe a couple of stirs in between.

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[pokerfacepablo]

And the ceramic weights to keep the fruit down

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[pokerfacepablo]

Made some awesome homemade holiday spiced ice cream with some raw clover.

2 cups whole milk
2 cups raw clover honey
1 vanilla bean gutted
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Mix all the ingredients in a pot and bring to medium heat. Stir constantly with whisk until the edges of the pot begin to bubble. Don't curdle the milk. Next take a little of the batch and place in a mixing bowl. Slowly add 6 yolks to the mixture and stir constantly with whisk. Add everything back to the pot and bring the heat to 160 F for 8 minutes. Next place everything in the fridge to cool for 2 hrs. Add four cups of heavy whipping cream and mix well. Add to ice cream maker and enjoy.