German Rumtopf Recipe – Preserved fruit in rum
What you need to make the German Rumtopf Recipe
To make the German Rumtopf Recipe you need a fermenting crock pot. The size is depending on the amount of fruit used, 5 l – 1.32 gal or 11.35 l – 3 gal or a large stoneware pot with a lid. A preserving jar (5 l, also available in smaller sizes) with a rubber/glass lid can be an alternative. Furthermore, the seasonal fruit and Rum 54% alcohol or more. I like to mix the Stroh Rum 80% alcohol with a 43% Rum using two parts of Stroh Rum and one part of the 43% Rum, but you also can use just the Strohrum. You can find the Strohrum online at Wine Chateau.
What is a Rumtopf?
The Rumtopf is an alcoholic dessert consisting of Rum, sugar, and seasonal fruit. The ripe sugared fruits are added in layers to the pot and covered up with Rum. The Rum should be about 2 cm – 1 inch above the fruit. I start the Rumtopf with the strawberries by the end of May, beginning of June, and add the last fruit, the pineapple, by the end of October. It is a growing process, and best served after each layer of fruit has soaked in the alcohol for 4-6 weeks.
How to prepare the fruit
Use only ripe, clean, and washed fruit. Wash the berries gently and dry with a paper kitchen towel. Prick a hole into the blueberries using a wooden skewer. Remove the stems of the cherries and add them with the pit. Peel the apricots and peaches, remove the stone and cut into slices. Pit the Italian plums and cut into halves. Peel the pears, take the core out, and cut into small pieces. Cut the pineapples first in slices and then into cubes.
Starting the Rumtopf
Before starting the German Rumtopf Recipe, clean the container and stone with hot water and dry. Start with 1 pound of strawberry and one pound of sugar. Sprinkle the sugar over the strawberries and let sit for 30 minutes. Add to the pot and pour the Rum to it until covered. Continue with the other fruits as they are ripe using only half of the amount of sugar for the weight of the fruit. I use 250 g – 8.8 oz of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and grapes sprinkled with 125 g sugar. I use 500 g – 1.1 lbs of the other fruits combined with 250 g – 8.8 oz of sugar.
Make sure the fruit is not floating on top. The Rumtopf comes with a stone to keep the fruits down. If you use a container without a stone, you can use a plate on top of the fruit to keep them down. If you use a preserving jar, turn it from time to time. Cover the pot with cellophane foil before covering with the lid. Place the Rumtopf in a dark place like the basement, pantry, or closet.
Serve the Rumtopf on top of cakes, to vanilla pudding, or ice cream. I use some of the soaked fruit, place it in a blender and freeze it in a silicon ice cube tray. Adding the frozen fruit cubes to sparkling wine, just wunderbar.
Fruit Calendar:
- May/June: Strawberries
- June: Red Raspberries
- June/July: Cherries, Blueberries
- July/August: Apricots, Peaches, Sour Cherries, Blackberries
- August/September: Italian Plums (Prunes), Yellow Plums
- August/September/October: Grapes (In some regions the Fall Red Raspberries)
- September: Pears
- October: Pineapple