rumtopf recipe

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from: Raymond Ellis
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subject: Rumtoph recipe

Whilst living in Gemany shortly after the war, we, my wife and I, made rumtoph. After lugging around the world a lovely old rumtoph jar for the past fifty odd years, it was either..."Use it, or lose it." We know that soft fruits are mixed with rum and sugar, but don't remeber the quantities that have to be used? Please can you help?

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from: Sherry
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subject: Basic Rum-Pot Fruit Recipe (Rumtopf)

Basic Rum-Pot Fruit Recipe (Rumtopf)

3 cups (3/4 liter) strawberries, hulled

about 2 cups each (about 1/2 liter each) prepared gooseberries, cherries,

red currants, black currants, raspberries, apricots, plums and pears

(pick over, remove any damaged parts and pit or core fruits)

about 10 cups (about 2 1/2 liters) sugar

about 2 quarts (about 2 liters) rum


Sprinkle the strawberries with 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) sugar. Cover, and let stand for 30 minutes. Place the sugared strawberries in the rum pot (as the rum pot, you can use a 1 to 2 gallon stoneware crock with a lid) and pour in enough rum to cover the fruit by about two finger-widths. Cover the pot with plastic wrap and put on the lid. Place in a cool room, and stir the fruit gently every two or three days.

Starting with the gooseberries, or as the fruits ripen, add the remaining fruits in layers; mix 1 cup (1/4 liter) of fruit with 1/2 cup (125 ml) of the sugar before adding it to the pot, and each time add enough rum to cover fruit by two finger-widths. After the first two weeks, you will only need to shake or stir the pot every two weeks. But you must always make sure that the top layer of fruit is covered by two finger-widths of rum. Traditionally, the rum pot is begun in early summer. At the end of October or the begining of November, add enother cup of rum to the pot. By the beginning of December, the fruit will be ready to eat.