SEATTLE — When I was young, foolish and living on an island known for its distillation of sugar cane, I met up with a powerful fellow named Ronrico.

In the aftermath of that tropical storm, my head was pa-rum-pa-pum-pum-ing and I swore, like many a foolish imbiber before me, I’d never touch a bottle of Ronrico – or any other type of rum – again.

Promises, promises. I’ve since developed a taste for the stuff, thanks to a recipe for rumpot.

What’s great about this fruity treasure is you can make a big batch of the rum-stoked fruit, keep it in the fridge and never lack for a sweet fix:

There’s rumpot for mixing with yogurt or spooning over pancakes at breakfast. Rumpot as accompaniment to pork roast, or served after dinner with a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

But until I sat down to share my rumpot recipe, I had no idea “rumtopf” was a Christmas tradition in Germany (ditto for Denmark).

Advertisement

Rumtopf (translation: rum pot) takes its name from the stoneware crock used to preserve summer’s sweet bounty: a custom that calls for macerating a variety of fruits, layered – as they come into season – with rum and sugar. It also requires the patience to wait while the fruit marinates through the fall months, stored in a cool, dark place, culminating with the popping of the “topf” for a Yuletide treat.

My rumpot recipe hails from Italy.

I spotted this boozy bonanza eons ago in “Italy: A Culinary Journey,” a coffee-table cookbook whose photos made me say, “Oooh! Let’s go to Italy!” At which point, my husband turned to me and said, “Absolutely. Meanwhile, why don’t you make that” – nodding at a photograph of a sun-dappled patio-table set with glass containers of frutta secca al rum – Ciao, rumpot!

The Italian-accented recipe calls for dried fruits rather than fresh and may be eaten shortly after it’s prepared: a process that involves the addition of fresh oranges, cloves and a cinnamon stick, a bit of cookery and a hefty measure of dark rum.

Feel free to alter the dried-fruit choices to suit your taste, and choose your poison. Mine (sorry, Ron) is Myer’s Original Dark Rum.

FRUTTA SECCA AL RUM (RUMPOT)

Advertisement

Fills a gallon jar

Juice and rind of 4 oranges

1¼ cups sugar

10 cloves

1 cinnamon stick

4 cups water

Advertisement

2½ cups (10 ounces) dried apricots

2½ cups (10 ounces) dried pears

2½ cups (10 ounces) dried peaches

2½ cups (10 ounces) dried apple rings

1½ cups (10 ounces) prunes

2 cups (10 ounces) golden raisins

Advertisement

2½ cups dark rum

Put the fresh orange juice, the (squeezed out) rinds, sugar, cloves and cinnamon with the water in a saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil until it reduces slightly. Discard the rind and the spices, and filter the liquid through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Add the fruit and mix together.

Bring to a boil, cook for 8-10 minutes and set aside to cool. When the mixture is completely cooled, pour in the rum, mix well and refrigerate in a large, airtight jar.

Nancy’s note: If you store the rumpot for a couple months, the flavor will fully develop, but my jar never lasts that long!


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.