Recipe Index

Ingredients

• Strawberries, hulled, according to taste
• Cherries, pitted, according to taste
• 8 oz granulated sugar, per pound of fruit
• 1 bottle (25 fl oz) 108-proof dark rum, per pound of fruit
• Apricots, pitted, according to taste
• Peaches, peeled and pitted, according to taste
• Plums, pitted, according to taste
• Seedless grapes, stems removed, according to taste
• Nectarines, peeled and pitted, according to taste
• Pears, peeled and cored, according to taste
• Raspberries, cleaned, according to taste
• Canned pineapple, according to taste
• Walnuts, halved, according to taste
• Raisins, according to taste
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise pods

Method

1. Begin the rumtopf in late spring by layering hulled strawberries and pitted cherries, the first fruits of the season, into a large jar.
2. Sprinkle that first rumtopf fruit layer with 8 oz granulated sugar per pound of fruit and leave the sugared fruit to sit for at least 1 hour.
3. Pour 108-proof dark rum over the sugared strawberries and cherries at the rate of one 25 fl oz bottle per pound of fruit, lay plastic wrap directly on the rum surface, seal the rumtopf jar, and store it in a cool, dark place for two weeks.
4. Add pitted apricots and peeled, pitted peaches cut into bite-sized pieces as the summer rumtopf layer, sugaring this fruit at the same 8 oz per pound and covering it with rum at the same bottle-per-pound rate, then reseal the jar for one week in its cool, dark spot.
5. Continue the rumtopf with pitted plums, stemmed seedless grapes and peeled, pitted nectarines cut into bite-sized pieces, again sugaring each addition at 8 oz per pound, covering it with rum, and resting the sealed jar for one week.
6. Add peeled, cored pears cut into bite-sized pieces and cleaned raspberries to the rumtopf, sugar them at 8 oz per pound, cover them with rum at the bottle-per-pound rate, and rest the sealed jar for one more week.
7. Finish the rumtopf with canned pineapple at half a can, sugared and rummed in proportion to its weight, plus the halved walnuts, the raisins, the 2 cinnamon sticks and the 2 star anise pods stirred into the jar.
8. Seal this final rumtopf layer under plastic wrap on the rum surface and leave the whole jar in a cool, dark place for at least four weeks after the last fruit goes in before spooning out any of the rum-soaked fruit.

Prep: 5 hr

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data