Jun 17, 2008
Dish: Stick some berries in your rumpot and soak them
Posted by : tootoo
Preserved Cherries Do you have kitchen traditions? I do. Besides creating the usualdishes for the usual holidays, every other year I put up purpleplum chutney. Every third year I bake fruitcakes. Every fourth yearI lay away drunken berries in a German rumpot. This is my year todo all three. The last time the years aligned was 1996, when thepresidential candidates were Bill Clinton and Bob Dole and theSummer Olympics (XXVI) were held in Atlanta. Rumpot became a must-do for me after I first tasted it. Years ago,a German friend spooned a drift of softly whipped cream intodessert glasses, then ladled over dark, sweet preserved fruitbathed in a heady, high-octane rum syrup. With a slice of plaincake and dark roast coffee, the combination was memorable. She taught me her recipe, but over the years I've tweaked theformula. My version consists of whole berries and sweet cherriespreserved in a rum and sugar syrup. As each fruit comes intoseason, a measured quantity is placed in a crock, covered withsugar, then covered with rum and left to work its magic. The sugarand rum preserve the berries while adding flavors of their own.There's no set recipe, but the technique must be consistent. For the container, you'll need a 2- to 4-quart crock. I bought anew one this year from Westerwald Pottery near Scenery Hill,Washington County. Previously, I used a Boston baked-bean pot (andwas frustrated when it was time to make beans). In a pinch oneyear, I used a tall Bavarian beer stein. But for authenticity,check out flea markets or country stores to see if you can find acrock labeled rumtopf. Since the pot must be kept covered, it's best to use a containerwith a tight-fitting lid, but you can always cover the pot withplastic wrap and a gumband. Since the fruit and sugar are added inequal weights, you'll also need a scale. Anything from a handful to a whole basket of berries (with equalsugar) can be added at any time. Perfection of berries is the onlycriterion. There are no rules for proportion, but a good mix might be a pintof cherries, a quart of small strawberries, a quart of redraspberries, a cup of blueberries and two cups of blackberries. The fruit will shrink some during the steeping. Cherries,strawberries and red raspberries will yield a rich red rumpot;adding darker berries will make it a deep wine color. Whether you use light or dark rum is a personal preference. I'veused all light, all dark and mixed them together, too. When I wasout of rum, vodka got the nod. No big deal. Don't get too creative. Never add apples, citrus, pineapple or anyfleshy fruit. . And how to put a current stamp on the upcoming batch? I will useall local and organic berries from farmers I know.
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