A taste of summer and the perfect homemade Christmas gift.

Continuing with my Christmas recipe series, I’d like to reintroduce you to the rum pot, which is essentially rum pickled fruit. I’ve already mentioned it in my Christmas post of 2019, when my boyfriend and I tried making it for the first time. It wasn’t quite perfect that year, but it has turned out amazing every year since (last edit as of 2023), so I wanted to share the recipe so you can give it a try too.

Rum pot or Rumtopf is a traditional German preserve, which used to be quite popular in Slovenia as well. My grandmother used to make it and I remember seeing adults eat it as a child, but it sort of disappeared off the radar in the past 20 years, or at least I hadn’t seen it around much. Anyway, it is awesome, so I think everyone should know about it and we should bring it back!

Traditionally, a rum pot was started in spring when the first fruits ripened, then more and more layers of fruit were added over the following months as they came in season. The fruit is preserved in sugar and rum and brings a taste of summer during the gloomy winter days, which also makes it the perfect Christmas present and it is what I’ve started giving to my friends and family every year. It is very simple and inexpensive to make – you can either do it the old way and start in the spring or buy all the fruit at the end of summer and put everything in the pot in one go. If you want to have it done by Christmas, I recommend starting by the end of August at the latest.

Rum pot (rum pickled fruit) recipe

Ingredients

• Rum (at least 37% alcohol volume)
• Sugar
• Fruit: preferably a lot of berries such as strawberries, blueberries, red currant and raspberries, but also apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots… – the more variety, the better
• Optional: vanilla, raisins or dried cranberries

Prep time: 30 – 60 minutes, depending on the amount of fruit to chop up

Cooking time: 4+ months

Instructions

Use a large, sealable container. A clay 6 litre Rumtopf pot is traditionally used (you can see mine below), but you can also use glassware or even a regular mason jar, although it works better with larger containers. I wouldn’t recommend using plastic because of the presence of alcohol.

It is very difficult to be specific for this kind of recipe, but for a 6 litre pot you will need approximately 2 litres of rum, 2-3 kg of fruit and 1-2 kg of sugar. Don’t worry if you run out of ingredients halfway, as you can always buy more and add them later, as long as the fruit is fully submerged in rum.

Wash, dry, core and dice the fruit into desired pieces.

Add a layer of fruit, cover with sugar and pour the rum over until it completely covers the sugar (you’ll need at least 1:2 fruit to sugar ratio – the more the better). Keep adding layers of fruit, sugar and rum until your pot is full.

Leave at least a centimetre/inch of rum on top to make sure the fruit is completely submerged, same as with regular pickling. You can also cover the top with baking paper before securing the lid to prevent dirt and potential insects from getting in.

Store in a dark, dry place like in a cellar or a cold cupboard for at least 4 months. Stir occasionally and add more rum if necessary to keep the fruit submerged. You can start tasting it after about 2 months.

If everything goes well, the alcohol level should drop to something that tastes of rum and carries a pleasant warmth, but doesn’t exactly pack a punch. The sugar should dissolve and the fruit should remain firm, but will give away some of its colour. All in all, you should be left with delicious fruit in a relatively thick, sweet rum slurry. Enjoy!

Notes

Rum pot is technically a preserve, so don’t use any visibly imperfect fruit. I also don’t recommend using bananas, oranges or any kind of citruses, pineapple or other tropical fruit, grapes and any fruit that has a mushy consistency. Firm, not overly ripe fruit is best.

As far as rum is concerned, some people swear by using at least a bottle of double rum (the one with 75% alcohol) and mixing it with regular rum. Higher alcohol content is supposed to prevent the fruit from boiling and going bad, which can happen in the beginning if it’s too hot and there’s not enough sugar and alcohol present. I’ve used regular rum several times by now and it was always OK. However, if you do use double rum, you’ll need to wait several months longer for the alcohol level to drop and the final rum pot will be a bit stronger.

This is not meant to be a drink, although the liquid could be used as a cordial, but it is very sweet. You can eat it as a preserve with pretty much anything – some of my favourite options are with vanilla ice cream, apple or curd strudel or any other kind of cake, biscuit or pastry.

So, what do you think? Would you give this rum pot recipe a try?

It won’t turn out the same twice and you can vary the fruit and sugar content to your taste, so it’s also a fun food experiment.

Download printable PDF here