I will never forget the first I was served Rumtopf, also referred to as Tutti Fruitti or Brandied Frutti. It was served over ice cream, and I was enthralled. It’s been a while since I’ve last enjoyed it. While searching thru my recipe achieves I ran across this old fashioned recipe and thought how fun it would to resurrect it.
Rumtopf is a Danish word that means rum pot; it’s an ancient recipe that was, and is, traditionally served around Christmas. It was a way of preserving fruits that were in season in the spring, summer, and fall.
Traditionally, a large crock pot was set in a cool dark place in the Spring, a variety of ripe fruit were added to it over the months as they would come into season, preserving the fruit to be enjoyed in the Winter months. Over the years it had fallen out of fashion. It has once again started to find favor, and I couldn’t be happier.
My version is intended to make the original recipe more approachable for the everyday cook. As a result, I’ve chosen to use a variety of canned fruits.
Rumtopf Recipe
Ingredients: Makes approximately 6 cups
- 1 ½ cups can pineapple chunks, well drained
- 1 ½ cups can sliced peaches, well drained
- 1 ½ cups can apricot halves, well drained
- 1 cup jar maraschino cherries, well drained
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- 1 ¼ cups brandy
Combine all ingredients in a sterilized 1-gallon glass jar with a lid. Gently stir a bit. Cover with plastic wrap to seal, top with the lid and let the mixture stand at room temperature. Stir every few days for three weeks. It’s now ready to use.
Make sure to reserve 1 cup of brandied fruit as a starter for a new batch.
New Batch Instructions: Using the brandied fruit starter and a large jar with a lid, add 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup or so of one of the fruits, stir, cover and let stand at room temperature for a week. Stir again in a few days. Repeat the process another variety of fruit and sugar for three weeks until all the variety of fruits have been added. Yyou may add a jigger or three of brandy in the mixture if you desire. Let it stand at room temperature for 3 days or up two months in a cool place before using. Round two yields approximately 6 cups (Or more, depending on how much starter you use).
Rumtopf can be served over ice cream, pound cake, angel food cake, pastries, and waffles or used in various recipes.
Notes: Be sure to use a large crock or jar with a well-fitting lid. You can vary the amount of sugar you use to suit your taste. The starter makes a great gift. Add a tag with the instructions, and you’ll delight any cook. When you’ve used up the second round, start over from the beginning. You may use fresh fruit in place of the canned if you like; such as various berries, sweet and sour cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, and pineapples. Make sure to thoroughly clean the fruit as well as trim, pit, core as needed.
Now that my Rumtopf is ready, I’m off to making some homemade vanilla ice cream to serve with it. Doesn’t that sound good?
Time to eat…
P.S. Take a moment to check out my recipe booklet’s for sale on this site and purchase some of the tools I used for this “Rumtopf Recipe” below. 🙂