Additions to the Rumtopf: A boozy work in progress

About a month ago, my friend DB and I followed in our non-existent German ancestors’ footsteps and began making rumtopf. We each have our own crock, full (so far) of rum, strawberries, blueberries and nectarines.

I added some more goodies — fresh local blackberries and Bing cherries — to my crock this weekend. While I was in there, I tasted some of the liquid, rum with sugar and fruit juices. It is so amazingly good, I can’t even believe it.

In fact I’m tempted to start another batch now, because as soon as December hits I am going to plow through this one.

Blackberries and cherries macerated in sugar

Rumtopf crock brimming with goodness!

Want to start your own crock of boozy fruit? Check out the first post to see how!

Additions to my Rumtopf — White Nectarines

I did my first addition to my rumtopf this weekend. I had intended to wait until DB and I hung out again, but I had some white nectarines that were too perfectly ripe to resist. They were calling out to be soaked in the rum-filled crock of goodness. So I diced them up, stirred in some sugar and left them to sit for about thirty minutes. Then I added them to the strawberry and rum mixture — which is really smelling fantastic! I can’t wait until December when I finally get to try it. Until then, I’ll be on the prowl for more juicy ripe fruit to throw in.

Have you started your own rumtopf yet? You probably should — it’s not too late!

Check out this post for details on how to do it.

How cute is my little blue duck crock?

The color from the strawberries has really leached into the rum

On Rum and Friendship…

People have many different ways of defining friendship. Just look around on Pinterest if you don’t believe me — you’ll find a ton of various posts about how to determine if someone qualifies to be a best friend or not. One of my favorites is “A friend will help you move. A best friend will help you move a body.” While I haven’t — and hopefully won’t — ever need to move a body, I still appreciate the sentiment.

After this weekend, I have developed my own definition, more tailored to my own life. “A friend will let you come over and pick a few pounds of strawberries out of his garden. A very good friend will give you rum to soak them in.”

And my friend DB is a very good friend indeed.