The Rhumtopf
Brief History So the story goes apparently the Rhumtopf is accredited to the seafarers approximately 200 odd years or so ago and was as a direct result of trying to bring home exotic fruits from the West Indies to loved ones, many of which got spoiled. By chance after trying to extract the last drop of rum from the barrell (every sail boat carried a barrell at the time) they found fruit as fresh as if it had been picked from the tree The rum not only conserved the fruit but also gave a delicious flavour. After that the rum barrells always came back with fruit in them. As this treat became very popular housewives started to play and to brew their own. There is some confusion as to whether this is a Swiss Preserve or a German Preserve, but as both countries both have the Rhumtopf (or Rumpot in common practice is the name given to the vessel in which the fruit is preserved). To complicate matters the French have the Brandypot the only difference is that they use Brandy to preserve the fru...