Chippewa Lake Rumtopf
Last year, 2016, I began reading The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz (what a name, right?!) the book was a gift from my uncle, and that's simply not important to the story.
Going through the book, some things stuck out to me: shrubs, kombucha (which I'd already adventured to try), and rumtopfs.
Now a rumtopf isn't a fermentation, but it was under the section discussing boozy fruit salads. How does that sound? Going to a picnic, and getting blitzed off the fruit being served from a carved out watermelon. But, I digress.
A rumtopf is a German traditional fruit preserve and beverage. The idea is to store the ripening fruit from the year in rum. As the fruit ripens, you add sugar to it, and rum, put it in a crock, and allow it to age until Christmas. Then when all of your family is over to visit, you bring it out in secret and get drunk without having to interact with great aunt Sylvia.
Well, I was immediately interested in this tradition. My family is German, but I had never heard of this before. So I immediately took to craigslist to find a vessel for the following year's 'topf. I luckily found a man selling a crock, with seven matching mugs, in Chippewa Lake, Ohio. After a bit of hemming and hawing, and a threat from a co-worker of mine who said if I didn't buy it she would, I messaged the guy and offered just a shy less than he had it listed. He wasn't one for texting, or emailing, so we did an old fashioned phone call.
I suppose that should have been a sign.
Here's the adventure: I don't live near Chippewa Lake, it's about an hour or so for me to get there, but this crock was going to be perfect, and the price was right. After work, one snowy day, I drove down to what turns out to be a defunct amusement park.
Chippewa Lake closed in the 1970s. Until recently, a lot of it was still standing, including a roller coaster. I could see the skeletal remains of said rollercoaster in the woods as I drove by, but everything was blocked off by a metal fence warning of trespassers, and besides, sightseeing wasn't why I was here.
My GPS took me down a winding road, and over a rickety one lane bridge. I ended up in a loop, and got turned around on a tight street that had parts that would have made a European taxi driver feel claustrophobic.
Turns out these houses, are converted summer cottages. What was once a place people would summer, is now the year-round living quarters for many people. The streets were once foot paths; they're so small, and poorly organized, that the city can't plow them. In fact, the city doesn't even own them.
I finally found the place I was looking for and went to the door. The house was un assuming, and also, assumingely empty. I tried calling the man, which I knew to be his home phone (another red flag) hoping he was home and just not able to hear my knocking.
Fortunately, he was home, and couldn't hear my knocking. He came to the door and invited me in. Now, my wife thinks I'm nuts, considering all the places I just end up, or willingly go where I could easily be murdered and sold for parts. But I have faith that I'll be able to defend myself, or at least, that people won't try to murder someone twice their size.
The man is very cordial and tries to sell me half of the things in his house. I'm only also interested in this sun compass, but decide against spending more money.
He we get to talking, and I get the sense that the man doesn't get much company, so I converse with him for a while. He talks about what he's done to this house, and how it used to be his summer home. How he used to own a salon, and now can't find a buyer for the chairs he keeps in his entryway. He offers me his dining room table, of which I do not really need, and doesn't give me a price on the large pickle crock, which I think he regularly uses. He shows me his indoor hot tub, and describes how it helps with his back, and tells me he can't sell the place because he's in the middle of a divorce and where else would he live? Eventually, he leads me upstairs where he has the merchandise. He goes first, as I never turn my back to this potential murderer (everyone is a potential murderer until proven otherwise). We walk up the open staircase, past the wall of cuckoo clocks, and he shows me the bathroom he put in at the top of the stairs. Past three bedrooms I'm in a room where Christmas decorations are stored, along with my future rumtopf.
I noticed the small whole which should be for a ladle, but there wasn't a ladle present which may have broken with the eight mug. But isn't it gorgeous?! The the photo above it holds the entire year's worth of fruit and rum. More on that in a moment.
I thanked the man, slowly worked my way out of his house/sales pitch. And let my wife know I wasn't murdered today.
The Rummening:
Beginning in June when the first berries become ripe, the rumtopf is started. Here are the details for my 2017 Rumtopf:
June 10th
1 pound strawberries
1.5 c White Wray & Nephew White Rum - 126 proof
3/4 Aged Rum Cruzan - 80 proof
juice of 1 lime
June 29th
1 pound cherries (self picked)
3/4 red raspberries
1/2 c. White Wray
1/4 Cuzan
July 16th
1 pound yellow peachesav
1/2 c. White Wray
1.25 c. Bacardi Gold
September 5th
1 pound Castleton plums
October 15th
1 pound can of sliced pineapple
topped off with White Wray to ensure all fruit was covered
All fruit (except the lime and pineapple) was sourced within 17 miles of home (stupid raspberries and me not knowing how far a certain orchard was. I was really hopeful to get it all under 10 miles!). The fruit was also cut into bitesized pieces, and macerated with 1/2 it's weight in sugar for about an hour before being covered in rum. The goal is to have the rum be about 110 and aged, but since that isn't an option for where I live, I used the White Wray and Nephew and mixed it with some lighter aged rum. The Wray & Nephew has a wonderfully raisin quality that I 'd never noticed before in a rum. I could have just drank that all day without all this fruit, but what's the fun in that? I erred on the side of caution and created a more alcoholic 'topf to avoid spoilage.
Apparently the can of pineapple is tradition. I'm not sure how true that is, but now it'd tradition for me. The fruit pricing came to able $20, and the rum, a little more than that. Here are some photos of the process. I had tasted it at each step, and oooo weee, this last time had some tasty flavors!
Tips:
Going through the book, some things stuck out to me: shrubs, kombucha (which I'd already adventured to try), and rumtopfs.
Now a rumtopf isn't a fermentation, but it was under the section discussing boozy fruit salads. How does that sound? Going to a picnic, and getting blitzed off the fruit being served from a carved out watermelon. But, I digress.
A rumtopf is a German traditional fruit preserve and beverage. The idea is to store the ripening fruit from the year in rum. As the fruit ripens, you add sugar to it, and rum, put it in a crock, and allow it to age until Christmas. Then when all of your family is over to visit, you bring it out in secret and get drunk without having to interact with great aunt Sylvia.
Well, I was immediately interested in this tradition. My family is German, but I had never heard of this before. So I immediately took to craigslist to find a vessel for the following year's 'topf. I luckily found a man selling a crock, with seven matching mugs, in Chippewa Lake, Ohio. After a bit of hemming and hawing, and a threat from a co-worker of mine who said if I didn't buy it she would, I messaged the guy and offered just a shy less than he had it listed. He wasn't one for texting, or emailing, so we did an old fashioned phone call.
I suppose that should have been a sign.
Here's the adventure: I don't live near Chippewa Lake, it's about an hour or so for me to get there, but this crock was going to be perfect, and the price was right. After work, one snowy day, I drove down to what turns out to be a defunct amusement park.
 |
| Warning to Trespassers |
Chippewa Lake closed in the 1970s. Until recently, a lot of it was still standing, including a roller coaster. I could see the skeletal remains of said rollercoaster in the woods as I drove by, but everything was blocked off by a metal fence warning of trespassers, and besides, sightseeing wasn't why I was here.
My GPS took me down a winding road, and over a rickety one lane bridge. I ended up in a loop, and got turned around on a tight street that had parts that would have made a European taxi driver feel claustrophobic.
Turns out these houses, are converted summer cottages. What was once a place people would summer, is now the year-round living quarters for many people. The streets were once foot paths; they're so small, and poorly organized, that the city can't plow them. In fact, the city doesn't even own them.
 |
| Some Chippewa Lake Cottages |
I finally found the place I was looking for and went to the door. The house was un assuming, and also, assumingely empty. I tried calling the man, which I knew to be his home phone (another red flag) hoping he was home and just not able to hear my knocking.
 |
| House of the Lake |
The man is very cordial and tries to sell me half of the things in his house. I'm only also interested in this sun compass, but decide against spending more money.
 |
| Polar Sun Compass |
 |
| Full Rumtopf with One Mug |
I thanked the man, slowly worked my way out of his house/sales pitch. And let my wife know I wasn't murdered today.
The Rummening:
Beginning in June when the first berries become ripe, the rumtopf is started. Here are the details for my 2017 Rumtopf:
June 10th
1 pound strawberries
1.5 c White Wray & Nephew White Rum - 126 proof
3/4 Aged Rum Cruzan - 80 proof
juice of 1 lime
June 29th
1 pound cherries (self picked)
3/4 red raspberries
1/2 c. White Wray
1/4 Cuzan
July 16th
1 pound yellow peachesav
1/2 c. White Wray
1.25 c. Bacardi Gold
September 5th
1 pound Castleton plums
October 15th
1 pound can of sliced pineapple
topped off with White Wray to ensure all fruit was covered
All fruit (except the lime and pineapple) was sourced within 17 miles of home (stupid raspberries and me not knowing how far a certain orchard was. I was really hopeful to get it all under 10 miles!). The fruit was also cut into bitesized pieces, and macerated with 1/2 it's weight in sugar for about an hour before being covered in rum. The goal is to have the rum be about 110 and aged, but since that isn't an option for where I live, I used the White Wray and Nephew and mixed it with some lighter aged rum. The Wray & Nephew has a wonderfully raisin quality that I 'd never noticed before in a rum. I could have just drank that all day without all this fruit, but what's the fun in that? I erred on the side of caution and created a more alcoholic 'topf to avoid spoilage.
Apparently the can of pineapple is tradition. I'm not sure how true that is, but now it'd tradition for me. The fruit pricing came to able $20, and the rum, a little more than that. Here are some photos of the process. I had tasted it at each step, and oooo weee, this last time had some tasty flavors!
 |
| Plastic Wrap to Keep Out Oxygen |
 |
| Plums and Dox |
 |
| All Fruit Resting |
- Fill a bag with water and float on top to keep the fruit submerged
- Get the freshest fruit
- Skip apples, dark (like blueberries and blackberries) and watery fruit (like watermelon)
- October is usually the last of it, set it in a cool dark place until Christmas and get ready for a great holiday season.
You'll find tons of information online about what types of fruit to use, and what not to use. Some of it will be trial and error, but it's an adventure in food and drink!
Cheers!
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