Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/3297/-1/126/
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Recipes: Rums by Chef Daniel Orr
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Daniel Orr is Executive Chef at Kitchen Stadium, Santorini Restaurant, Famiglia and the Tapas Lounge and Rum Bar at CuisinArt Resort and Spa and is working on A Chef’s Diet Cookbook and Paradise Kitchen. Visit his website at www.chef-daniel-orr.com
Rum Runner
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Daniel Orr
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Rum runs through the veins of the Caribbean like chlorophyll through a plant, giving color and vitality. Along with the image of the beaches with their seven shades of blue, another image, for me at least, of the Islands is of a tall, cool rum drink and the shade of a palm tree. What would Carnival be without rum? Just another party.
Over the past forty or fifty years rum has developed a reputation for being common. Rum-and-Coke and other sweet drinks have made it the number-one selling alcohol, but in the minds of food snobs it has ranked significantly lower. Artisanal rum makers have been working to bring rum back to the forefront of sophisticated palates over the last ten or fifteen years with carefully crafted spirits.
Rum can taste extremely different from island to island and from maker to maker, just like cognac or Armangnac. The difference has a lot to do with the method used to extract the sugar, the main ingredient of rum. The French islands first make a clear “vin” from the fresh juice they squeeze from the cane. The vin is then distilled and aged in a manner much like a French brandy. This method makes the rum a clearer vehicle for the flavors of the cask to ride on. There is no molasses to muddle the intricate and subtle caramels and vanillas that come from the burnt oak barrels, which are French, of course. The English and Spanish islands tend to make their rum, known as Kill Devil in the early years, from molasses, a sugar production by-product. These rums are more straightforward and sweet, with a nice round finish.
Then there is the question of white vs. dark rum. I like to think of white rum as the more masculine drink. It is sharp, aggressive and can be a bit hard to take. It often needs something sweet or fruity to tame it. Dark rum, on the other hand, is more feminine. It takes the extra time in the changing room (oak barrel) and comes out perfumed with vanilla and caramel. Rounder and more voluptuous, it’s worthy of a beautifully shaped snifter and after dinner conversation. With white rum, it’s straight to the bedroom.
I spent a couple of afternoons with some of our mixologists putting together our rum list. I found it fascinating how different the flavors could be. We tasted rums from producers from all over the region. Now for me the drink has now turned into a passion. Next time you’re in your favorite bar, restaurant, or liquor store rummage through the rum section and you might find a new friend.
Cooking with rum is also fun. What says “party” like a flaming dessert? But rum has a deeper place in the Caribbean kitchen. It cures and keeps fruits, adds depth to soups, sauces, and stews, marinates raw fish, and flavors all sorts of mousses, cakes, and creams. I even like to store my chopped ginger in a jar of dark rum and use both the root and liquid in all kinds of dishes.
I love making flavored rums. I make them with all types of ingredients, from ginger and black peppercorns to an incredible combination of kumquat and star anise. Don’t stop at drinking them – try cooking with them. Splash some ginger rum in a sauté pan with some shrimp, lemon grass rum on a chicken breast or pineapple rum over a warm vanilla cake and you’ve struck culinary gold.
Making rum is a great Saturday afternoon project. You don’t need to use expensive rums for these. Your homemade rum will keep for a couple of months in a cool dark place. Tied with raffia, a bit of palm or a decorative ribbon, it makes a wonderful gift.
Pineapple and Vanilla Rum
Yield: 4 bottles
2 pineapples, cut into 1-1/2-inch pieces
1 vanilla bean (cut in half lengthwise)
5 peppercorns
2 cups water
4-1/2 cups sugar
2 (750 ml.) bottles white rum
1 (750 ml.) bottle dark rum
In a large pot mix the pineapple, vanilla, peppercorns, water, and sugar together. Bring to a boil on medium high heat until sugar syrup is thick. Remove from the heat. When the pineapple syrup is cool add the rum. Stir well to incorporate the syrup and the rum. Soak and scrape labels off the bottles and dry well. Place pieces of the fruit and spices in each bottle and top with the flavored rum. Screw cap back on and store until needed.
Kumquat and Star Anise Rum
Yield: 4 bottles
Wonderful around the holidays. Makes a great homemade gift when placed in a decanter or interesting bottle.
2 cups water
4-1/2 cups sugar
1 quart. kumquats (cleaned well and pricked well with a fork)
1 vanilla bean (cut in half and scraped)
5 star anise pods
2 (750 ml.) bottles white rum
1 (750 ml.) bottle dark rum
Combine the water, sugar, kumquats and vanilla and simmer until the mixture makes a nice syrup (reduce by about half). Add the star anise and mix well. Cool to room temperature, then add the rum. Stir well to incorporate the syrup and the rum. Soak and scrape labels off the bottles and dry well. Place pieces of the fruit and spices in each bottle and top with the flavored rum. Screw cap back on and store until needed.
Makes a great after-dinner drink, wonderful with cigars.
Banana Black Peppercorn Rum
Yield: 4 bottles
2 vanilla beans, split in half
5 coarsely cracked black peppercorns
2 cups water
4-1/2 cups sugar
4 bananas, peeled and cut into four pieces (lengthwise so they fit in the neck of the bottle.)
2 (750 ml.) bottles white rum
1 (750 ml.) bottle dark rum
Scrape the vanilla bean to release the seeds. In a large pot mix the vanilla bean pods, seeds, peppercorns, water and sugar together. Bring to a boil on medium high heat until sugar syrup is thick. Add the banana and remove from the heat. When the banana syrup is cool, add the rum. Stir well to incorporate the syrup and the rum. Soak and scrape labels off the bottles and dry well. Place pieces of the fruit and spices in each bottle and top with the flavored rum. Screw cap back on and store until needed.
I’d love to hear from you. I am collecting recipes and stories for future articles and books and would love to include your favorite family recipes and food memories from the kitchen, the garden or the sea. You can reach me at
kitchdorr@aol.comor stop me on the road if you see the CuisinArt Chef Mobile.