Begin Cooking With Rum at Home
With notes of vanilla, pepper and kicks of various spices, rum is a worthy contender for the spice rack.
We spoke with chefs and cookbook authors for our Liquid Spice feature and came up with these six tips so that you can confidently begin cooking with rum in your kitchen.
Tip #1
USE WHAT YOU LOVE
Cook with rums you already enjoy drinking.
Tip #2
COOK IT DOWN
If you are nervous about using rum as an ingredient, Shorne Benjamin, a chef who works in Manhattan, suggests gently boiling about quarter cup of rum. This process will help the alcohol burn off and allow the true flavor of the rum to come through. Giving you more confidence about incorporating the liquid spice into sauces, glazes and soups.
Tip #3
RUM VS. RHUM
Rum is made from fermented sugarcane and molasses. The flavor can be bolder than rhum, which is made from fermented sugarcane juice. If you want that rum flavor to come forward, you’ll want to cook with rum.
Tip #4
A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY
To remove the gaminess from duck, goat and venison, Wendy Rahamut, a cookbook author, says to consider using one tablespoon for every pound of meat.
Tip #5
BRINE WITH CAUTION
To brine, we found that a quarter cup of rum works for every six cups of liquid. Though we would not go over a half cup of rum for every gallon.
Tip #6
DARK VS. WHITE
See tip number one.