The short answer: rum extract is rum flavour you use by the teaspoon. Shop bottles are mostly alcohol, water, flavouring and caramel colour. At home you can make a real rum essence by reducing 200 ml of dark rum to about 100 ml: most of the alcohol leaves, and the dark, caramel side of the rum stays. If you have no rum extract at all, 1½ teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of dark rum replaces 1 teaspoon of it.
Rum balls, rum raisin ice cream, Christmas cake and tiramisu all want the taste of rum. A spoon of rum gives it, but it also adds alcohol, and in no-bake sweets that alcohol never cooks off. Rum extract gives the flavour in a few drops. Here is what is in the shop bottle, and two ways to make your own.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Work | 10 minutes |
| Herb Lab time | About 2 hours, at about 50 ml per hour |
| Ratio | 200 ml dark rum makes about 100 ml rum essence |
| Keeps | Closed, in the fridge; make small batches |
What is in shop rum extract
Most rum extract, and the small bottles of rum flavouring sold for baking in Germany as Rumaroma, is a flavouring: a carrier such as alcohol or propylene glycol, aroma, and colour. One US imitation rum extract lists alcohol at 29%, corn syrup, propylene glycol, water, natural and artificial flavours and caramel colour. Some bottles contain a little real rum; many contain none.
That is why a homemade rum essence tastes different. It is made from rum, so it tastes like the rum you started with, only deeper.
| For 1 teaspoon rum extract | Use | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dark rum | 1½ teaspoons to 1 tablespoon | Adds alcohol and a little liquid |
| Homemade rum essence | 1 teaspoon to start | Batches vary, so taste |
| Vanilla extract | 1 teaspoon | No rum taste, but warm and sweet |
Ingredients
- 200 ml dark rum, 40% alcohol (80 proof); aged and dark gives the most flavour
- For the rum vanilla: 3 vanilla beans (about 10 g) and 100 ml dark rum
- For the Herb Lab method: the NOIDS Herb Lab with two Glasses, the Filter Set and the Condenser
- A small, clean glass bottle
Which rum? Dark, aged rum carries molasses, caramel and oak. That is what survives the reduction. White rum has little to keep, so the essence comes out thin.
How to make rum essence in the Herb Lab
Reducing rum takes the alcohol out with heat. Do it with a condenser that collects the alcohol, not in an open pan on a gas hob, where rum vapour can catch fire.
- Pour the rum into the Glass, below the MAX mark.
- Fit the Condenser: short end onto the Spout of the Filter Set, then close the Glass with the Filter Set instead of the Dish Lid. Place the Glass in the Main Body with a dry bottom, and stand a second, empty Glass under the long end of the Condenser.
- Turn the dial to Evaporation. The alcohol boils off, cools in the Condenser and drips into the second Glass. It reduces about 50 ml per hour.
- Stop at half. After about 2 hours, when about 100 ml is left, turn the dial to OFF. Do not let it run dry: what is left in the Glass is the flavour.
- Cool, then bottle in a small, clean bottle with the date. Food-grade, non-denatured spirits only, in a room larger than 50 m³ with fresh air, at least 5 m from any open flame.
The NOIDS Herb Lab holds its temperature to ±1 °C. The liquid in the second Glass is mostly alcohol with a faint rum scent. Use it to start a bottle of homemade vanilla extract.
How to tell your rum essence is right
- It is darker than the rum and slightly thicker.
- It smells of caramel, molasses and wood, with much less burn than the rum you started with.
- A drop in a spoon of cream tastes clearly of rum.
A rum vanilla extract, with no heat
If you want a rum flavour that keeps for years, make vanilla extract with rum instead of vodka. It is not pure rum flavour, but in cakes and custards it reads as rum and vanilla together.
- Split 3 vanilla beans lengthwise.
- Bottle them in 100 ml of dark rum. Close and shake.
- Wait 8 weeks in a dark cupboard, shaking it once a week.
How to bake with rum extract
- Rum balls and truffles: rum essence gives the taste with much less alcohol than a spoon of rum.
- Christmas cake and stollen: a teaspoon in the dough, next to the vanilla.
- Tiramisu: a teaspoon in the coffee you dip the biscuits in. Our coffee extract makes the coffee side deeper.
- Glazes and icing: a few drops in icing sugar and water.
- Banana cake: rum and banana belong together; add a few drops of banana extract too.
For drinks, a dash of rum essence in caramel syrup makes a rum caramel for coffee or ice cream.
How to store rum extract
- Rum essence: closed, in the fridge. It holds much less alcohol than rum, so make small batches and smell it before you use it.
- Rum vanilla: closed, cool and dark, for years, like any vanilla extract.
- Neither is alcohol-free. For a bake for children or anyone avoiding alcohol, use a flavouring labelled alcohol-free.
More extracts to make the same week are in our homemade extracts guide.
Questions
What is rum extract made of?
Most shop rum extract is a flavouring: alcohol or propylene glycol as a carrier, aroma, and caramel colour. Some bottles contain a little real rum. A homemade rum essence is just dark rum with much of its alcohol taken out.
How much rum replaces rum extract?
1½ teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of dark rum for each teaspoon of rum extract, depending on the brand. Taste the batter and add more if you need it.
Does rum extract contain alcohol?
Most do. One US brand lists 29% alcohol. You only use drops, but it is not alcohol-free unless the label says so.
Is Rumaroma the same as rum extract?
Yes, in use. Rumaroma is the German name for rum flavouring for baking, sold in small bottles and used by the drop in Christmas baking.
Can I make rum extract without heat?
Not a true rum essence. Without heat, the closest is a rum vanilla extract, or dark rum itself: 1½ teaspoons to 1 tablespoon per teaspoon of extract.
