Rum is an alcoholic liquor distilled from fermented sugar can products. Rum ranges in color from a clear white to amber to mahogany. It varies from light to heavy in body and has a molasses flavor.

Basically, there are three different types of rum. The first type is heavy, full bodied, and dark. Jamaican rum, and example of this type, has a rich, full molasses flavor. The second type is light bodied and pungent. An example of this type, Bataria Arak, is made in the East Indies. The third type of rum is light, dry and brandy-like. There is a faint molasses taste. This rum is made in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and accounts for about 70 percent of the rum sold in the United States.

Rum is primarily used as a beverage. White liquor is often drunk straight in rum producing countries, while people in the United States usually like it mixed with a fruit juice for use in punches and cocktails. Some of the more popular run drinks are planters’ punch, rum swizzle, daiquiri, Bacardi, and the cold weather favorite, hot buttered rum.

The cooks of the world have also discovered uses for rum. It gives food a unique flavor when added to sauces, ice cream, candies, pies, and various desserts. The alcohol evaporates when the food is cooked, leaving only the molasses flavor.

Try using rum in the delicious cake recipe and see for yourself the flavor it will add to your food.

Marble Chocolate Rum Pie

Ingredients:

1 envelope unflavored gelatin
½ cup sugar
1 cup milk
Dash salt
2 beaten egg yolks
1/3 cup rum
1 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate pieces
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
1 baked 9-inch pie shell, cooked

In a heavy saucepan, combine the ½ cup sugar, the gelatin, and the salt. Stir in the egg yolks and the milk. Cook over low heat and stir the egg mixture until it becomes slightly thickened. Remove the mixture from heat. Add the chocolate pieces and stir until melted. Add the rum. Chill the mixture until it is partially set.

Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add ¼ cup of sugar, beating until it forms stiff peaks. Fold into the partially set chocolate mixture. Whip the cream with the vanilla. Layer the whipped cream and the chocolate mixture in the pie shell, ending with the whipped cream.

Chill until firm. Garnish with additional whipped cream and semisweet chocolate pieces.