What Is a Rumtopf? The German Fruit Pot That Became a Collectable

Pick up a lidded stoneware pot with a fruit relief on the side, a glossy glaze and a faintly 1970s confidence, and there is a decent chance you are holding a rumtopf. The word is German for "rum pot", and the object is more specific than the name suggests.

What a rumtopf is for

A rumtopf is a crock used to preserve fruit in rum. Through the summer, fruit is added as it comes into season, usually with sugar, and covered with rum. The pot stays closed and cool, and by winter it holds a boozy, fragrant fruit preserve that can be spooned over ice cream, stirred into puddings or served with something warm. Recipes commonly suggest leaving it for at least four to six weeks, and often much longer.

Like many food traditions, the origin has a legend attached. The story most often told places it in Flensburg, the northern German port near the Danish border, where rum arrived with the West Indies trade and a barrel of rum and fruit supposedly made an accidental discovery. Treat it as folklore, but it explains why the tradition is strongest in the north of Germany and neighbouring Denmark.

Why the vintage ones are so collectable

Rumtopf pots turned into a decorative category in their own right. West German factories made them in quantity in the postwar decades, and they were sold as both a practical kitchen item and a handsome piece of homeware. Scheurich is one of the best known makers, and their pots often combine heavy glazes with embossed fruit, foliage or farmhouse scenes.

That mix of function, texture and colour is what draws collectors today. The glazes range from earthy browns and oranges to the dramatic reds and blacks associated with the more flamboyant end of West German pottery, and the lids matter. A rumtopf with its original lid is worth noticeably more than one without.

Reading the base

Like most West German pottery, rumtopfs carry a mould number and often a size figure on the base, alongside a maker's mark and "West Germany". Our Scheurich Keramik rumtopf is model 865-31, in a volcanic red flambe glaze with embossed farmhouse fruit decoration and its original lid. If you are new to reading these marks, our backstamp guide explains the numbering, and our guide to West German pottery covers the wider story of the factories behind them.

Using a vintage rumtopf today

This is where we are careful. Glazes used decades ago were not made to modern food-safety standards, and some can contain lead or cadmium, and crazing or chips can make the surface harder to keep clean. We do not recommend putting food or drink into a vintage pot unless it has been tested or is clearly sold as food safe. That still leaves plenty of good uses.

• A kitchen crock for wooden spoons and utensils.
• A storage jar for dry goods you would wrap or bag first.
• A planter, with a liner or plastic pot inside, for herbs or trailing plants.
• A display piece on a shelf or dresser, which is where most of ours end up.

Common questions

You can see what is currently in stock in our Made in Germany collection, and if you are hunting for a particular model number we are happy to keep an eye out through the contact page.