How about a great bottle of rum for Father’s Day? Take a look at Appleton Estate rums, a line so fine that the brand doesn’t even make an unaged white/silver rum*.

Most Americans have only known about rum since Prohibition, but in the Caribbean it’s been around since the 17th century.

It’s light and cheerful, a cool refresher, and a great mixer. It’s also a smooth seducer, but can stoke you with a bit of fire too.

Rum is a liquor of multiple personalities, as it should be: It’s a child of thousands of years of history, and quite a bit of world travel as well.
 
 
THE HISTORY OF RUM

Original wild sugar cane, native to Asia, made the rounds of New Guinea and Polynesia thousands of years ago, stopped off in ancient Persia where Alexander the Great picked it up for western Europe, and made a few stops around the Mediterranean, with the Crusades bringing it to Italy and Spain.

Christopher Columbus laded his ship with the sweet stalks on his second voyage to the New World, dropping them off in the Dominican Republic. Since then, nearly every Caribbean island has cultivated sugar cane and the byproduct of its processed essence, molasses, from which rum is made.

And who better to discover such a happy accident? The slaves brought from Africa to grow and harvest the sugar crops.

Here’s more rum history.
 
 
TYPES OF RUM

While every Caribbean country manufactures its own kind of rum, the end result can be quite distinct, with each region and each country having its own style of blending and aging.

There are numerous styles of rum as well. Here are eight different rum styles.

As with fine wines, sugar cane relies on terroir, weather variables, variety, and water purity. Because Jamaica’s terroir is rich in limestone, the water quality is particularly fine, as limestone is a natural purifier.

During a March visit to Appleton Estate, the oldest and one of the largest producers of rum, we learned that Appleton alone grows some 14 varieties of sugarcane.

Located near Kingston, the heart of Jamaica, conditions are perfect for growing, cooking, fermenting, and aging of what ends up as rum.

Appleton Estate makes 5 expressions of rum, in increasing levels of age, complexity and smoothness (and price, ranging from about $25 to thousands of dollars for the 50-year):

 
A 30-year limited release can still be found in the $500 range. The 50-year Appleton Estate rum, which is an extremely rare release, is about $6,000.

Here’s more about the different types of rum.
 
 
RUM BASICS

There is rum, and then there is rum.
 
White Rum

White rum*, the clear version most of us are familiar with, is the punch-packer. It is labeled “Overproof” because it is 151% proof. If you don’t watch yourself, it’s easy to never know what hit you.

White rum is, however, a terrific mixer in light, lively combinations of fruit juices and nectars, sodas, and lots of ice.

A favorite Jamaican refresher is simply your preferred dose of white rum shaken up with Ting—a slightly not-too-sweet grapefruit soda—and lots of ice (you can buy it on Amazon). It’s cool company on a hot Jamaican evening.

You would be hard put to find a Jamaican home that doesn’t have a bottle of white rum on hand—the country has some savvy uses for it† besides drinking.

 
And whatever you do, never open a new bottle of rum without sprinkling some across the threshold: That’s the devil’s portion. It will keep evil spirits from intruding.
 
Red Rum

At the end of the spectrum are red rums (not in any way related to “The Shining”) that are aging now for Jamaica’s 100th Anniversary of Independence some 50 years from now.

Aging takes place in previously used bourbon barrels that lend color, complexity, depth of flavor, and fire to what starts out as molasses. It is up to a Master Blender (at Appleton, she is the very brilliant Joy Spence, a chemist and designated Master Blender, appointed in 1997).

All rums begin as sugar cane. It’s harvested by machete and stripped of its tough outer layer to reveal a semi-firm, highly sweet pulp.

It’s great for chewing on its own when you need a hit of something sweet—just be sure to discard the pulp. (Cut into batons, the pulp also makes a sweet skewer for “Sugar Cane Shrimp,” made on the grill; or as a stirring stick for a rum cocktail.)

Two pressings extract all of the liquid in each cane. This liquid is distilled with water and fermented but not aged, thus retaining a high alcohol content.

The more complex aspects of rum that you taste in “red rum” come from boiling down the extracted liquid until crystals are formed and the liquid becomes molasses.

The syrupy, rich reduction is then placed in a centrifuge where the sugar crystals separated from the molasses.

The real magic of a delicious rum, though, happens through chemistry when it is distilled.

 
It is now the moment for the Master Blender to go to work, creating the combinations of these essences which, when mixed with filtered water, are ready for the aging process.

[1] Sip rum elegantly from a stemmed glass (all photos courtesy Appleton Estate).

[2] Cut sugar cane and a Piña Colada made with Appleton Signature rum.

[3] Appleton Estate Signature Blend, aged four years.

[4] Appleton Estate Reserve Blend, aged six years.

[5] The beginning of seriously aged rum: Appleton’s 12-years-old.

[6] Appleton Estate 21 Year Old.

[7] If you’re in the chips, go for the king of the crop: Appleton Estate rum aged for 50 years, about $6,000.

At Jamaica’s first-ever Rum Festival last March, which showcased commercial and independent rum makers and their products, we were lucky to meet Jamaica’s ebullient chef, event producer, and caterer, Jacqui Tyson.

We asked her how she likes to use rum in cooking, and she regaled us with some intriguing suggestions for using white rum at home. She is never without rum in her kitchen—she will use it in jerk dishes, or to make curried goat—and calls it the “glue” that brings flavors together.

 
Plan ahead: Friday, August 16th is National Rum Day.
 
 
—Rowann Gilman
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*They do produce a line of white rums under the name of Wray & Newphew.

†Consider these uses to be folk medicine.

There’s a lot that’s happening in the nondairy milk space, and most of it is excellent.

This week’s Top Pick is Almond Breeze Almondmilk from Blue Diamond.

Even if you’re perfectly happy with cow’s milk (as we are), you should give it a try.

Some people seek nondairy milks because of lactose intolerance, kosher or vegan diets. But everyone who enjoys milk or milk-based drinks should pull a carton of Almond Breeze from the shelf and check it out.

Almondmilk (we spell it almond milk, but are not about to take on Blue Diamond) can be substituted for dairy milk in cereal, smoothies, tea, hot chocolate, and hot or iced coffee.

You can use almondmilk for cooking (salad dressings, sauces, soups), baking, and pretty much everything that calls for milk or half-and-half, including ice pops and the creamy polenta in photo #3.

If you drink a lot of milk, you’ll save calories, too: At 60 calories per serving, Original Almondmilk has about half the calories of 2% milk.

It’s also higher in nutrition*. Almond Breeze products are an excellent source of calcium and Vitamins D and E, and a good source of vitamin A.

Although the entire line is dairy free, it’s certified OU Dairy†.
 
The products are available nationwide at Publix, Safeway, Target, Walmart and other stores. Here’s a store locator.
 
 
STARTING WITH THE BASICS

How much do people like almond milk? There are 10 SKUs‡ of milk alone; then creamer and specialty drinks.

 
The flavored varieties can be the basis of a float or a shake.
 
 
AND MORE!

If you like the milk, you’ll also like the:

 
 
OUR NEW FAVORITES

Almond Breeze Banana Almondmilk

Made with real bananas, this delectable treat has only 80 calories per cup and zero added sugars (photo #3).

It tastes like a better-for-you banana shake, but you can:

 
Almond Breeze Horchata

A classic creamy Mexican drink, authentica horchata is made with milk, ground rice, cane sugar, cinnamon and vanilla.

Almond Breeze’s horchata is made from almond milk, rice flour, cane sugar, cinnamon and vanilla (photo #4).

It’s an addictively delicious cold drink, with just 110 calories per serving. As we discovered with Banana Almondmilk, we can:

 
 
ALMOND BREEZE RECIPES

Whatever you want to make, whatever meal of the day, check out the Almond Breeze recipes at BlueDiamond.com.

[1] There are 10 flavors of Almond Breeze almondmilk, including both sweetened and unsweetened chocolate (all photos courtesy Blue Diamond/Almond Breeze).

[2] Rich coffee creamers, in Original and Vanilla, have just 10 or 15 calories per serving.

[3] Creamy polenta with beets, baby spinach and roasted chickpeas. Here’s the recipe from Blue Diamond.

[4] Our favorite new Almond Breeze flavor: Banana! It’s so good that it makes you wonder why there isn’t a lot more banana milk around.

[5] Another favorite, Almond Breeze Horchata, is so good that, like Banana, you can have it for dessert. (Or, add rum to either Banana or Horchata for a lower-calorie cocktail.)

*Compared to cow’s milk, almond milk has fewer calories and carbs. While it doesn’t have the natural calcium of cow’s milk, some brands are fortified—check the ingredients. Nor does it have the natural sugar of milk (lactose), making it great for lactose-intolerant people, but also saving everyone else a few grams of sugar. Here’s a comparison chart.

†The dairy designation means that the product was processed on equipment which also produces dairy products. Even though the equipment was washed after the dairy product manufacture, kosher law requires that the nondairy product that follows it be designated as dairy. Here’s a longer discussion.

‡SKU is a retailer term for Stock Keeping Units. In consumer language, a SKU is a flavor or variety. For example, blueberry jam, strawberry jam and raspberry jam from the same manufacturer represent three different SKUs.

[1] Garlic bread made on the grill with Lucero garlic olive oil. The recipe is below (photo © Lucero Olive Oil [now closed]).

[2] Baked in the oven. Here’s the recipe from Taste Of Home (photo © Taste Of Home).

[3] Italian garlic (photo © Burpee).

Now that grilling season is on, make one of our favorite foods to come off the grill: garlic bread.

Garlic bread, also called garlic toast, is toasted baguette or sourdough, sliced and spread with olive oil or butter, and garlic*.

Additional ingredients may be added:

 
On the grill, individual slices are cooked. In the broiler, the loaf is partially sliced through, then brushed with garlic oil or garlic butter.

Our Mom, who made garlic bread often, wrapped the seasoned loaf in foil and cooked it under the broiler. It was the simplest and easiest of our favorite dishes from Mom.
 
 
GARLIC-INFUSED OIL

Using garlic-infused olive oil saves the step of rubbing the slices with a cut garlic clove (although mega-garlic lovers can do both). You can buy it or make it.

Here’s how to infuse your own olive oil.
 
 
RECIPE: GRILLED GARLIC BREAD

Alternatively, separate slices can be individually seasoned and grilled.

There’s nothing better than garlic bread grilled crisp on the grill, with grill marks providing extra appeal. The recipe couldn’t be simpler. We used Lucero Garlic Olive Oil.

Ingredients

 
It isn’t “official,” but you can also add crushed red pepper flakes.

Preparation

1. BRUSH the olive oil onto the bread. Grill it using a grilling pan at medium-High heat until golden. Flip halfway if you want grill marks on both sides.

2. REMOVE from the heat and rub a cut raw garlic clove across both sides of the slices, as they do in Italy.

3. SPRINKLE with garnishes and serve hot.
 
Broiler Or Oven Technique

Garlic bread baked in the oven.

Broiled garlic bread, with or without grated cheese.

Garlic bread is the most basic form of bruschetta, grilled, sliced bread which appeared in the written record in 15th-century Italy.

It can be traced back to ancient Rome, and doubtlessly before then when any bread-baking people needed to extend the life of stale bread [source].

Italian restaurants introduced garlic bread to Americans around 1950. It arrived in a bread basket, to much acclaim.

But who needs an Italian restaurant? It’s easy to make your own garlic bread, to serve with:

 
You may hear some people insist that garlic bread is not an authentic Italian food. It certainly is: as noted, it’s called bruschetta (broo-SKET-tuh).

For a more substantial variation, top the cooked slices with as many extras as you wish: cheeses, meats, vegetables, whatever.

________________

*If you don’t have fresh garlic, you can mix garlic powder into the butter or oil.

Ready for zucchini season?

This recipe, from Lucero Olive Oil, adds zucchini to a thicker pesto-like recipe, that’s used as a spread instead of a sauce.

You can use it on crackers, crostini, grilled eggplant rounds, pizza dough and of course, toast.

You can even add it to a savory oatmeal breakfast, mixed into the oatmeal and topped with a fried egg.

The following recipe is made with olive oil. Here’s a version made with butter and different seasonings, from Dishing Up The Dirt.
 
 
RECIPE: ZUCCHINI BUTTER

Ingredients For About 2 Cups

 
Preparation

1. COARSELY GRATE the zucchini. Let it drain in a colander for 3 to 4 minute,s or until ready to begin cooking. To hasten cooking time, squeeze the water out of the zucchini by wringing it in a clean cloth towel or paper towels.

2. HEAT the olive oil in a deep skillet. Sauté the shallots or garlic briefly. Add the zucchini and toss.

3. COOK and stir over medium to medium-high heat until the zucchini reaches a spreadable consistency, about 15 minutes.

If you scorch the bottom, turn the flame down—and scrape those delicious bits into the butter for added flavor. You can splash in a little water to help deglaze the pan. The zucchini will hold its bright green color and slowly caramelize into a vegetable jam.

4. SPREAD on toast (crostini!), or serve as a side dish/condiment Keep in a tightly-lidded jar in the fridge.
 
 
National Zucchini Day is August 8th.

[1] Spread zucchini butter on toast or crostini (photo #1, courtesy Dishing Up The Dirt).

[2] A close-up (photo courtesy Lucero Olive Oil).

[3] Zucchini on the vine (photo courtesy Burpee).

[1] Peach lemonade: lemonade and peach purée with a fresh peach garnish (photo courtesy Flavor & The Menu).

[2] Mulled lemonade, with cinnamon, cloves, fresh ginger, orange peel and pink peppercorns. Here’s the recipe from A Spicy Perspective.

[3] Blueberry lemonade, with blueberry purée and fresh blueberries. Tip: Freeze the blueberries first, and they’ll keep the drink colder, longer. Here’s the recipe from The Blueberry Council.

[4] Cucumber lemonade. Here’s the recipe, from Kimpton Hotels.

[5] Sparkling melon lemonade. Here’s the recipe from Zulka Sugar.

Love lemonade?

Here are some tips from Flavor & The Menu, a website that scouts restaurants nationwide for new ideas (with some of our own ideas for good measure).

Summer is lemonade season. You can create flavored by perusing these tips and adding a second flavor to your lemonade.

You also can do the same with limeade, which for some reason is rarely on the menu. We don’t know why: It’s just as delicious as lemonade.

August 20th is National Lemonade Day, but we didn’t want to wait until then to share these recipe ideas.

Start with fresh-squeezed lemonade. O.K., you can use frozen, but if you want to make lemonade from scratch, here’s how.
 
 
ADD FRUIT

You can do it by infusion, or by mixing purées (much faster).

 
ADD FIZZ

Sparkling water and soft drinks can create unique takes on lemonade. Use a little or a lot of:

 
Two ideas from restaurants:

 
ADD HERBS & SPICE

We’ve already mentioned basil lemonade, but there are other sweet herbs, plus spices.

 
Examples:

 
You also can make mulled lemonade. Like mulled wine, the lemonade is heated with spices and peel. But then it’s cooled and ready to refresh. Here’s a recipe from A Spicy Perspective (photo #2).
 
 
MAKE FROZEN LEMONADE

Use fruit purée or syrups to create frozen lemonade. Here’s how to make frozen lemonade.

 
Examples:

 
 
FLAVORED LEMONADE RECIPES

 
LEMONADE COCKTAIL RECIPES

 
 
THE HISTORY OF LEMONADE