PEI Rum Cake
When I was doing some research for an upcoming post I came across an interesting PEI product that I wanted to look at.
Rum.
Yes, rum...PEI-made rum. In cake...I did not know this was a product we made here.
Although we do have a number of distilleries, so I shouldn't be surprised!
Deep Roots Distillery
Matos Winery and Distillery
Myriad View Artisan Distillery Inc.
Newman Estate Winery
Island Honey Wine Company
Prince Edward Island Distillery
Plus the craft beer industry!
From 1880 to 1901, most of PEI was dry under the Canada Temperance Act. But, not every town or village in PEI was dry. Plus, there is a large difference between temperance and prohibition. Clinton Morrison, author of Booze: A Social Account of Prohibition on Prince Edward Island, 1878-1948 put it best,
The Maritimes did not just "import" liquor during this period, we "exported" it to the United States, whose prohibition ran from 1920 to 1933. The Maritimes are conveniently located near St. Pierre and Miquelon, which is a part of France. Therefore, they were not legally required to be dry.
St. Pierre and Miquelon provided the liquor. The Maritimes (and others) provided the ships. The Eastern seaboard provided the market.
The rest of Canada abolished prohibition by 1930, but PEI persisted... its effectiveness is a whole other story! But that is a post for another time.
To abolish prohibition on PEI, it had to pass a plebiscite. By 1940, the results were basically 50/50. Despite this, it held on until 1948.
Given this history, it is neat to see a cake made with PEI ingredients, specifically the rum.
In 2016, JJ Stewart Foods introduced their rum cakes. Owners Thom and Heather MacMillan came up with the idea after a few trips to the Caribbean. They experimented and made 10 to 15 recipes to get the ratios right. They then called in some professionals to get the recipe to a point it could be made commercially. Then started selling the rum cakes that summer.
The rum used in the cakes is Rollo Bay's Myriad Distillery's amber rum.
You can now get the rum cakes in chocolate, coconut, and classic flavours.
Knowledgeable of PEI's history with rum, the packaging pays homage to rum-running crates!
I will end this post by saying baking and cooking can be fun, especially if they are family recipes or something people usually do not make themselves anymore. Although many of us do not have the patience to test a recipe 10 to 15 times!
I, myself, am learning how to make bread. I made my second loaf this week...you can tell it was only the second time I made bread...makes you miss your grandmother's bread, maybe in 40 to 50 years mine will taste that good!
Sources:
MacKay, Mary. "Drinking it all in". The Guardian. May 31, 2013, updated September 30, 2017. From http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/living/drinking-it-all-in-109129/
Walker, Angela. "P.E.I. rum cake offers 'almost illegal taste' of the Island." CBC News: PEI. August 3, 2016. From http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-rum-cake-tourists-jj-stewart-foods-rum-liquor-1.3705725
Rum.
Yes, rum...PEI-made rum. In cake...I did not know this was a product we made here.
 |
| Deep Roots Distillery logo. Awesome design! (photo credit) |
Deep Roots Distillery
Matos Winery and Distillery
Myriad View Artisan Distillery Inc.
Newman Estate Winery
Island Honey Wine Company
Prince Edward Island Distillery
Plus the craft beer industry!
From 1880 to 1901, most of PEI was dry under the Canada Temperance Act. But, not every town or village in PEI was dry. Plus, there is a large difference between temperance and prohibition. Clinton Morrison, author of Booze: A Social Account of Prohibition on Prince Edward Island, 1878-1948 put it best,
"It started out as temperance - 'Use moderation, just drink occasionally and on special occasions,' that kind of thing. And then of course temperance soon became abstinence: 'Give it up because temperance doesn't seem to be working."Under the PEI Prohibition Act of 1900, all liquor and alcohol was prohibited on PEI. As you can imagine, prohibition just created a new industry. Rum-running.
The Maritimes did not just "import" liquor during this period, we "exported" it to the United States, whose prohibition ran from 1920 to 1933. The Maritimes are conveniently located near St. Pierre and Miquelon, which is a part of France. Therefore, they were not legally required to be dry.
St. Pierre and Miquelon provided the liquor. The Maritimes (and others) provided the ships. The Eastern seaboard provided the market.
 |
| As you can see, the Maritimes were located perfectly to help their neighbours with their prohibition woes. (photo credit) |
The rest of Canada abolished prohibition by 1930, but PEI persisted... its effectiveness is a whole other story! But that is a post for another time.
To abolish prohibition on PEI, it had to pass a plebiscite. By 1940, the results were basically 50/50. Despite this, it held on until 1948.
Given this history, it is neat to see a cake made with PEI ingredients, specifically the rum.
In 2016, JJ Stewart Foods introduced their rum cakes. Owners Thom and Heather MacMillan came up with the idea after a few trips to the Caribbean. They experimented and made 10 to 15 recipes to get the ratios right. They then called in some professionals to get the recipe to a point it could be made commercially. Then started selling the rum cakes that summer.
The rum used in the cakes is Rollo Bay's Myriad Distillery's amber rum.
 |
| Myriad Distillery's amber rum. Photo credit: Myriad Distillery. |
You can now get the rum cakes in chocolate, coconut, and classic flavours.
Knowledgeable of PEI's history with rum, the packaging pays homage to rum-running crates!
 |
| JJ Stewart rum cakes! Images are taken from their website. |
I will end this post by saying baking and cooking can be fun, especially if they are family recipes or something people usually do not make themselves anymore. Although many of us do not have the patience to test a recipe 10 to 15 times!
I, myself, am learning how to make bread. I made my second loaf this week...you can tell it was only the second time I made bread...makes you miss your grandmother's bread, maybe in 40 to 50 years mine will taste that good!
Sources:
MacKay, Mary. "Drinking it all in". The Guardian. May 31, 2013, updated September 30, 2017. From http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/living/drinking-it-all-in-109129/
Walker, Angela. "P.E.I. rum cake offers 'almost illegal taste' of the Island." CBC News: PEI. August 3, 2016. From http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/prince-edward-island/pei-rum-cake-tourists-jj-stewart-foods-rum-liquor-1.3705725
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