Last year around this time I wrote about Christmas being sorrel season in Belize and now this year I was inspired to learn how to make another holiday classic- Rum Popo! Think of Rum Popo as Belize’s version of Eggnog. Loads of local families make rum popo for the holidays and everyone has their own secret family recipe but the general gist of things is: eggs, rum, spices, and enough condensed milk to induce diabetes.
Without further ado let’s get down to business. Gather your ingredients. You’ll need: a dozen eggs, a bottle of rum, 5 cans of evaporated milk, 5 cans of condensed milk, and your spices- I’m using a bit of vanilla extract and cinnamon but I feel like you could get creative here; nutmeg, peppermint essence, what about pumpkin pie spice? The spices you use and the type of rum you prefer (white, dark, gold) is what makes the recipe your own- individualize it! You’ll also want 2 big bowls, an electric hand mixer, and bottles to store your popo in.
Empty you cans of evaporated and condensed milks in to one bowl and mix that until it’s incorporated and smooth. In your other bowl, crack all your eggs and remove those little weird stringy bits (I googled this and it has a name: chalaza. Chalazae in plural, but I figured NO ONE here would know that- if you knew it, PLEASE tell us in the comments and why you knew that haha!) so that your final results are smooth and no one gets a surprise lump in their libation, ick.
Now, beat the hell out of the eggs. Put that electric mixer to work and blend those suckers for like 15 minutes (or for about as long as it takes to sing along to Mariah Carey’s version of All I Want for Christmas is You 3 times through). The eggs should be whipped to within an inch of their lives and fluffy. Add that to the milk and mix some more until it’s smoooottthhhh.
Now add the rum! This is not an exact science. Pour from your heart. I’m using half a bottle, more or less (more, it’s always more), so about half a liter. Throw in your vanilla and cinnamon and nutmeg and whatever and give it a final mix. It should smell like a sweet, boozy, creamy dream. Bottle and refrigerate, serve chilled and enjoy your Caribbean Christmas!
If you like thise recipe be sure to check out my Belizean Stew Chicken (the white gyal way) and teach me how to make Tostones
**recipe amendment after making and tasting… next time use the whole bottle of rum.