Umeboshi is one of the traditional foods of Japan. In Japan, umeboshi have long been treated as an important food and used as a preserved food. Pickled for long-term preservation, umeboshi were used as a valuable food during winter or when food was scarce. Also, and. They are rich in vitamin C, polyphenols, and fiber, and are considered good for health. It is customary to consume umeboshi, especially in the summer, to counteract heat and relieve fatigue.
The author did not like umeboshi as a child and ate it with a wrinkled face because of its extremely sour taste. As an adult, the accent umeboshi gives to food has become a habit. Whether it is ochazuke, porridge, rice balls, or yam, umeboshiis an essential part of seasoning traditional Japanese dishes.
How to make umeboshi
◾️The following is a guide to when to make umeboshi and how long it takes to complete the process.
| Work | Time | Period |
| Pickle plums in salt | Mid to late June | about 7 days or more |
| Adding red shiso | late June to early July | about 2 weeks to 1 month |
| Sun drying for 3 days | Mid to late July on sunny days | about 3 days |
<Ingredients (for 5 kg plums)>
【Salted plums】
- 5kg fully ripened plums
- 900g coarse salt (most people use 18% ume)
- 120cc shochu (35% or more is recommended. Vodka is also fine.
- Preparation of red shiso
- 1 kg red shiso
- 180g coarse salt
- Ume vinegar: Enough to cover the red shiso
-Preparation of tools
- Pickled plum container, weight, large tray strainer
◾️ How to choose prunes
(1) How to select plums
There are various stages of plum ripeness, from green and firm to fully ripe, with a yellowish-pink tint as they ripen. Fully ripened plums do not require peeling and are relatively easy to process. Choosing fully ripened plums allows the process of making umeboshi and umeshu to go smoothly. If the plums are still green, wait for them to ripen.
Young, green plums are often used as ingredients for ume sake and ume syrup.
(2) Check if the plums are damaged.
First, wash the plum under running water. Do not use damaged plums as mold may grow from the damaged area. Gently rinse with water. Wipe gently with a tea towel so as not to damage them, and remove the bulky part one by one with a bamboo skewer.
◾️ Pickled Plums
1) Cover the plums with shochu.
Pour the shochu into a bowl and sprinkle the plums into the shochu. You can add and sprinkle plums more than once.
2) Mix salt and plums alternately.
Sprinkle to cover the bottom of the container. Arrange the plums so that they are spread out. Repeat with salt, plums in the same way. Finally, sprinkle salt over the plums, place a weight equal to the weight of the plums on the middle lid, and cover with the outer lid.
(3) Check to see if the white plum vinegar has risen.
Check to see if the white plum vinegar has risen. It will take about 7 days for all the plums to be covered.
◾️Add red shiso
1) Blanch red shiso leaves with salt to remove the scum.
Pick shiso leaves, wash 2-3 times with plenty of water, and drain well. Put them in a large bowl, add half of the salt, and press them well. Squeeze hard and discard the juice. Repeat the same process again, squeezing the juice thoroughly.
If you do not remove the astringent at this stage, the color of the pickled plums will darken.
2) Combine ume vinegar and red shiso and add to pickled plums.
Put the red shiso in a bowl, add enough ume vinegar to cover the shiso, and break up the red shiso. The red shiso will turn red. Put the shiso on top of the pickled plums with salt and all the shiso liquid. After about a month, the red color will soak into the plums.
◾️3 Drying in the sun for 3 days
(1) 1st day
Dry red shiso, plums, and containers during the daytime only.
Remove all plums from containers and place on a colander to remove water. Place the plums on a large tray colander, spacing them apart so that they do not stick to each other. Remove the liquid from the red shiso as well, squeeze and move them to the colander. Turn the plums over halfway through so that the sun shines on all of them. While the sun is still shining, put the shiso and plums back in the container and bring them indoors.
(2) Procedures for the second and third days
On the second and third days, dry the plums in the same way as on the first day. Continue the drying process by exposing the plums to sunlight. Leave the plums outside even at night.
If the weather is bad and it rains, take the plums inside.
The drying process is complete when the skin is soft and the surface wrinkles can be pinched when grabbing the plums.
◾️ Storage
Place plums in clean storage jars and store in a cool, dark place. Although dried plums can be eaten immediately, they will taste crammed and delicious if they are stored for more than half a month. Also, store karakara-dried red shiso and ume vinegar in separate containers. Dried red shiso can be used in yukari gohan (rice cooked with yukari) if it is finely powdered. Ume vinegar can be used for cooking.
◾️Tips
(1) Removing the scum from green ume
When making umeboshi from green plums, it is necessary to remove the scum from the plums. Soak them in water for 10 to 12 hours.
(2) How to obtain red shiso
It may not be possible to obtain red shiso one week after the plums are pickled in salt. If the timing of purchasing red shiso is not suitable, purchase shiso when you find it. Salt the shiso you have purchased. Store the salted shiso in the refrigerator.
(3) How to deal with mold
＊Mold during pickling...
If mold like a white film is on white plum vinegar or plums, take out the moldy plums or white plum vinegar and boil them. After the plums are completely dried, return the plums and plum vinegar to the container. If there is no mold on the liquid, gently remove any mold that has grown on the plums only.
＊Mold after adding red shiso...
If mold has grown on the red shiso, gently remove the mold from that part only.
＊Mold after drying in the sun
If mold is found to have grown on the shiso after it has been transferred to a storage jar, remove the moldy part and put it back into the jar that has been re-disinfected.
By practicing these measures, you can solve the mold problem while maintaining the quality of your pickled plums.