Guide to Umeboshi: How to Pickle Japanese Salted Plums
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jul 10, 2022 • 3 min read
Umeboshi are a staple of Japanese food. You can find umeboshi at Asian grocery stores and health food stores, but they’re rewarding to make at home.
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What Are Umeboshi?
Umeboshi are salted plums and a type of tsukemono *(pickle). *Umeboshi is typically translated to “pickled plum,” but the literal translation is "dried ume." Ume is the Japanese term for Prunus mume, a type of apricot that originated in China. They are now grown in the town of Minabe in Japan’s Wakayama Prefecture and in California.
Raw ume fruit is acidic and bitter, due to high levels of malic and citric acid. To make ume more palatable and to extend its shelf life, umeboshi makers coat the fruit sea salt (a natural preservative), soak it in its own juices, and then sun-dry it to achieve its characteristic wrinkly texture. Ume is yellow when ripe; pickled ume turns pink with the addition of red shiso leaves (also known as red perilla) during the pickling process.
A Brief History of Umeboshi
Umeboshi salted plums have been an important part of Japanese cuisine for centuries. According to legend, umeboshi were part of samurai rations. Today, home cooks will often add umeboshi to a bento box, or to rice porridge for someone who is feeling ill.
6 Ways to Use Umeboshi
Umeboshi have a salty, sour taste that is one of the most distinctive Japanese flavors. You can use umeboshi in a variety of dishes:
- 1. Onigiri (rice balls): Umeboshi, either whole or mashed with bonito flakes, are one of the most common onigiri fillings.
- 2. Hinomaru bento (Japanese flag bento): A rectangle of white rice with an umeboshi plum in the center resembles the Japanese flag.
- 3. Tempura: To make crispy deep-fried umeboshi, soak the fruit in water to reduce the salt content, then coat it in tempura batter, and fry until golden.
- 4. Drinks: In Japan, it's customary to drop an umeboshi plum into a cup of green tea to start the morning—or into a glass of shochu to prevent a hangover.
- 5. Salad dressing: Leftover umeboshi pickling liquid, called umezu (ume vinegar), makes a great base for salad dressing. Use it as you would any other vinegar.
- 6. Marinades: Umeboshi paste makes a great marinade, adding a fruity acidity to meats and vegan proteins such as tempeh.
Japanese Umeboshi Salted Plum Recipe
makes
1-pint jarprep time
30 minIngredients
- 1
Carefully wash and dry the ume.
- 2
Use a toothpick to remove the nub of the stem.
- 3
Fill a 1-quart glass jar with a single layer of ume, then top with salt. Repeat until all the ume and salt have been used up.
- 4
Top with a heavy weight, such as clean stones or a small jar filled with water.
- 5
Cover with a lid, or secure a cloth with a rubber band over the top of the jar to prevent bugs from entering.
- 6
Keep salted ume at room temperature in a dark place until the ume have released enough liquid to be immersed, about 1 week.
- 7
Check on the umeboshi daily, pressing down on the weight and increasing the heaviness of the weight if needed to keep the ume submerged.
- 8
Carefully wash and dry the red shiso leaves.
- 9
Massage the leaves with 2 teaspoons of salt.
- 10
Squeeze the leaves to remove excess liquid.
- 11
In a small bowl, top salted leaves with about 1 tablespoon of the umeboshi pickling liquid and toss to coat.
- 12
Add the leaves and umeboshi pickling liquid back to the jar of umeboshi.
- 13
Return the jar to a dark place and keep it at room temperature with the umeboshi submerged under the weight until they turn a deep pink, about 2 weeks.
- 14
Remove umeboshi from the jar, reserving liquid.
- 15
Sun-dry umeboshi in a single layer on a bamboo mat or basket for a few hours during the hottest part of the day.
- 16
Bring the umeboshi back inside at night, and re-submerge them in the pickling liquid. Repeat this process until umeboshi are very wrinkly, about twice more.
- 17
Return the umeboshi to the pickling liquid. Keep on the counter at room temperature in a dark place until umeboshi reach desired flavor, at least 1 more week and up to several months.
- 18
Transfer to a smaller jar and store in the refrigerator. Umeboshi will keep for several months or longer.
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