Ume

Ume (梅) is a Japanese apricot. Japanese often eat its pickled form (Umeboshi-梅干) or drink its juice or alcohol (Ume-shu梅酒).

Table of contents

1 Umeboshi (梅干)

1.1 Ingredients
1.2 How to make umeboshi

2 Ume juice and ume-shu (梅酒)

2.3 Ingredients
2.4 How to make ume juice and ume-shu

Umeboshi (梅干)

Umeboshi (pickled Japanese apricot) is a kind of pickled food and very famous all over the world. It's one of the Japanese traditional foods and it has been popular in Japan. It is red, round, and a little bit seamed, and its taste is very sour. Japanese people usually eat it with rice, resulting in what looks like the national flag of Japan, with the circular bright red center on a white field. The Japanese also put it into rice balls. It is said that umeboshi is good for health, and sometimes umeboshi is used as a cold remedy. Surprisingly, a pickled apricot it never rots, so you can eat those which were made 100 years ago.

Wash Japanese apricots and wipe them dry.
Remove their stems.
Put salt and newly destemmed apricots in the jar.
Turn them repeatedly and vigorously.
Put on inner lid.
Place big, heavy rock on top of lid to increase the pressuring done to the apricots.
Wait until the water increases in the jar.
Weather the Japanese apricots for 3 days and 3 nights of sunny day in high summer. (Don't throw away the water in the jar.)
During step #8, rub salt into red shiso to remove scum.
Put the Japanese apricots and red shiso into the jar with the water.

Wash raw Japanese apricots and strain moisture from them.
Cram them into a container tightly. If you like, pour in a bit of white liquor at this time.
Drop honey into the container on top of apricots.
Leave it as is until all moisture has gone out from the fruits.
After the fruits have shriveled, remove them from the container.

It should be kept in a cool place during the summertime.