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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).
Umeboshi (æ¢...å¹²)
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.
Ingredients
- Japanese apricots
- Red shiso
- Salts
How to make umeboshi
- 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.
Ume juice and ume-shu
We can also enjoy drinking the juice of the ume by preserving the
fruits with sugar.
Ume juice tastes sweet and acidic. It's a very fresh drink, so it
tastes more delicious during the summertime. While people of all
ages can enjoy ume juice, ume-shu is only for adults. It's so smooth
that even people who don't normally like
alcohol sometimes drink this. The appeal to people who like
ume-shu lies in both its smell and its taste. Many people say that
after just one taste they have gotten hooked on it.
Ingredients
- Raw fruits of Japanese apricot ･･･ 1kg
- Sugar candy ･･･ 1kg
- Honey ･･･ to taste
- (White liquor ･･･ a bit to taste)
- A container ･･･ glassware and can be seal with is better.
How to make ume
juice and ume-shu
- 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.
You can drink the liquid by diluting with twice the water.
It should be kept in a cool place during the summertime.
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