Italian Plum Umeboshi Recipes

UMEBOSHI (JAPANESE SOUR SALTED PLUMS) RECIPE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Place ume in a container and fill with cold water. Soak overnight in a cool spot.
• Discard water and transfer ume to a large wooden, ceramic, or food-grade plastic tub.
• Measure salt over ume. Distribute salt with your hands, making sure not to make cuts on the fruit.
• Place a clean muslin (or food-grade plastic) sheet across the surface of salted ume and drape it down the sides of tub.
• Lay a drop lid on top of the sheet and weight with rocks or similar heavy items equaling weight of ume. (Alternatively, you could line the tub with a thick food-grade plastic bag, squeezing out the air, and cinch it up before laying the drop lid.)
• Store salt-weighted ume in a cool dark spot, but check after 2 or 3 days to make sure the brine has surfaced. If it has not, you should massage any residual bottom salt up to the top fruit. The ume should remain in the brine for several weeks, but check periodically to make sure no mold is forming (if it has, pick the mold off carefully).
• After brining for at least 3 weeks (2 weeks for small ume), dry ume for 3 days in the bright sunlight (they do not have to be consecutive days) on rattan mats (or the equivalent) stretched across a wooden frame for good air circulation. At night, return the ume to the pickling pot.
• On last day of drying, strain brine left over in bottom of salting-tub through a fine-mesh strainer and store in a clean jar or bottle. This is called plum "vinegar" (umesu).
• Pack dried ume (umeboshi) in resealable gallon-sized freezer bags (fill bags only half full). A syrupy liquid will pool at the bottom of the bags which aids in the long-term preservation of umeboshi. Umeboshi keep indefinitely at room temperature packed in airtight resealable bags. This recipe is reprinted with permission from Preserving the Japanese Way: Traditions of Salting, Fermenting, and Pickling for the Modern Kitchen by Nancy Singleton Hachisu , ©2016 Andrews McMeel Publishing. In the book, Hachisu tells not only of the traditional methods of preserving in Japanese culture but of her journey to learn and conquer these traditions as an American-born wife to a Japanese farmer. These umeboshi , salted plums, are a traditional delicacy, often eaten with rice.

ITALIAN PLUM JAM

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss the plums, sugar, and lemon juice.
• Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight (or at least 8 hours).
• Place a small plate in the freezer right before cooking the plums (this is to use to check if plum jam is ready).
• Place the plum mixture in a medium sauce pan on high heat. Bring to a boil for a couple of minutes. Lower heat to a low simmer. Stir with a wooden spoon and loosen any pieces that may stick to the bottom.
• Be sure to keep stirring for about 15-20 minutes. You'll know it's ready when juices become thicken like a syrup. You could check temperature with a candy thermometer to make sure it's never over 220 F. As it simmers, remove any white foam that could come to the surface.
• To make sure the jam is ready, remove the small plate from the freezer. Place a teaspoon of jam on the plate. If it sets within a minute, it is ready. If it still appears runny, return the plate to the freezer and continue to cook the plum mixture. Test again in a few minutes.
• Carefully spoon the jam into sterilized jars. Apply lids jars.
• Wipe rims with a clean, damp towel and screw lids on securely but not too tightly.
• Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
• Carefully remove jars using tongs. Use potholders to tighten the lids. Place jars on a rack upside-down and let them cool. When they've cooled down, store them in the refrigerator. The jam should keep unopened for several months.

ITALIAN PLUM UMEBOSHI

Steps:

• PLUM PREP Wash and dry plums Place in bowl and sprinkle generously with course salt. Leave in refrigerator for 3-5 days in a 2 sealed ziplock bags. PLUM DRYING Remove plums from any liquid. Place plums on a shallow baking dish. Leave space between plums for plenty of air circulation. Set in 150-200 degrees F oven. Crack door of oven open. PLUM JUICE AND SALT When juice starts to collect in pan, collect with a spoon and place in small saucepan. Add the juices and salt from the ziplock bag. As plums are drying in oven remove them periodically and continue to remove excess liquid. After collecting liquid, turn plums over one by one. This may be done several times and will make them dry more evenly. Plums may puff up. I poked each one with a fork so that they would release more liquid. Some of them broke open which is not desirable in Japanese umeboshi. When the plums begin to shrivel you will have to judge whether or not they are dry enough. Eat one and see if the texture resembles an actual umeboshi. They should be moist and pasty inside but not drippy. The process can take several hours. If you have to leave the house, just turn the oven off, and leave plums in oven. I did that the first day and dried them more the next day. While plums are in the oven the last few minutes. Heat up the salty plum juice and reduce until very thick. I reduced it until it looked like crumbly salt. This can be added to the dried plums later and return that intense flavor back to the umeboshi. Leave plums in oven and turn off oven. When cool. Place them in a jar or crock. Place crumbly plum salt on bottom and sprinkle a thin layer of salt on bottom. Place a single layer of plums on bottom followed by a thin layer of salted shiso. Shiso leaves will be crumpled. Lightly press them into the crock or jar to remove air pockets.