Umeboshi is made from ripe plums that are packed in barrels with 20% salt per weight of the fruit. ![]() ![]() The fruit is extremely sour and salty, so it’s not for everyone, but they are often served as a side dish with rice. Umeboshi is a common dish in Japan made up of pickled plums. Many restaurants have embraced the use of umeshu in cocktails, and have the following options on their menus: Generally this liquor is stored for anywhere from three to six months in a dark, cold place to ferment. Umeshu is popular enough that it can be found in package stores and is often served at Japanese restaurants. The alcohol, when finished, has a sweet-and-sour taste to it and an alcohol content of 10-15%. Umeshu is made by steeping plums, while still unripe, in liquor and sugar. Both have made their way into the United States and have become a much-loved part of grocery and package stores everywhere. Umeshu and umeboshi are two common uses for the Japanese plum. Depending on how the plums are used, the fruit may also appear very wrinkly, salty, or sour due to their high acid content as well. If your first experience with Japanese plums is having a dish of umeboshi, beware – this is an incredibly salty, sour side-dish in which the plums are pickled in heavily salted barrels. Like many similar fruit trees and shrubs, the pips of the Japanese plum are slightly poisonous and shouldn’t be consumed. This makes it a much-loved addition to jams and chutneys, as does its high pectin content. The plum’s flavor has been likened to a combination of apricot and peach. The meat itself in a ripe fruit is lightly textured, succulent, and flavorful. Due to this sweetness, Japanese plums are used as a natural sweetener in many dishes to cut down on the addition of sugar. Many people choose to eat it “as is,” sometimes right from the tree when ripe. The Japanese plum is a naturally sweet fruit, making it very popular. It has a beautiful dusky yellow color when fully ripe, and this unique color is part of why gardeners love having this tree or shrub as an ornamental piece in their collection. Like other plums, the Japanese plum is a smooth-skinned, firm fruit. In traditional Chinese medicine, these plums are used to treat respiratory and digestive illnesses. It is said that the Japanese plum made its way to the United States via John Kelsey, a horticulturist from Berkeley. The Japanese plum has a wide variety of common names depending on which region it is found. One of the most notable mentions of the fruit is in the poetry of Li Bai, a famous Chinese poet. This species of plum was first mentioned in medieval Chinese literature, and later recorded by European missionaries in the 16 th century during their travels to the area. ![]() As Chinese missionaries traveled, so did the seeds of the Japanese plum. Today it can be found in its native land as well as in India, South Africa, the entire Mediterranean region, Mexico, South America, and certain areas of the United States. Thanks to the plant’s popularity in the 16 th century, which coincided with contact with the Portuguese, the plum traveled widely and became naturalized in countless countries. Eventually the wild trees were cultivated by the native population. Interestingly, these trees are evergreen and retain their foliage in warmer climates. In the wild, Japanese plums tend to grow at higher elevations. It does well in regions with mild temperate to subtropical climates. The Japanese plum is originally native to central China, but has been grown in Japan for over 1,000 years. The sweet scented flowers and bright fruit catch the senses and make it a wonderful addition to any home or garden in temperate to tropical areas. Today, Japanese plums are the most commonly sourced in the United States for the use of fresh fruit. It’s a plum species with a history deep-rooted in the Asian continent and botanical discovery. This tree or shrub has many uses, simply as an ornamental garden variety or as a source of fruit and even tea. The Japanese plum is a plant much loved by gardeners.
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