It’s rainy season right now. It’s time to prepare pickled plums! I usually make plum syrup and umeboshi( pickled plums) or umeshu (plum liqueur). I made plum syrup and umeboshi this year. I want to share with you my recipe for ume syrup once a year.
1. To get the plums
I usually get Nankouume plums in the supermarket every year, but this year I went to the city Otu to get special plums. Nankouume is a very common type of plum here. It’s a big plum, and it’s from Wakayama prefecture. This year I got another kind of plum that is called Jyoushuuhaku. These smell so great, almost like a peach. I’m sure I’ll be able to make great syrup this year!
I visited Sunainosato in Otu to get special plums. The plum farm was huge and I heard that this type of plum is used for Japanese traditional sweets. I had never smelled such a delicious fragrance.
The shape was also perfect. It was like artwork! It met my expectations. got 1kg of plums there.
2. To prepare the pickled plums
In June I watched cooking programs about making pickled plums. One popular way is to freeze the plums before you use them. I wanted to try that way because that was the first time for me!
First I washed the plums and picked out the stems with a toothpick. After that, I froze all the plums in the freezer overnight in a ziplock. When you freeze the plums, it breaks the fibers and you can make plum syrup in half the time. ( It usually almost takes 1 month, but if you use freeze the plums, you can do it in 2 weeks.) This is an amazing method! Then I just put the plums and half of the sugar in a clean bottle.
*Plum syrup*
1kg plums
500g sugar
3. Next I waited for 2 weeks!
It took a week for the sugar to melt. After a few days I checked and stirred them because the plums hadn’t soaked up the syrup. I recommend using a clean tool. I do not recommend eating plums that are not ready. Once I ate plums that had only soaked for 2 days. I felt sick… Please don’t do that!
I enjoy making plum syrup once a year. It’s not difficult, but really good!
Enjoy pickled plums!