Cookbook:Japanese Pickled Plums (Umeboshi)

| Cuisine of Japan

Umeboshi (&#26757;&#24178;, pickled Japanese plum) is a kind of pickled food. It's one of the Japanese traditional foods and it has been popular in Japan. It is red and round, and its taste ranges from sour to sweet. The texture can range from dry and crunchy to saturated and "globby", depending on the method used to preserve it.

Ingredients

 * Japanese plums
 * Red shiso
 * Salts

Procedure

 * 1) Sterilize a jar and utensils with potable alcohol or boiling water.
 * 2) Remove any damaged plums. Wash the remaining plums, and wipe them dry.
 * 3) Remove the plum stems.
 * 4) Cover plums with water and let stand overnight.
 * 5) Drain water and place plums in a larger, non-reactive container.
 * 6) Put salt and plums in the container. Turn them repeatedly and vigorously.
 * 7) Place a plate on top of plums. Place big, heavy rock or bottle filled with water on top of the plate to increase the pressuring done to the plums.
 * 8) Wait until the liquid increases in the jar—this will take two weeks or more.
 * 9) Weather the Japanese plums for 3 days and 3 nights of sunny day in high summer on flat baskets or any other flat instrument.
 * 10) Strain the liquid, and boil it to remove any impurities.
 * 11) Rub salt into the shiso to remove scum. Squeeze the shiso to remove liquid.
 * 12) Put the plums, shiso, and boiled liquid into the jar.