Ume Vinegar Drink or Umeshu Plum Wine

[helenjp]

Ume Vinegar Drink or Umeshu Plum Wine

This is a non-alcoholic variant of umeshu (Japanese plum wine).

You can substitute honey for the sugar - use a little less. Don't use normal baking sugar, it tends to set in a layer and not dissolve. Get big lumps of candied sugar from a Chinese or Japanese grocer's if possible.

• kg ume (prunus mume fruit)
  
• l mild vinegar (cider, rice)
  
• 200 g rock sugar
  

Substitute 2 liters of shochu/white spirits for the 1 liter of vinegar if you want to make (alcoholic) umeshu or plum wine.

Choose firm, unblemished, unripe green ume. They should be "green apple" color, not yellowish.

Rock or candy sugar (a yellowish version is available in Chinese shops, the Japanese type is whitish) will make a beautiful clear drink. If you must use regular sugar, try to get the coarsest granulation available.

Wash and dry, allow to dry completely.

Layer the plums and sugar in a clean, wide-mouthed jar.

Pour over the vinegar or liquor, and set aside to mature.

It will be drinkable in 3 months if you used the full amount of sugar, if you use none at all, it will take a good 2 years to mellow, and will still be much less mellow.

Remove the fruit after 3 months, although you can leave it in longer.

I leave the plums in, and in the following spring, add several handfuls of ume blossom to the jar. The following autumn, I remove fruit and flowers and set aside for one more year before drinking.

Don't discard fruit - it is often used in poundcakes, or simply split and stoned, and served with green tea.

To make umeshu or "plum wine", simply use shochu (white spirits, 35% alcohol) instead of vinegar. Traditionally equal weights of sugar and fruit are used, but you can adjust the amount to taste.

Umeshu can be served "on the rocks", but either ume shu or ume vinegar drink can be drunk with a little hot water, or in a tall glass, 1 part drink to 2 parts water and ice.

Keywords: Non-Alcoholic Beverage, Fruit, Japanese, Easy

( RG1095 )