umeboshi

[torakris]

The green plums are in all the supermarkets now just waiting to be turned into umeboshi or umeshu,

what are some of your favorite uses for umeboshi?

[smallworld]

My picky husband doesn't like umeboshi (or anything sour) so I rarely get to eat it.

Usually I'll just stick one in my ocha-zuke.

My very favourite thing to do with umeboshi is 'jako iri ume-shiso gohan'- thinly sliced shiso, chopped ume and chiremen-jako mixed with hot rice.

[sonnykilstein]

ume shiso temaki

umeboshi onigiri

Edited June 16, 2003 by sonnykilstein (log)

[inventolux]

Umeboshi cured bacon

umeboshi - asian pear spuma

[torakris]

Some days nothing is better then an umeboshi onigri

umeboshi and shiso are perfect matches, I like to make a paste of the umeboshi and place it and a shiso leaf into a piece of meat (either a pocket or like a sandwich) and panko it and fry it.

I really like the hachimitsu (honey) umeboshi, these aren't nearly as mouth puckering and can be popped into the mouth as snacks.

[torakris]

interesting article on the history and medicinal properties of umeboshi:

http://metropolis.japantoday.com/BigInJapa...ginjapaninc.htm

I also just ran across a recipe for a cold noodle dish to be garnished with umeboshi tempura,

next time I make tempura I might just give that a try.

[Jinmyo]

Some days nothing is better then an umeboshi onigri

Yes. Yes. Oh yes.

I like to push umeboshi through a tammis and smear the paste on sashimi thin slices of seared, basically raw, strip steak. Roll the slices up, drop into gomasio. Also nice with smoked salmon.

Umeboshi are also nice in genmai-cha.

[hillvalley]

I picked up a jar of umeboshi paste today and have a few questions.

Does it need to be refrigerated and how long will it last?

Other than spreading it on rice or noodles, what can be done with it?

What are the health benefits?

Thanks!

Edited October 15, 2003 by hillvalley (log)

[torakris]

I really like it in the simple ways:

umeboshi ochazuke

umeboshi onigiri

maki of umeboshi and shiso

refrigerate it after opening, it should last for quite a while

Edited March 15, 2004 by torakris (log)

[helenjp]

My ume trees, unpruned, are laden this year, despite dark mutterings from the neighbor, who thinks I neglect them and thereby threaten the cultural heritage of the nation.

I've discovered an ancient batch of low-sugar umeshu, which in this 3rd year has mellowed in to a very pleasant drink.

I'm now debating whether to try an experimental jar of non-sugar umeshu made with a good quality shochu and green ume only. Any comments, warnings, or recommendations on type of shochu?

Ume vinegar (made the same as umeshu, but with vinegar, for kids) does that too -- after several years, I can't tell the difference between the white liquor and the vinegar version. When I made them, the difference seemed so obvious that I didn't bother labelling the bottles...oops!

Umeboshi - I like to make them from ume that are much closer to ripening than usual - they make big, soft, fragrant umeboshi. The hitch is that we live in a valley and have a shadey garden, so by the time my umeboshi are pickled, the red shiso is often no longer in the shops (fewer and fewer people must buy it, because these days it is in the shops only for 2-3 days).

What I call ume paste is actually not sieved umeboshi, but a preserve made from imperfect ume -- read about it a few years back. I slice the ume into chunks, avoiding birdpecks etc., and layer with salt in a tabletop pickling container, apply pressure, and pickle as usual. Come drying time, the container goes outside for 1-3 days with the lid off, then the paste is packed away for storage.

This sloppy preserve has a lovely tawny apricot color, plenty of fragrance, and makes a great marinade as well as dressing (cut with dashi and shoyu).

I also make "failure" mini-umeboshi, and was delighted to find another neighbor who also preserves them the "wrong" way. I buy the little umeboshi designed to make kari-kari umeboshi (crunchy umeboshi), and instead pickle them like normal umeboshi. They are less sour than the usual ones, and thus more popular in kids' lunchboxes.

Last time I made kari-kari umeboshi I thought they tasted much better after a winter in the fridge, although the books advice you to eat them immediately.

Whew! Hope the wind tonight doesn't blow too many ume down...

[Boris_A]

what are some of your favorite uses for umeboshi?

To take with me as kind of lunch sandwich: rice balls made from brown rice with a bit mashed umeboshi inside and warpped up in a Nori leaf. Also in sushi "stick" shape. A macrobiotic recipe, as far as I know.

[Hiroyuki]

I'm now debating whether to try an experimental jar of non-sugar umeshu made with a good quality shochu and green ume only. Any comments, warnings, or recommendations on type of shochu?

I have never heard of non-sugar ume-shu. But I have found this site:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/komachi/tsubo/ts361301.htm

The site says that the recipe is the same except the absence of sugar, and you have to use liquor with an alcohol content of 35% or greater and fill the jar with liquor to the brim to remove excess air. The non-sugar umeshu tastes better than normal umeshu in one year, says the site.

***

I used to make ume-gatsuo (gatuso = katsuo or bonito) paste quite often.

Recipe:

Umeboshi: 2

Katsuo-bushi: 5 g

Mirin: tbsp 1 (15 ml)

Dashi no moto (powder): tbsp 2 (30 ml)

Soy sauce: tbsp 1 (15 ml)

I liked this paste very much because it was less sour than umeboshi.

[Hiroyuki]

kari-kari umeboshi

I guess you mean kari-kari ume, not karikari "umeboshi".

My mother is good at making umeboshi and ume-shu, but not kari-kari ume.

I once made kari-kari ume for her more than a decade ago, but I failed; they were not kari-kari (crispy) but rather soft.

[helenjp]

Yes, karikari ume, not umeboshi - they're not dried!

I think the key to crispness is including eggshells in the initial pickling, from what I remember...the calcium bonds with the chloride in the salt and prevents it from pickling the ume too fast?????

[kazuo]

Not a food application of ume per se, but a bar near the office makes a shiso-ume hi involving shiso shochu poured over one or more ume muddled with ice in a highball glass with a squeeze of sudachi.

[torakris]

My MIL brought me over some takenoko (bamboo shoots) not too long ago, fresh ones still wrapped in their husks and she showed me a way of eating umeboshi that she ate frequently as a snack when she was a child.

You take one of the more flexible husks from the bamboo shoot and wash it well then you place the umeboshi in the middle and fold the top over and then fold the sides in so it is triangular in shape. You then put the part with the fold into your mouth and slowly suck the umeboshi through the husk...

[helenjp]

Heeeeh (That's a Japanese heeee, not an English tee-hee with an amputation). Serving all sorts of things on bamboo shoot "leaves" sounds interesting...

Thanks for the umeshu link, Hiroyuki. She has an "Umeshu nuta" recipe down the bottom which sounds very interesting...

[Hiroyuki]

I vaguely remember my mother (now 71) telling me about eating umeboshi in the way torakris described.

Does anyone eat umeboshi kernels? They are said to be poisonous, but eating one or two kernels won't harm your health. My mother likes them.

[torakris]

Does anyone eat umeboshi kernels? They are said to be poisonous, but eating one or two kernels won't harm your health. My mother likes them.

They are poisonous??!

I described eating them in the tsukemono thead:

Have you ever eaten the seed inside the seed of the umeboshi?

These are especially good with the larger honey umeboshi, you crack open the seed with a nut cracker and remove and eat the soft seed inside. Think amaretto, absolutely wonderful!

[Hiroyuki]

Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. The seed contains a toxin that turns into cyanide 青酸 in your stomach. But, it won't harm your health unless you eat one hundred seeds or so. Do you know the seed is called tenjin-sama 天神様 in Japan?

[Verjuice]

I got back from Japan a few hours ago, and the first of my treats that I tore open was the jar of honeyed umeboshis. I'm sitting here sucking on the seeds. I think I'll go try and locate a nutcracker.

Edited May 15, 2004 by Verjuice (log)

[torakris]

I little while ago I went to a wonderful Japanese style oganic/natural foods buffet restaurant with some friends, one of my favorite dishes was a poato salad they made with mayo and umeboshi.

I tried recreating this at home the other night and it turned out quite well, I used kewpie mayo instead of making my own (wasn't sure of the quality of my eggs) and a couple umeboshi smashed to a paste. The restaurant had added shiso as well, but I new that doing that would mean that none of my children would touch it.

Next time I am going to make the mayo form scratch and add some chopped up karikari ume as well as I am pretty sure the restaurant version had these.

[Hiroyuki]

Thank you for your post, torakris. It didn't make me want to go to that restaurant, but did make me want to make umeboshi paste. It's probably two or three years ago that I stopped making it...

Sorry about the picture (this is actually the best one; other ones are out of focus). My mother makes a lot of umeboshi every year and sends some to us. Hers are really authentic, old-fashioned ones, so I'm sure they will last for years or even decades (at room temperature, of course). At the right left corner of the photo, you will see the umeboshi paste in a container. Once you make it, you can use it for a variety of purposes. Really useful.

[shinju]

Hiroyuki - your umekatsuo recipe sounds good. I like to use umeboshi and also ume fruits for different recipes.

Every two years I make umeshu, but this year I decided to make some ume jelly and although ok, it seems to have some "green" taste to it that I'm not sure about. Perhaps to make ume jelly or jam, ume needs to be more ripe.

My favorite way to use umeboshi is to make it into a paste and mix with some miso to come to about 1 T and combine that with mirin and mayo. Broil fish for several minutes and smear the sauce and finish off by browning the top. It is especially good with tara.

[torakris]

Every two years I make umeshu, but this year I decided to make some ume jelly and although ok, it seems to have some "green" taste to it that I'm not sure about. Perhaps to make ume jelly or jam, ume needs to be more ripe.

Shinju,

first off welcome to egullet and the Japan Forum!

One cookbook I have has 3 kinds of ume jam, one made with the ripe ones, one made with the green ones and one made with the leftover pulp from ume essence making.

So I guess there are types out there for everyody!

The ripe ume one looks similar to an apricot jam (my favorite) and I think I might give that a try this year. The ripe plums should be in the markets very soon.......