← Nouns Cooking · Japanese

Ingredients

• 1 kg Green ume plums (fresh or frozen)
• 1 kg rock sugar (kori zato)
• chilled sparkling or still water, to serve
• Ice

Method

1. Sterilise a 3–4 l glass jar with boiling water and dry it completely.
2. Wash the plums gently, then soak them in cold water for 1–2 hours to reduce bitterness. Dry each one thoroughly and pick out the little stem nubs with a toothpick.
3. Prick each plum several times with a fork or freeze them overnight; both help the juice flow.
4. Layer the plums and rock sugar in the jar, finishing with sugar on top. Close the lid and keep it somewhere cool and dark.
5. Swirl the jar once or twice a day so the dissolving sugar coats all the plums. In about two to three weeks, the sugar will have dissolved and the plums will be wrinkled.
6. Strain the syrup into clean bottles and keep it in the fridge. To serve, mix 1 part syrup with 4 parts chilled water or soda over ice.

Tips

• Fresh green ume appear for just a few weeks in early summer; frozen ume work too. Never eat raw ume, as unripe plums can upset your stomach.
• If the syrup starts to foam or smell fermented, bring it to a gentle simmer, skim and cool before bottling.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Just One Cookbook Chopstick Chronicles