It’s the Japanese plum (ume) season! I remember my grandma made plum wine or umeshu (梅酒) and stored it in the cool dark underground storage of her kitchen until they’re ready to be enjoyed. There were several big jars of umeshu from different years. This sweet alcoholic drink was featured on the popular Japanese TV program called “Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂)” or “Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories” which is available on Netflix.
Midnight Diner features dishes that are more representative of Japanese home-cooked recipes that you might not have seen in your local Japanese restaurants. “Sour Plum & Plum Wine” episode is Season 1, Episode 6 on Netflix.
What is Umeshu (Plum Wine)?
From mid-May to early June, it’s ume (Japanese plum) season here in California. During this short period of time when fresh ume is available, the Japanese make plum wine, or what we call Umeshu (梅酒) with still unripe and green plums. I’m not much of a drinker, but I do enjoy drinking homemade umeshu from time to time. Have you tried it before? If you visited Japan and stayed at a ryokan (Japanese-style inn), you might have tried this drink before your kaiseki meal (懐石料理) as an aperitif, or Shokuzen-shu (食前酒). It’s SUPER easy to make this homemade fruit wine, in less than 15 minutes! Okay, I also should mention that you have to wait for at least 6 months (1 year is recommended) before you enjoy your homemade plum wine… but it’s SO worth it. Plus you get to share homemade umeshu with your guests when they come over. Let’s make it with me this year (share your photo with #justonecookbook on Instagram) so we can celebrate and enjoy ourselves together at this time next year! You and me!
3 Ingredients to Make Umeshu at Home
To make umeshu at home, you need just three simple ingredients. You can get all these ingredients at Japanese grocery stores. If they carry green plums, they usually carry rock sugar, liquor, and a glass jar around the same area.
Where to Get Ume Plums
You have to use these tart and sour green plums to make the plum wine and not any other types of plums you see in the store. Both Japanese and Korean grocery stores sell these plums during this season, so keep an eye on these plums around early to mid-May. These raw green plums are not edible as they are too tart and bitter (also if you eat too many of them, it is said you’ll likely have a stomachache). We only take the extract of the fruits by fermenting them with lots of sugar or salt. To make the syrup, you have to use tart, sour, and firm green ume plums, not any other types of plums you see in the store. Both Japanese and Korean grocery stores sell these plums around early to mid-May. You can also find them at specialty fruit producers online.
Nicholas Family Farms (Text or call Penny at 559-393-3009) Kudo Farms (organic ume 10 lb per box; ship within the 48 states) Good Eggs (SF Bay Area) GreatPlentifulShopCA (They also sell semi-ripe ones)
Ume Substitution
Turkish sour plums – A reader in Europe got them from a Turkish market and used them in this recipe. He said his umeshu tasted as good as the one he had in Japan!
White Rock Sugar/Candy
Instead of regular white sugar, we use white rock sugar/candy to make plum wine. Rock sugar takes time to dissolve, which helps to extract the flavors and fragrance from the plums at a slower pace.
3. Distilled Spirits/Liquor
To make plum wine, we need neutral, colorless, near-flavorless distilled spirits/liquor such as shochu (焼酎) and vodka. Make sure it is at least 35% ABV (alcohol by volume) or 70 proof. The plum wine could become spoiled when alcohol percentage go down being diluted by the fruit juice from the plum. In Japan, we have a liquor called “White Liquor” (ホワイトリカー), which we use for making plum wine or fruit wine. If you can’t find it, don’t sweat it and use shochu or vodka. Shochu is a Japanese distilled beverage with less than 45% by alcohol by volume. It’s typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar.
Where Can I Get a Large Glass Jar?
How To Enjoy Umeshu
After a year, you can finally get to enjoy your plum wine. The flavor and fragrance of the plum wine ripen as it ages, so make sure to store in a cool, dark place for years to come! You might want to start making two batches if you can’t stop drinking it. 😉 Umeshu can be served at different temperatures; chilled or with ice, room temperature, or even hot in the winter.
Non-Alcoholic Ume Syrup
You can enjoy making ume drinks without alcohol. My kids and I love making Ume Cider (梅サイダー) in the summer months. Make this Ume Plum Syrup and store it in the pantry to enjoy later.
One-Year Umeshu Diary
What To Do with the Spent Plums in the Umeshu?
After 12 months of making delicious plum wine, the plums are ready to retire. Your plums did a tremendous job making your delicious plum wine for a year. Now that their job is done, it doesn’t mean it’s time to toss them away. This amazing stone fruit is the fruit that never stops giving. You can totally eat the ume plums from the wine! Serve them with your plum wine so you can nibble them while you drink, but if you’re looking into other ways to utilize those used plums, here are some ideas on how to consume them.
Make jams for your breakfast toasts, yogurt, gelatin dessert Bake a cake with plums (just like other fruit cakes) Make cocktails with crushed plums Use in savory dishes
Plum Jam Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram. Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on May 25, 2017. The video and new images are added to the post in May 2018.
