Interesting that they consider salt plums as a chinese delicacy. We're making them right now in Japan - take the hard little fruit, roll it around on a bed of thorns so that it is well-punctured (what do you call that base for flower arrangements?), then set in a jar or large plastic bag. Add shouchu (vodka, distilled alcohol - there is rice based, etc. we just use whatever is cheap) and salt - 7% by weight, according to my wife. Mix well. Leave it set for two or three weeks. Every day shake, stir, mix (this is where the new style of plastic bags is helpful, you can see the ooze and it's easy to mix).
Take a cup of the juice, add red shiso (mint), and mix well (my wife says squeeze it for ten minutes). Throw away the first juice that comes out, wait for very red juice to come out, add that red juice back to the bottle - that's where the color comes from.
Wait another ten days. On a very hot day (Early July or so), dry the ume (salt plums) under the sun for about three days.
And there you have traditional salt plums.
There's also adding brown sugar or honey to sweeten the taste. Or skip the red shiso dying for pale ones. And ume juice, ume marmelade, ume . . .
Re: and a "Brand New Car!"
Interesting that they consider salt plums as a chinese delicacy. We're making them right now in Japan - take the hard little fruit, roll it around on a bed of thorns so that it is well-punctured (what do you call that base for flower arrangements?), then set in a jar or large plastic bag. Add shouchu (vodka, distilled alcohol - there is rice based, etc. we just use whatever is cheap) and salt - 7% by weight, according to my wife. Mix well. Leave it set for two or three weeks. Every day shake, stir, mix (this is where the new style of plastic bags is helpful, you can see the ooze and it's easy to mix).
Take a cup of the juice, add red shiso (mint), and mix well (my wife says squeeze it for ten minutes). Throw away the first juice that comes out, wait for very red juice to come out, add that red juice back to the bottle - that's where the color comes from.
Wait another ten days. On a very hot day (Early July or so), dry the ume (salt plums) under the sun for about three days.
And there you have traditional salt plums.
There's also adding brown sugar or honey to sweeten the taste. Or skip the red shiso dying for pale ones. And ume juice, ume marmelade, ume . . .
We have a lot of ume right now.