Michiko's Que sera sera "Umeboshi"

Just do it..., whatever happens, it's your own recipes and journey

Umeboshi, it’s a one of traditional Japanese medicine foods, made of sour plum, salt, and purple shiso. Umeboshi can be pair with rice and rice-ball, tofu, salad, fish, green tea, noodle, and more. In addition, it has numerous health benefits in immune, digestion, anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, skin, and appetite. My grand-pa always said “A umeboshi a day keeps sick a way.”

Since my memory starts, my mom made huge batches of umeboshi every year to share with relatives, friends, and neighbours. My job was to pick up plums when my grandpa pick and dropped from his plum trees and wash, it was fun memories.

Umeboshi is enjoying thee days sunshine bath, the final stage.

I was spoiled by mom’s umeboshi, whenever I back to Japan, I brought back. At my last trip, when I was cleaning up her house, (now my Michi House in Japan) storage, kitchen, and refrigerator, I realised, all were gone, no more left.

Deep breathing, hearing the message from heaven, mom said, “do it by yourself.”

Just after back from Japan, I found the last batch at Suzuki farm in Delaware. My very first trial started without proper tools and ingredients, should be ok, Que sera sera.

Plumes arrived from Suzuki Farm, Delaware. It looks yummy, but, very very sour!!!

I should have payed more attention and make it together instead of just watch, lesson learned, do you have any similar experiences?

All recipes from site and books, made me nervous and confused because all described so complicated and far from what she did. It should be simpler otherwise umeboshi would not remain for thousands years as civilian foods.

She used fresh plums, salt, shiso, and maybe hard liquor to avoid molding and damage, marinaded, and finally dried under the sunshine for few days. We all had to help that parts, I recalled.

Marinated with Salt and little bit of hard liquor… see you in three weeks

Excess juice, it calls Ume-vinegar, we used for cooking.

I added red-shiso and fresh ginger…., recalling what mom did

My first Umeboshi

I enjoyed my about 5 weeks of umeboshi journey, will wait two weeks to taste. So, after I back from my Paris trip, it will be ready to taste and cook.

Cook Well, Eat Well, Love Yourself !

Michiko