Why is the brine not rising?

Usually there is too little salt, too light a weight, or the fruit is still green. Use ripe yellow ume, a weight equal to the fruit, and about 20% salt. If no brine appears in two or three days, check that the bag is sealed and not sitting somewhere too cold.

The bag leaked. What should I do?

Move the fruit at once to intact double heavy-duty bags, set them on a tray, and discard the torn bag. From then on, use only thick bags, seal them tightly, and do not skip the tray. Do not pour brine back in if it has touched an unclean surface.

Can I start pickling long before the drying weather?

Yes. After about a month of salting you can sun-dry, or leave the fruit longer and wait for 3–4 clear days. Starting the pickle in late spring makes it easier to catch midsummer sun later.

If it keeps raining, can I dry them indoors?

Outdoor sun on a run of fair days is best. In rain, move the fruit indoors to a well-ventilated spot and finish drying when it clears. Leaving them shut in a still room invites mold; do not stack them in a closed space for long.

May I use less salt the first time?

Beginners should keep the 20% salt ratio for hygiene and keeping quality. Later, if you cut the salt a little, refrigerate the batch and eat it sooner, because it will not keep as well.

Umeboshi

Name: Umeboshi
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 1kg分（梅）
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: Yellow (ripe) ume, 1 kg; Coarse salt, 200 g; Heavy-duty freezer bags, 2; Shochu of at least 35% ABV (or vinegar), as needed (for sanitizing the bags); Weight, 1 kg (the same weight as the ume); Tray, 1 (to catch leaks)

By Chef Cannon

Cuisine: Japanese

Region: 和歌山県

Servings: 1kg分（梅）

Umeboshi, the Japanese pickled plums developed especially around Minabe and Tanabe in Wakayama Prefecture, start with ripe yellow ume that are salted and then sun-dried on a run of clear days. They are eaten on plain rice, and one or two in a pot of oily blue fish help take off the smell.

At a glance

Hands-on about 60 min · Pickle about 1 month · Sun-dry 3–4 days · 1 kg ume · Difficulty: medium · ≈ 20 kcal per 2 plums / 30 g (estimate)

Ingredients

Yellow (ripe) ume, 1 kg
Coarse salt, 200 g
Heavy-duty freezer bags, 2
Shochu of at least 35% ABV (or vinegar), as needed (for sanitizing the bags)
Weight, 1 kg (the same weight as the ume)
Tray, 1 (to catch leaks)

Steps

Rinse 1 kg of ripe, yellow ume lightly and drain them thoroughly. Discard damaged fruit or set it aside. If stems or bits of branch remain, remove them carefully.
Wipe the inside of a heavy-duty freezer bag with shochu of at least 35% ABV, or with vinegar, to sanitize it. To prevent leaks, use a commercial heavy-duty bag and, if needed, plan to double-bag.
In the bag, mix the ume well with 200 g coarse salt. When the salt coats everything, press out the air and seal the bag tightly. Slip it into the second bag, lay it flat on the tray, and set a 1 kg weight (the same as the fruit) on top. The tray is essential as a precaution against leaking brine.
In 2–3 days the ume brine will rise. Once it has, remove the weight; whenever air collects in the bag, press it out and reseal. Keep it in a cool place out of direct sun and pickle for about one month from the start (longer is fine too).
Watch for a stretch of 3–4 fair days, then take out the ume and sun-dry them (the traditional midsummer drying). Turn them so both sides get even sun, and dry until they wrinkle moderately and take on color.
Move the finished umeboshi to a clean container and store them with their brine. Eat them as they are, set them on plain rice, or add one or two when simmering oily blue fish to take off the smell.

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Notes

About 20% salt by weight of the ume (200 g for 1 kg) is the basic ratio for this home batch. If you want less salt, still keep this ratio the first time, for hygiene and keeping quality.

Adding red shiso later makes red umeboshi. Many households salt-rub the shiso separately and combine it before or after drying (it is not required).

Bag pickling is easier than a barrel, but the trio of a heavy bag, a second bag, and a tray is what prevents leak accidents. Thin bags tear easily; avoid them.

Sun-drying depends on a run of clear weather. If rain is likely halfway through, move the fruit indoors to a well-ventilated spot and dry again when it clears.

It was once the custom, after midsummer drying, to return only the year's eating portion to the brine and keep the rest in the storehouse as emergency food. Even in the refrigerator, this is a preserve that keeps well for a long time.

One or two plums in a simmered oily blue-fish dish soften the smell. They also work in mixed rice, ochazuke, or to add acidity to a dressing.

Time and temperature

Wash and drain 10–15 min · Sanitize the bag and mix with salt about 10 min · Weight 2–3 days until the brine rises · Cool pickling about 30 days · Sun-dry 3–4 fair days, turning both sides

Nutrition

20 kcal · Protein 0.6 g · Fat 0.2 g · Carbs 4 g

2 plums, about 30 g, estimate (quite salty)

Substitutes

Coarse salt → sea salt (go easy on iodized salt)
Shochu for sanitizing → wipe the bag with brewing vinegar
Heavy freezer bags → a clean crock with a drop-lid
1 kg weight → a sealed bag of water of the same weight
Red shiso → optional, for a red color, prepared separately

Storage

After drying, pack the umeboshi with their brine in a clean container and keep them in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator. A batch at about 20% salt keeps well for a long time, but always use clean utensils. Once opened, smaller portions that are eaten sooner also work. Avoid long storage in metal containers.

FAQ

Why is the brine not rising?: Usually there is too little salt, too light a weight, or the fruit is still green. Use ripe yellow ume, a weight equal to the fruit, and about 20% salt. If no brine appears in two or three days, check that the bag is sealed and not sitting somewhere too cold.
The bag leaked. What should I do?: Move the fruit at once to intact double heavy-duty bags, set them on a tray, and discard the torn bag. From then on, use only thick bags, seal them tightly, and do not skip the tray. Do not pour brine back in if it has touched an unclean surface.
Can I start pickling long before the drying weather?: Yes. After about a month of salting you can sun-dry, or leave the fruit longer and wait for 3–4 clear days. Starting the pickle in late spring makes it easier to catch midsummer sun later.
If it keeps raining, can I dry them indoors?: Outdoor sun on a run of fair days is best. In rain, move the fruit indoors to a well-ventilated spot and finish drying when it clears. Leaving them shut in a still room invites mold; do not stack them in a closed space for long.
May I use less salt the first time?: Beginners should keep the 20% salt ratio for hygiene and keeping quality. Later, if you cut the salt a little, refrigerate the batch and eat it sooner, because it will not keep as well.

Origin and history

Umeboshi is Japan's representative preserved ume, cultivated especially around Minabe and Tanabe in Wakayama Prefecture. In the Edo period, Ando Naoji, the chief retainer acting as castle deputy of the Tanabe territory in the Kishu domain, encouraged the planting of yabume to improve poor soils; that is regarded as the start of serious ume growing, and the fruit later won praise in Edo as Tanabe ume. The warm, sunny climate of the southern area suits cultivation; the prefecture is now said to produce about 60% of Japan's ume, and Minabe and Tanabe about 80% of that prefectural crop.

From the Meiji era onward, demand as military rations and during epidemics expanded production, and in 1965 (Showa 40) the large, thick-fleshed Nanko ume was registered as a variety. The plum groves in late winter are also known for the scene called "a million trees at a glance, fragrance for ten ri."

This recipe is one home batch: 1 kg ripe yellow ume and 200 g coarse salt. The fruit is salted in a bag and sun-dried after about a month. The hands-on work is short, but pickling and drying take weeks, so plan it as a long project.