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Umeboshi
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Umeboshi (Japanese: ??; literally "dried ume") are pickled ume fruits. Ume is a species of fruit-bearing tree in the genus Prunus, which is often called a plum but is actually more closely related to the apricot. Umeboshi are a type of tsukemono, or traditional Japanese pickled food, and are very popular in Japan.
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Encyclopedia
Umeboshi (Japanese: ??; literally "dried ume") are pickled ume fruits. Ume is a species of fruit-bearing tree in the genus Prunus, which is often called a plum but is actually more closely related to the apricot. Umeboshi are a type of tsukemono, or traditional Japanese pickled food, and are very popular in Japan. In Japan, it is used in various dishes as side dishes with breakfast, rice balls for lunch, boiled and seasoned for dinner.
Physical characteristics
Umeboshi are usually round, and vary from unwrinkled to very wrinkled. They taste salty, and are extremely sour due to high citric acid content – in the past they were known to corrode their way through aluminium lunch boxes if kept in the same spot every day. It is thought that this occurred because the processing technology of the aluminum lunch box was still immature immediately after the end of the war.
The central area of Wakayama prefecture is known throughout Japan for the number and quality of its ume and umeboshi. The town of Minabe, Wakayama, in particular, grows more ume and produces more umeboshi than any other town in all of Japan.
Umeboshi per 100g contains elements as follows.
- Calorie 33kcal
- Protein 0.9g
- Fat 0.2g
- Carbohydrate 10.5g
- Sodium8700 mg
- Potassium 440 mg
- Manganese 0.23 mg
- VitaminA 7µg
- VitaminB1 0.02 mg
- VitaminB2 0.01 mg
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Dietary fiber 3.6g
- salt 22.1g
Production
Umeboshi are traditionally made by harvesting ume fruit when they ripen around June and packing them in barrels with salt. A weight is placed on top and the fruit gradually exude juices, which accumulate at the bottom of the barrel. This salty, sour liquid is marketed as umezu (??; often translated as "ume vinegar"), although it is not a true vinegar.
Most modern umeboshi are made by using less salt and by pickling the ume in a seasoned liquid or vinegar. They are typically dyed red using purple perilla herbs (called akajiso), or flavoured with katsuobushi, kombu or even sweetened with honey. Because modern methods of preservation use less salt, they usually contain an artifical preservative to extend shelf life.
Eating
Umeboshi are usually eaten with rice, in small quantities.
As part of a bento (Japanese lunchbox), a single umeboshi is often placed in the centre of the rice to recreate the flag of Japan, the Hinomaru Bento. Umeboshi is also known to fight bacteria. It is said that placing an umeboshi on the rice will inhibit bacteria. The sour and salty umeboshi is also believed to help digestion.
It is also a common ingredient in onigiri, rice balls wrapped in nori, and they may also be used in makizushi. Makizushi made with umeboshi may be made with either pitted umeboshi or umeboshi paste (which is cheaper), often in conjunction with slivered fresh green perilla (shiso) leaves.
Umeboshi is often used as a cooking accent to enhance flavor and presentation.
Umeboshi may also be served as a complement of a green tea or a drink with shochu and hot water.
Drinking a cup of umeshu before meal is said to increase the appetite.
Children's candy shops sometimes carry karikari ume, or prepackaged, crunchy pickled ume.
Umeboshi are often eaten as snacks; in the United States many Japanese grocery stores stock umeboshi. Eating umeboshi in Japan is the equivalent of the United States "an apple a day."
Health
The citric acid acts as an antibacterial, helps to increase saliva production and to assist in the digestion of rice. In addition, the citric acid is said to combat fatigue and protect against aging. It is a strongly alkalising food. see alkaline diet
Umeboshi were esteemed by the [samurai] to combat battle fatigue. The standard Japanese folk remedy for colds and flus is okayu (boiled rice) with umeboshi.
Similar foods
Huamei , or Chinese preserved plum, refers to any of a large number of Chinese foods involving plums pickled in sugar, salt, and herbs such as licorice. There are two general varieties: a dried variety, and a wet variety, the latter of which is pickled with vinegar and salt, and called suan méizi (???; literally "sour mei fruits"). Suan méizi are similar to Japanese umeboshi in that they have an intensely sour and salty flavor; they are the main ingredient of the popular summer beverage suanmeitang. Flavors and methods of preparation of huamei differ widely by region. Huamei are usually consumed as a snack.
In Vietnam, a very similar variety of pickled ume is called xí mu?i or ô mai.
In South Asian countries a similar dish is enjoyed called Amla in Hindi it is prepared in the same manner, with the exception that Indian Gooseberries are the fruit packed in salt instead of Ume.
In Western culture, the prune is a closely related edible.
See also
External links
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