Drunken Plums

The green ume are in season now. Our tree is rather delayed and the plums are quite small, but up on the hill, our relatives have a tree that already yielded big plums - they are green, very firm and fresh.

These will not develop into the purple soft prune-type plums that are eaten as fruit at home. These green plums are used for a variety of pickles. We will make ume-boshi later, but today, with the large plums from our aunt, we will douse them in liquor or vinegar and crystal rock sugar to make sirops for drinking.

Approximately 1 kg of plums, with stems removed (painsakingly with a toothpick), 1 kg of rock sugar, 1.8 liters(1-sho) of either rice vinegar or white liquor (25-35% alcohol). The vinegar or liquor drink takes about 3 months to brew. At that time, the plums will be soft enough to eat as a treat and the liquid can be diluted with water and served over ice as a refreshing drink. The vinegar drink is especially good for curing or preventing gall stones! But both drinks contain a lot of sugar, so beware. Heck, I don't even dilute the stuff, tastes fine just as it is!