Umeshu

On vacation down in San Jose Japantown I saw ume (Japanese plums) for sale for $4.99/ lb. In Seattle they are $11.99 and all browned and bruised. I decided to get a couple of pounds and some kori sato (lit. "ice sugar") to whip up a batch of ume shu. The smart people at Nijiya had printed out the recipe rigth next to the ume.

Ume shu:
- 2.25 lbs of ume
- 2 lbs rock sugar
- 7.5 cups (1.75 ltr) shochu or other neutral alcohol*

Wash ume and remove the stems using a bamboo skewer.
Dry ume thoroughly.
Place ume in large glass jar.
Pour rock sugar over plums.**
Pour Shochu over plums/sugar.
Store in cool, dark place for at least three months. Best after one year.

* - I can't remember how I stumbled across it, but some time back I read about filtering cheap vodka with a brita filter. Since there's so much sugar in the umeshu you can't really taste the alcohol anyway so as long as you start with a pretty neutral spirit you're good. Six filterings through the brita turned my cheap, $20 bottle of vodka into a decent enough "white liquor."

** - it's important that the sugar goes over the plums. Plums float in alcohol. I've learned this the hard way.

Of course, the hardest part is waiting.