Umeshu - Japanese Plum Wine
The weather gods have been cruel to me. As some of you may know, I spent the last two weeks in New York and Boston; expecting normal late spring temperatures, I packed summer clothes and sandals, only to freeze the entire time. On the last day, as I rode the train to JFK for my flight out, the mercury shot up to 70s. Such is my luck as a traveler.
Of course, I returned to China, where the May forecast anywhere along the coast is best described as "sauna-like." As though on cue, my hair became as frizzy as tumbleweed. I blasted the fan and ransacked the fridge for anything cold and sugary.
No ice cream surfaced, but I did find a bottle of umeshu, Japanese plum wine, bought with brilliant foresight a few months ago. Now, I know the Japanese fruit ume is technically not the same as a Western plum, but "plum" is the closest possible English equivalent, and is the norm on most English menus I've seen. (A close second is "apricot".) Umeshu, made by fermenting the little green ume in shochu and adding a bit of rock sugar, has enough to sweetness to cut through the mild sour edge. I love that certain brands like Choya offer single or double serving pop-top bottles, with green plums floating inside.
Because of my dislike for most Chinese alcohol, I have been drinking more and more plum wine when I go out in Shanghai, thanks to handful of Japanese-owned bars. You can get umeshu straight up, on the rocks, mixed with sake and triple sec, or in the winter, added to hot green tea. My favorite umeshu drink, however, is just with some club soda and a twist of lemon. Here's my formula: 1 umeshu + 1 part soda + juice from 1 lemon wedge. Use cold umeshu and soda so you need little or no ice; too much ice can water down the drink. Feel free to try Sprite or ginger ale in lieu of club soda.
Do you have a favorite umeshu drink? Or a way to tame humidity-frazzled hair?
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More hot weather drinks:
Thai Lemongrass and Ginger Iced Tea
Korean Cinnamon and Ginger Chilled Tea
Grass Jelly (Herbal Jelly) and Coconut Drink
Plum Wine in the US
They sell Japanese plum wine in liquor stores in the U.S. Would it bear any resemblance to Umeshu? The drink sounds refreshing and I have plum wine in the pantry.
Honey Plum Wine
I see a number of different brands of Japanese honey plum wine in the Japanese markets here. The most recognizable brand is probably Choya, with its distinctive cylindrical green bottle.
My favorite way to enjoy it on a hot Summer day is on the rocks.
Have you ever cooked with the ume at the bottom of the jar?
Interesting! I will have to
Interesting! I will have to try this.
Sounds delicious
I actually have cured my frizzy hair WITH Japanese plum wine. Will have to hunt that down back in the ol' NY of C. Glad you got back to the PRC safely.
Yum
Now I am on a mission to find this VA. Sounds like a nice treat for a party this weekend.
Funny to see Choya being
Funny to see Choya being enjoyed outside Japan. My grandmother used to buy lots of green plums when they were in season and make Umeshu. Since this stuff was way too sweet for the only drinker in my family (my dad) we always had batches of vintage Umeshu in bottles which were amber colored, sweet and lovely. ;)
frizzy hair
I live in Houston and it's just about the same humidity if not worse than the Chinese coastal area. We get 99% humidity with 100 degree weather all the time and it sucks to no ends. I feel your pain 101%.
Try the Pantene leave in conditioner for your hair after you've dried it (may it be air dry or blow dry), it really helps keeping the hair happy. And the best thing is: it is a very inexpensive fix and costs about $3/4 per bottle, and it doesn't really count as liquid so you can bring it with you when you travel and the TSAs usually don't say anything.
I am going to get some umeshu today! :)
April - Good to know! Though
April - Good to know! Though I'll have to wait until I get back to the US to try...not a fan of the Pantene products in China. Usually I just dab Burts Bees moisturizer in the super-frizzy parts and hope for the best. It's lighter than gel and usually does the trick while blending in with the hair.
This looks so good and
This looks so good and simple!
I would LOVE to travel to Asia one day (:
Come Vistin: www.foodcreate.com :]
Favority Umeshu brands
Hi,
Choya is the maker of industrial Umeshu, but did you know that there are more than 300 private Umeshu labels in Japan. I made a collection of my favorite ones in a portal to share this knowledge with others.
http://japanese-umeshu.ning.com/
Umeshu can be made of Sake, Shochu, Brandy or white liqueur and nowadays additional flavor such as Shiso, brown sugar, ginger, yuzu, etc. are added.
I will keep adding more and more brands after I tasted them.
Have fun!
Home-made umeshu
Umeshu is much tastier when you make it yourself. I find Choya unpleasantly chemical tasting and harsh compared with the mellower, more ume-flavored homemade version. You can find an excellent recipe here: http://blue_moon.typepad.com/blue_lotus/2008/06/making-umeshu.html
It's pretty easy to make, the hardest part is finding ume! You just put ume and sugar in liquor (shochu is the usual Japanese solution), and let it sit for six months to a year.
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