Umeshu

June in the US is the season of graduation and start of summer but in Japan it's the start of monsoon aka humidity season which I cannot stand. And well, good spoiled Californianas can never handle extreme weather :P

The one and only thing I like during this season though is umeshu making. People laugh at me when I say this since apparently it's such a country bumpkin thing to do (it's the equivalent as granny making hommade pickles or jam) but it's been a tradition on both sides of my family for generations. Plus what better than to make your own alcoholic beverages?

Ingridients:

The most important one is obvious the ume plums

There's so many different kinds but I like to use Nankobai (南高梅) which are a bit bigger and has more flesh than standard 青梅. [Japanese plums are a bit harder to get outside of the country but at least in California you can sometimes buy them at Japanese supermarkets so be sure to ask them when they get shipped in. They only usually sell the for a very very limited time and it's not that widely advertised or noticeable either.]

You also need 2 distilled containers, "white liquor" (gin or shochu or any clear distilled alcohol around 25~30% would work), toothpick, paper towels, and rock sugar.

1. Take out the stem with a toothpick

2.  Wipe each one with a papertowel

3. Stack the ume and rock sugar in layers

4. Pour the white liquor until it covers the surface and voila!

It usually takes about 3 months for the liquor, sugar, and ume to do its magic and create its beautiful mixture :) But it gets real good and smooth after about a year. My mom has a batch from about 17 years ago (which we only drink on special occasions) and it tastes amazing!

Umeshu is the best to drink on a hot summer day and I cannot wait :)