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It’s easy to make my recipe for Plum Wineor Umeshu (梅酒) at home with fresh Japanese plums (ume) steeped in shochu/white liquor and sugar. The liqueur is delicious in mixed drinks thanks to its appealing fruity aroma and sweet and tart flavor. Inspired by the Japanese drama Midnight Diner.
It’s the Japanese plum (ume) season! I remember my grandma madeplum wineorumeshu(梅酒) and stored it in the cool dark underground storage of her kitchen until they’re ready to be enjoyed. There were several big jars of umeshu from different years.
This sweet alcoholic drink was featured on the popular Japanese TV program called “Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂)” or “Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories”which is available on Netflix.
Midnight Diner features dishes that are more representative of Japanese home-cooked recipes that you might not have seen in your local Japanese restaurants. “Sour Plum & Plum Wine” episode is Season 1, Episode 6 on Netflix.
Table of Contents
- What is Umeshu (Plum Wine)?
- 3 Ingredients to Make Umeshu at Home
- Where to Get Ume Plums
- Ume Substitution
- White Rock Sugar/Candy
- Where Can I Get a Large Glass Jar?
- How To Enjoy Umeshu
- Non-Alcoholic Ume Syrup
- What To Do with the Spent Plums in the Umeshu?
What is Umeshu (Plum Wine)?
From mid-May to early June, it’s ume (Japanese plum) season here in California. During this short period of time when fresh ume is available, the Japanese make plum wine, or what we callUmeshu (梅酒) with still unripe and green plums.
I’m not much of a drinker, but I do enjoy drinking homemade umeshu from time to time. Have you tried it before? If you visitedJapan and stayed at aryokan (Japanese-style inn), you might have tried this drink before your kaiseki meal (懐石料理) as an aperitif, orShokuzen-shu (食前酒).
It’s SUPER easy to make this homemade fruit wine, in less than 15 minutes! Okay, I also should mention that you have to wait for at least 6 months (1 year is recommended) before you enjoy your homemade plum wine… but it’s SO worth it. Plus you get to share homemade umeshu with your guests when they come over. Let’s make it with me this year (share your photo with #justonecookbook on Instagram) so we can celebrate and enjoy ourselves together at this time next year! You and me!
3 Ingredients to Make Umeshu at Home
To make umeshu at home, you need just three simple ingredients.
- Green ume plums
- White rock sugar/candy
- Distilled spirits/liquor
You can get all these ingredients at Japanese grocery stores. If they carry green plums, they usually carry rock sugar, liquor, and a glass jar around the same area.
Where to Get Ume Plums
You have to use these tart and sour green plums to make the plum wine and not any other types of plums you see in the store. Both Japanese and Korean grocery stores sell these plums during this season, so keep an eye on these plums around early to mid-May.
These raw green plums are not edible as they are too tart and bitter (also if you eat too many of them, it is said you’ll likely have a stomachache). We only take the extract of the fruits by fermenting them with lots of sugar or salt.
To make the syrup, you have to use tart, sour, and firm green ume plums, not any other types of plums you see in the store. Both Japanese and Korean grocery stores sell these plumsaround early to mid-May.
You can also find them at specialty fruit producers online.
- Nicholas Family Farms (Text or call Penny at 559-393-3009)
- Kudo Farms (organic ume 10 lb per box; ship within the 48 states)
- Good Eggs (SF Bay Area)
- GreatPlentifulShopCA (They also sell semi-ripe ones)
Ume Substitution
- Turkish sour plums – A reader in Europe got them from a Turkish market and used them in this recipe. He said his umeshu tasted as good as the one he had in Japan!
White Rock Sugar/Candy
Instead of regular white sugar, we use white rock sugar/candy to make plum wine. Rock sugar takes time to dissolve, which helps to extract the flavors and fragrance from the plums at aslower pace.
You can buy it on Amazon if your local Japanese/Asian grocery stores don’t carry it. You could also use white granulated sugar but remember that it’ll not taste as good. I would encourage you to find rock sugar as youinvest your time (once a year) to make this drink.
3.Distilled Spirits/Liquor
To make plum wine, we need neutral, colorless, near-flavorless distilled spirits/liquor such as shochu (焼酎) and vodka. Make sure it is at least35% ABV (alcohol by volume) or 70 proof. The plum wine could become spoiled when alcohol percentage go down being diluted by the fruit juice from the plum.
In Japan, we have a liquor called “White Liquor” (ホワイトリカー), whichwe use for making plum wine or fruit wine. If you can’t find it, don’t sweat it and use shochu or vodka.
Shochu is a Japanese distilled beverage with less than 45% by alcohol by volume. It’s typically distilled from rice, barley, sweet potatoes, buckwheat, or brown sugar.
Where Can I Get a Large Glass Jar?
You can get this on Amazon or Japanese grocery stores during the green plum season.
How To Enjoy Umeshu
After a year, you can finally get to enjoy your plum wine. The flavor and fragrance of the plum wine ripen as itages, so make sure to store in a cool, dark place for years to come! You might want to start making two batches if you can’t stop drinking it. 😉
Umeshu can be served at different temperatures; chilled or with ice, room temperature, or even hot in the winter.
- Umeshu On the Rocks (梅酒ロック): Puta big ice cube in a glass and pour the plum wine.
- Umeshu Sour (梅酒サワー): Mix the plum wine with ume-flavor shochu and soda water.
- Umeshu Tonic (梅酒トニック) Mix 30 ml plum wine with 90 mltonic water.
- Umeshu Soda(梅酒ソーダ割り): Mix one partplum wine with one partcarbonated water.
- Umeshu Oyuwari (梅酒お湯割り): Mix one part plum wine with one part warm water.
- Umeshu Ochawari (梅酒お茶割り): Mixed one partplum wine with one part hot/cold black or green tea.
Non-Alcoholic Ume Syrup
You can enjoy making ume drinks without alcohol. My kids and I love making Ume Cider (梅サイダー) in the summer months. Make this Ume Plum Syrup and store it in the pantry to enjoy later.
One-Year Umeshu Diary
What To Do with the Spent Plums in the Umeshu?
After 12 months of making delicious plum wine, the plums are ready to retire. Your plums did a tremendous job making your delicious plum wine for a year. Now that their job is done, it doesn’t mean it’s time to toss them away. This amazing stone fruit is the fruit that never stops giving.
You can totally eat the ume plums from the wine! Serve them with your plum wine so you can nibble them while you drink, but if you’re looking into other ways to utilize those used plums, here are some ideas on how to consume them.
- Make jams for your breakfast toasts, yogurt, gelatin dessert
- Bake a cake with plums (just like other fruit cakes)
- Make co*cktails with crushed plums
- Use in savory dishes
Plum Jam
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Plum Wine (Umeshu)
4.76 from 62 votes
It's easy to make my recipe for Plum Wineor Umeshu (梅酒) at home with fresh Japanese plums (ume) steeped in shochu/white liquor and sugar. The liqueur is delicious in mixed drinks thanks to its appealing fruity aroma and sweet and tart flavor. Inspired by the Japanese drama Midnight Diner.
Print RecipePin Recipe
Video
Prep Time: 15 minutes mins
Resting Time: 365 days d
Total Time: 365 days d 15 minutes mins
Servings: 2 L
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb green ume plums
- 1.8 lb white rock sugar
- 7½ cups shochu (3 750-ml bottles with 450 ml leftover; or substitute vodka, Japanese “white liquor,” or any distilled spirit/liquor above 35% ABV “alcohol by volume“)
For Version B with 2 Shochu Bottles—750 ml x 2 and a 3-L glass jar (optional)
- 1.8 lb green ume plums
- 1.5 lb white rock sugar
- 6.3 cups shochu (2 bottles with no leftover)
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
Instructions
Gather all the ingredients. You will need a 4-L glass jar (you can buy one in a Japanese or Korean grocery store).
Rinse the jar thoroughly with soap and hot water and wipe dry with a clean towel. Dampen the clean towel with shochu (or your choice of liquor) and wipe inside the jar.
Wash and dry 2.2 lb green ume plums thoroughly. (Use 1.8 lb green ume plums for version B.)
Remove all the stem from the plums with a bamboo skewer or toothpick. Discard any plums with brown or blemished spots.
Measure 1.8 lb white rock sugar (or 1.5 lb white rock sugar for version B). I recommend a sugar amount of between half the weight of the plums (1.1 lb, 500 g) to equal the weight (2.2 lb, 1 kg). You just have to try it out to learn your preference (which you will find out after a year). For one batch, I like to use 800 g. The best part is that it’s easy to remember, too—1 kg plums, 800 g sugar, and 1.8 L liquor per batch.
In the clean jar, put the plums in a single layer. Then, cover the plums with a layer of rock sugar.
Then, add more plums in a single layer again, followed by the rock sugar. Repeat this process until you’re done with the plums and sugar.
Pour 7½ cups shochu or your choice of liquor (or 6.3 cups shochu for version B). This bottle of shochu is 750 ml, so you’ll need 2 bottles plus an additional 300 ml. If you have leftover shochu, you can make a yuzu co*cktail.
After pouring the shochu, it looks like this.
Seal, write today‘s date on the jar, andstore in a cool, dark place (not in the refrigerator) for 365 days. See you in a year! You can start drinking from 6 months, but I recommend to wait for a whole year.
1 Year Later…
Remove the plums from the jar and use them for other recipes. You can leave them in the jar for 2–3 years as long as you used green plums (firm and not ripened) and 35% alcohol. (The liquid in the jar is a bit less in the photo because I had to pour some out for filming the video.)
To Use the Spent Plums
You can make Plum Jam by cooking the plum and sugar. Spread it on toast, add in yogurt, make a gelatin dessert. Or you can bake a cake with the spent plums, make co*cktails with crushed plums, or use them in savory dishes.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Plum Wine (Umeshu)
Serving Size
1 L
Amount per Serving
Calories
3693
% Daily Value*
Sodium
10
mg
%
Potassium
129
mg
4
%
Carbohydrates
4
g
1
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
403
g
448
%
Protein
1
g
2
%
Vitamin C
3
mg
4
%
Calcium
6
mg
1
%
Iron
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Author: Namiko Chen
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: plum drink, umeshu
©JustOneCookbook.com Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any website or social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Editor’s Note: The post was originally published on May 25, 2017. The video and new images are added to the post in May 2018.
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