Plum Wine or Liqueur (Umeshu) Recipe
🌸🥃Umeshu is a Japanese plum wine or liqueur that offers delightful sweet and tangy flavors with the fruity fragrance of ume plums. Not only can you drink the wine, but you can also eat the plums, use them as a garnish or even part of desserts! Requiring only 3 ingredients, this drink is very easy to make. It's perfect for parties and as a homemade gift for your loved ones! 🌸🥃
Servings: 1 .8 liters
Ingredients
- 2.2 pounds unripe Japanese ume plums
- 1.1 pounds rock sugar
- 60 fluid ounces shochu not to be confused with the Korean soju! or a white liquor like a flavorless vodka
Instructions
- Rinse the plums and soak in clean water for 2 hours.
- Thoroughly dry the plums with a towel and pick out the stems with a toothpick.
- In a large glass jar, place a layer of the plums and cover them with a layer of rock sugar. Repeat the process with the remaining plums and sugar. You can use more than one jar, but make sure the sugar is half the weight of the plums in each jar.
- Pour the liquor into the jar. You want the liquid to be a little bit above the plums.
- Close the lid tightly and store the jar in a cool and dark place for at least 6 months. After 6 months, your umeshu is ready to drink!
Notes
You can steep the plums for years. They say the longer, the better the umeshu!