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Maesil Cheong for Beginnners (Korean green plum syrup)
5 from 12 votes

Maesil Cheong for Beginnners (Korean green plum syrup)

Maesil Cheong is a sweet Korean syrup made by layering pricked green plums with sugar in a sterilized jar, allowing the mixture to ferment and release juice over time. The syrup from maesil or Japanese ume combines tartness and sweetness, commonly used in drinks, stews, or as a sugar substitute.

Prep Time
45 mins
Cook Time
90 d
Course: Drinks, Snacks
Cuisine: Japanese, Korean

Ingredients

  • 1 kg green plums You can also use ume from the Japanese store- it's the same fruit. Discard any moldy or spoilt plums, but bruised ones can be used, maesil
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda To clean the plums
  • 1 quart water Plus extra for washing the fruit after soaking
  • 1 kg sugar I used xylitol, but you can substitute with honey, granulated sugar or even rock sugar. (The Japanese like to use rock sugar when making Japanese plum tea syrup.)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Clean the plumsSoak the maesil in a baking soda and water solution for 15 minutes. You need a 1% solution (so 2 teaspoons of baking soda for 1 quart- 946 ml- of water.) Rinse and dry the maesil very well at the end of the 15 minutes.
  2. Sterilise the jar Whilst the plums are soaking, sterilise your heat-proof glass jar. First add some warm water to the jar to prepare it for the boiling water then pour the warm water out. Next, with the jar in the sink, carefully pour the boiling water into the jar then pour it out. You may need oven gloves for this as the jar will be very hot to the touch. Dry the jar thoroughly after sterilsing.
  3. Layer the sugar and plumsPrick 2-3 holes in each maesil, then add ⅓ of the sugar and ⅓ of the maesil into the jar, making sure the sugar and maesil are layered (i.e. 1 layer of sugar followed by 1 layer of maesil etc) Repeat twice with the remaining ⅔ of maesil and sugar. You should end with a layer of sugar.
  4. LeaveSeal and label the jar with today's date then store it in a dark and cool place. (I used the cupboard under my sink.)
  5. After 7 days, use a sterilised wooden stir to mix things up, ensuring that the sugar has all dissolved. Re-seal and place back in its dark hide-out. From now till day 90, open the jar every now and then to release any gas build up. (Refer to the section above the recipe card for signs that your maesil ferment is going well.)
  6. After 3 months (or up to 3 years if you are patient!), strain and store the syrup in a sterilised jar in the fridge. Use the leftover maesil for wine, vinegar or pickles (There's a paragraph above with more information about this- I will also be doing a separate post once my maesil syrup has fermented.)
  7. To reward yourself for your long wait, use your homemade Korean plum syrup extract to make yourself a nice cuppa plum tea!

Notes

  • Clean plums by soaking in a baking soda solution to remove residues before rinsing well.
  • Sterilize the jar thoroughly to avoid unwanted fermentation risks.
  • Layer plums and sugar alternately after pricking the plums to help syrup extraction.
  • Use the syrup in drinks like Korean plum tea, as a sugar substitute in stews, or to enhance side dishes.