Ume Miso

1. Gather all the ingredients. Rinse the jar thoroughly with soap and hot water and wipe with a clean towel. While the jar is still hot, pour boiling water inside and shake to clean it, then drain. Air dry until completely dry. Dampen a clean towel with shochu or vodka that‘s at least 35% ABV (alcohol by volume) or 70 proof. Then, wipe the inside of the jar with it.
2. Wash 7 oz green ume plums and immediately dry them thoroughly.
3. Remove the stem ends from the plums with a bamboo skewer or toothpick. Discard any plums with brown or blemished spots.
4. Now, layer the ingredients into the clean jar. First, add a bit of the 7 oz miso to cover the bottom of the jar. Then, add a few of the ume plums in a single layer.
5. Next, add some of the ½ cup sugar to cover the plums, followed by another layer of miso. Repeat the layers of ume plums, sugar, and miso until you‘ve used all the plums and sugar. Tip: the last layer of plums should be completely covered with miso/sugar.
6. Seal and write the date on the jar. Store it in a cool, dark place (but not in the refrigerator) to ferment for one month. Once in a while, shake and rotate the jar to make sure the plums are covered with the miso/sugar mixture so the plums won‘t go bad.

To Store

1. Option 1: After one month, you can mix it with a clean spoon and store it in the refrigerator for up to a year. The flavor is mature at 2–3 months after storing it in the refrigerator, but you can start using it as soon as you finish fermenting it for a month. You can eat the ume itself, or remove the seed and cut up the flesh to use in recipes like Ume Miso Chicken or Ume Miso Dressing. Option 2: After one month, you can remove the seeds from all the ume plums, chop up the ume flesh into small pieces, put them back into the ume miso, and boil the mixture on low heat for several minutes (to kill any bacteria) before storing it in a new clean jar.