Rainy Season is Pickling Season

In early summer, Japan welcomes the rainy season, the so-called tsuyu or baiyu, which literally means “plum rain,” because it coincides with the season of plums ripening.

Umeboshi

Umeboshi, “the Japanese salt plum,” is a very popular sort of pickles (tsukemono). It is a pickled plum fruit that comes from the ume tree. It has a sour and salty but fruity taste.

Umeboshi have been consumed in Japan for centuries and even popular with the younger generation.

An important part of the umeboshi pickling process is to let them dry in the sun for three days around July, it is called the doyouboshi.

In the English expression, eating umeboshi in Japan is equivalent to “eating an apple a day.” It is believed to be good for digestion, prevention of nausea and systemic toxicity including hangovers. To add more, umeboshi is claimed to combat fatigue and protect our body against aging.

The best umeboshi are those that have matured for three to five years because the taste of salt softens. Traditional umeboshi have no artificial preservatives since the salt is acting as a natural preservative.

There are two basic types of umeboshi: the white one and the red one. The red ones differ in the way that they are prepared with shiso. Shiso comes from a plant and is an important culinary product in Japan. Red umeboshi are very popular in western Japan whereas people in the Kanto area prefer white umeboshi.

Actually, the salt is removed at the end of the pickling process so the taste partially fades away. This is why some artificial additives are required to restore and enhance the flavor and increase shelf life. The less salty the umeboshi is, the more preservatives (Vitamin B1) are required.

Ways on how to eat umeboshi:

1. Onigiri – the traditional Japanese rice ball. These rice balls can be eaten any time and have various taste, but the rice ball with an umeboshi in the middle is a classic.
2. Bento – umeboshi are often used in bento, the traditional Japanese lunch box.
3. Umeboshi with Katsuoboshi – the katsuoboshi is made of shave dried bonito, which went through a long and complex process of smoking – drying – fermentation.
4. Shochu – When drinking shochu with hot water, it is common to add an umeboshi in the glass. It is very good but it is also suppose to avoid getting hangover.
5. Teatime – Sweet umeboshi are often used as an accompaniment for tea or coffee.
6. Furikake – It is a dried seasoning to sprinkle over rice. There are numerous sort of furikake in Japan but the umeboshi flavored ones are very popular.

Tsukemono: Rakkyo

Another vegetable that is popular for pickling is rakkyo. It is a type of Japanese shallot, which is usually uncooked and pickled in light vinegar. Most often used as a garnish with grilled fish and meat. Rakkyo is the Japanese name of Allium chinense, or garlic chive. It is available in all parts of Japan at the end of May, and you can find huge bags of it right next to the green plums sold for umeshu-making. You can get the pickling jar and the pickling vinegar in the same display.

Medicinal use of Rakkyo

The whole plant is astringent, carminative and expectorant. It is used in the treatment of stuffiness sensation and pain in the chest, angina pectoris, pleurisy, bronchitis, diarrhea and tenesmus in cases of dysentery.