Plum liquor redux

Earth Day has already come and gone, but I still like to recycle. What can I say? I'm a giver.

So, when I saw green plums in the market this week, I knew I had to repost this recipe. 

For, I'm happy to report, it's now time to make your very own homemade plum liquor. Green meizi are around for only a few precious weeks, so hop to it. 

Trust me, this recipe is worth making. You'll be giggling happily and thanking me in a couple of months, when the weather has finally turned cool and this nectar is as smooth as honey...

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Now in a store near you!

If you are anything like me, you probably like the sweetish and fruity Japanese liquor known as umeshu that’s sold with a couple of little fruits stuck inside the simple green glass bottle. I’m not going to name any brands here, but you probably know which one I’m talking about.

What you probably don’t know is that this is quite easy to make. Plus, you can use a good grade of alcohol (I like Korean soju, a higher octane white liquor that is much stronger than what usually goes into the stuff sold as plum wine) that makes this perfect for cocktails. 

I also prefer my drinks less sweet than what is usually commercially available, and a little DIY makes that possible.

After a couple of days

Another good thing about making your own homemade booze is that you can put lots and lots of fruit in the mix, which gives the flavor a lovelier punch. My plum liquor really tastes like plums – a cause for celebration in my book.

I’ve been making this liquor for years and never get tired of it, not only because it really is quite tasty, but also this gives me a chance to play around with it a whole lot. 

For example, in today’s recipe, you will find perilla leaves (also known as zĭsū 紫蘇 or shiso) adding wonderful depth to the brew. It’s sort of a vegetal note that contrasts well with all that fruitiness. You might have only run across perilla in Japanese dishes like sushi or pickles, but they are delicious and go especially well with stone fruit like these plums.

One thing on the nomenclature before we go much further: the fruit known as méizi 梅子 in Chinese are actually a type of apricot. Sometimes these are referred to as “Japanese apricots,” but they originated in China – just saying. They are almost always used when they are still firm and green for preserves, pickles, or in wines/liquors. 

So beautiful at this point

You will find them in East Asian markets around the beginning of summer, and when that happens, snap them up immediately because their season is a short one.

All you need to do is slash their skins and then soak them overnight in salted water to leach out some of the bitterness. Then, just toss them in a jar with your soju, rock sugar, and optional perilla leaves. After that, simply give them the time to get to know each other – six months or more is ideal, and longer is even better – before breaking out your now dusty but delicious bottle.

Homemade plum liquor

Zìzhì méizijĭu 自製梅子酒

Japan via Taiwan

Makes around 3 quarts (3 liters)

Around 3 pounds (1.5 kgs) green “Japanese” apricots

Cool water, as needed

2 tablespoons sea salt

About 2 pounds (1 kg) yellow rock sugar, or more if you like this relatively sweet

1 bunch perilla, optional

3 (1.75 l) bottles soju, Jinro brand recommended

Korean soju

1. Rinse the apricots well and check them over as you do so. You can trim any that have tiny nicks or bruises, but discard ones that are rotted or have insects roaming around inside. Pluck off the stems as you find them, and then slash the skin of each fruit 4 to 5 times. 

2. Place the prepped fruit in a large work bowl, cover with cool water, add the salt, and stir them around a bit to more or less dissolve the salt. Leave the bowl in a cool area overnight.

3. The next day, rinse the fruit well. Drain them in a colander and then rub the fruit lightly with a clean towel. Place the fruit in a 3 quart (3 l) or larger jar. Add the rock sugar and optional perilla, and then pour the soju over everything. 

4. Cover the jar and set it somewhere convenient on the counter so that you can swish it around every day for about a week – this will help dissolve the sugar and also ensure that the fruits don’t get a chance to mold before they sink to the bottom of the jar. Enjoy this time, since the sugar will start to dissolve in the alcohol and will make the bottom of the jar look kind of magical, while the fruits bob around on top.

Slash the skins

5. When the fruit has sunk to the bottom of the jar, place the covered jar somewhere quiet where it can mature for six or more months. You can drink it any time you like, but it does get better the longer it sits. The liquor is, of course, really good, and the fruits are lovely as little treats, too, but the perilla should be discarded. I either just ladle out the liquor as it is needed or put it up in smaller bottles, but with mouths large enough for the fruits to go in and out easily. And you definitely want to put those plums in the liquor, as they continue to mellow over time and turn into little amber morsels. I have some from about a decade ago, and they are now soft and delectable, and of course the liqueur is as smooth as satin. 

Chinese cocktail redux

I’ve been a hooch maker for as long as I can remember. Something about making my own alcoholic beverages just tickles me for some reason, and I think that I like the process and the magic of it almost as much as the end result. 

In fact, when we moved last year, I ended up with approximately 30 gallons of homemade booze in my new basement. Not that that is a bad thing.

One of the first things I made long ago was peach booze, since I had a big white peach tree that ripened over the span of about two days, and I would always panic at this sudden onslaught of fruit threatening to decay on my kitchen counter. I found that after I had prepped enough for the freezer and jam, there was still enough starting to ferment on its own, so I just let it have its way, and before long I had some pretty tasty stuff to drink.

French prunes & Italian plums

I also am a big fan of elderberry wine, which is delicious, but is tedious to make, since each tiny berry has to be dislodged from the stems, which are also often havens for a variety of insects. If you have an elderberry bush in your neighborhood, the wine worth making if for no other reason than that it is pretty much impossible to find if you don’t do a homebrew.

However, today we are doing something much easier. This is a continuation of last week’s sojourn into making your own plum liqueur, because this is simply so easy and so delicious. 

A friend gave me some of her bumper crop of Italian plums this summer, which I then supplemented with a bunch of fresh French prunes, and these turned out to be really tasty when turned into booze. I used slab sugar instead of rock sugar, and the color is fantastic! I ended up with a lovely amber liquid that looks as good as it tastes.

And since my apple tree dumped a ton of windfall fruit all over the yard, these were snatched up and turned into another type of drink, as were some Asian pears that were sitting around.

Amber deliciousness

You can, therefore, use whatever you like here. Frozen berries work just fine, and pineapple is delectable. The only limit is your imagination…

Chinese-style fruit liqueur chez Huang

Huángjiā shuĭguŏ jĭu  黃家水果酒

Makes around 3.5 quarts (3.5 l)

3 pounds ripe fruit (see headnotes)

1 tablespoon sea salt, optional

Water, as needed

1 pound yellow rock sugar, slab sugar, or piloncillo – use more, if needed

2 (1.75 l) bottles soju or other white liquor or vodka or gin (add another bottle if you prefer a drier brew) 

Optional: a few star anise, dried licorice slices, a vanilla pod sliced open, some dried wolfberries (gouqi or goji berries), a few slices of fresh ginger, or what have you

Slash the skins of stone fruit

1. Rinse the fruit carefully and toss out any that are moldy or squishy or damaged. Small imperfections are all right as long as you discard those bits. If you are using whole fruit, like stone fruits or grapes, remove the stems and then slash the fruit skin all around so that the juices can escape; soak these in cool water plus the salt for a couple of hours to get rid of any bitterness in the skins (see the directions in last week's recipe). If you are using berries, just wash them carefully and drain. Other fruits (like mangoes and pineapples) should just have their inedible skins removed, and be sure to carve out the cores of apples and pears, as well as pits of things like mangoes.

2. Place the fruit in a 1 gallon (4 l) jar, add the sugar and alcohol, as well as any spice or herb you’d like, and then keep the jar lightly covered so that gases can escape. Stir this mixture every day for about a week, then secure the lid and let it age for a couple of months or, ideally, for much longer. Strain out the liqueur and bottle it, if you like.

Some cocktail ideas:

1. Any of these liqueurs are excellent served chilled or over ice, preferably crushed. Add a paper umbrella, if you want to get fancy.

2. Seltzer, tonic water, or sparkling water can be added for lighter cocktails: use half liqueur and half water, and serve over ice.

3. A slightly tart edge can be supplied via a wedge of lime or lemon.

4. Serve the fruit liqueur the fits the season. For example, an apple cocktail would be great in autumn, while a mango one tastes of summer.

5. Chunks of fresh fruit can be added to the drink, like a couple of fresh strawberries with a berry cocktail or a slice of pineapple perched on the rim of a pineapple or mango drink.

Cocktails, anyone?

If you are anything like me, you probably like the sweetish and fruity Japanese liquor known as umeshu that’s sold with a couple of little fruits stuck inside the simple green glass bottle. I’m not going to name any brands here, but you probably know which one I’m talking about.

What you probably don’t know is that this is quite easy to make. Plus, you can use a good grade of alcohol (I like Korean soju, a higher octane white liquor that is much stronger than what usually goes into the stuff sold as plum wine) that makes this perfect for cocktails. 

I also prefer my drinks less sweet than what is usually commercially available, so a little DIY makes that possible.

Another good thing about making your own homemade booze is that you can put lots and lots of fruit in the mix, which gives the flavor a lovelier punch. My plum liquor really tastes like plums – a cause for celebration in my book.

I’ve been making this liquor for years and never get tired of it, not only because it really is quite tasty, but also this gives me a chance to play around with it a whole lot. 

For example, in today’s recipe, you will find perilla leaves (also known as zĭsū 紫蘇 or shiso) adding wonderful depth to the brew. It’s sort of a vegetal note that contrasts well with all that fruitiness. You might have only run across perilla in Japanese dishes like sushi or pickles, but they are delicious and go especially well with stone fruit like these plums.

One thing on the nomenclature before we go much further: the fruit known as méizi 梅子 in Chinese are actually a type of apricot. Sometimes these are referred to as “Japanese apricots,” but they originated in China – just saying. They are almost always used when they are still firm and green for preserves, pickles, or in wines/liquors. 

So beautiful at this point

You will find them in East Asian markets around the beginning of summer, and when that happens, snap them up immediately because their season is a short one.

All you need to do is slash their skins and then soak them overnight in salted water to leach out some of the bitterness. Then, just toss them in a jar with your soju, rock sugar, and optional perilla leaves. After that, simply give them the time to get to know each other – six months or more is ideal, and longer is even better – before breaking out your now dusty but delicious bottle.

If you don’t have Asian apricots in your area, stay tuned for next week, where I’ll show you how to use a different – but just as delicious – fruit to make an aromatic brew that will knock your socks off, as well as a couple ideas for Chinese-inspired cocktails.

Is it 4:00 yet somewhere in the world?

Homemade plum liquor

Korean soju

Zìzhì méizijĭu 自製梅子酒

Japan via Taiwan

Makes around 3 quarts (3 liters)

Around 3 pounds (1.5 kgs) green “Japanese” apricots

Cool water, as needed

2 tablespoons sea salt

About 2 pounds (1 kg) yellow rock sugar, or more if you like this relatively sweet

1 bunch perilla, optional

3 (1.75 l) bottles soju, Jinro brand recommended

1. Rinse the apricots well and check them over as you do so. You can trim any that have tiny nicks or bruises, but discard ones that are rotted or have insects roaming around inside. Pluck off the stems as you find them, and then slash the skin of each fruit 4 to 5 times. 

2. Place the prepped fruit in a large work bowl, cover with cool water, add the salt, and stir them around a bit to more or less dissolve the salt. Leave the bowl in a cool area overnight.

3. The next day, rinse the fruit well. Drain them in a colander and then rub the fruit lightly with a clean towel. Place the fruit in a 3 quart (3 l) or larger jar. Add the rock sugar and optional perilla, and then pour the soju over everything. 

Slash the skins

4. Cover the jar and set it somewhere convenient on the counter so that you can swish it around every day for about a week – this will help dissolve the sugar and also ensure that the fruits don’t get a chance to mold before they sink to the bottom of the jar. Enjoy this time, since the sugar will start to dissolve in the alcohol and will make the bottom of the jar look kind of magical, while the fruits bob around on top.

5. When the fruit has sunk to the bottom of the jar, place the covered jar somewhere quiet where it can mature for 6 or more months. You can drink it any time you like, but it does get better the longer it sits. The liquor is, of course, really good, and the fruits are lovely as little treats, too, but the perilla should be discarded. I either just ladle out the liquor as it is needed or put it up in smaller bottles, but with mouths large enough for the fruits to go in and out easily. And you definitely want to put those plums in the liquor, as they continue to mellow over time and turn into little amber morsels. I have some from about a decade ago, and they are now soft and delectable, and of course the liqueur is as smooth as satin.