Umeboshi

Often called pickled plums—though they are actually closer to apricots—these small, deeply wrinkled, bright red fruits deliver a shockingly intense, face-scrunching blast of extreme sourness and heavy saltiness.

How It's Made

Highly acidic ume fruits are packed in kegs with massive amounts of sea salt, drawing out their juices through a chemical process called osmosis. They are pickled alongside purple shiso leaves, which dye them their famous bright red color. Finally, the fruits are dried in the sun for several days to shrink into their wrinkled shape and concentrate their extreme flavors.

The Story

The tradition of pickling ume fruits originated in China over two thousand years ago, where they were used strictly as medicine. When the recipe made its way to Japan, umeboshi evolved into the ultimate military ration. During the Sengoku period, legendary samurai warriors carried the pickled fruits onto the battlefield. Because the extreme salt and acid preserved the fruit perfectly without spoiling, a samurai could pop one into his mouth to combat dry mouth and get an instant, electrifying burst of stamina when he needed it most.