Special) Umeshu Inspired Concoctions

First of all, Happy New Year!

When I lived in Japan, I delighted in making umeshu (梅酒), also known as "plum wine." The name in English is a bit of a misnomer since the process is less of a fermentation process and more of an infusion process. Essentially, you leave fruit alone to add fun flavors to a basic alcohol.

I have not been able to find ume, or Japanese plums, in America to continue my little tradition, so in lieu of actual ume, I have opted to experiment. Thus, I give you the first stage in some umeshu-inspired concoctions.

The Ingredients with excess stuff

 I did a lot of brainstorming and settled on these mixtures:

1) Rum and Coconut

2) Vodka and Lemon Ginger

3) Vodka and Kiwi

4) Vodka and Cranberries

5) Brandy and Cranberries|

1) Rum and Coconut

Extracting Coconut Water

Of these concoctions, this one is the most complicated since I chose to use fresh coconut. I have however often bought fresh coconut over the years and have already learned a few tricks to expedite the process.

First, when choosing a coconut, it is important for it to make sloshing sounds. Otherwise it has dried out. Usually that means it has been sitting around for far too long or that it has a hole in it. Neither are desirable.

When you get it home, you puncture two of the three "eyes" on the fruit. One of them will always be too hard to pierce with normal kitchen equipment. I use a metal skewer, but a clean screwdriver or thick knife will work. Just don't cut yourself.

Then you flip it upside down and drain out the coconut water. The presence of two holes in the coconut should make this take little time, but you can shake it up and down to speed up the dripping. I had no plans to use the coconut water in the concoction so I set it aside to enjoy later. Fresh coconut water tastes great.

Bag and Smash

The technical method I use for opening the coconut is "bag and smash." I cover the now drained nut with at least four plastic grocery bags. Then I step outside and slam it repeatedly on the ground. Be sure to swing holding on to the bag handles. Use the arc of the swing, gravity, and the hard pavement to do the smashing for you. Also, grinning insanely, while satisfying, is not recommended.

The end result is a fully opened coconut in less than five minutes. See?

Opened Coconu

It's hard to see in the picture, but my first coconut had mold inside it. You can tell by the presence of a strong sharp smell and patches of fuzzy material between the hard outer shell and the coconut meat. At this point, I was so glad that I had set aside the coconut water to drink later. The only thing to do with a bad coconut is take it back and exchange it for another. So, that is what I did.

Here's the result when everything goes well with a good coconut.

Good coconut meat

Taking the good coconut meat, I rinsed it in water. Then I cut a section of it into nice little pieces. The rest I placed in the refrigerator to enjoy later.

Cute little slices

After filling up about a third of the jar, I set is aside. The plan though is to use Cut Spike Rum in this one for a local Omaha touch.

Coconut and Rum

2) Vodka and Lemon Ginger

Lemon slices (Above), Ginger slices (Below)

In Japan, a common hot herbal remedy is a lemon ginger drink sweetened with honey. I decided to it give it a unique spin by adding vodka, local Cut Spike Vodka.

I took the lemon, washed it, and dried it thoroughly. It is very important that excess water is not added to the mix. I did the same to the ginger. With the lemon, I decided the end product could be improved by the presence of the peel, but I removed the outer edges from the ginger before slicing it.

Then I alternated the two into layers to fill about a healthy third of the jar.

Alternating slices

3) Vodka and Kiwi

Squarish Kiwi Bits

The process for this one is simple. The only thing that might be unexpected is that I intentionally selected hard, unripe kiwis. Harder fruits haven't fully ripened yet, but they'll have plenty of time to do that after I've stored the concoction away.

Otherwise, I simply rinsed, peeled, and sliced the kiwis. Then I place cubes into a jar until it about a third full.

This concoction is the one that poses the highest risk. Kiwis have a lot of excess water, and that can end up forming mold. Here's hoping that it works out.


4) Vodka and Cranberries and 5) Brandy and Cranberries

Sorting Cranberries

 I took the cranberries and washed them thoroughly. You want the fruits as clean and as dry as you can get them before adding them to the mix. While drying them, I sorted them into two piles. One got the harder fruits, and the other one was the softer fruits.

I gave the softer, squishier pile to my brother to make cranberry sauce. I feared that the excess water in them, might cause the concoction to go bad, but I didn't want them to go to waste either.

The pile of harder fruits was used to fill the two jars a third full. The theory is that since one uses hard unripened plums in making umeshu, it is probably better to use harder fruits in general.

1/3 full of cranberries

Finally) I took the five jars and added a single layer of sugar cubes to each one. The logic is that the sugar will help the flavors mellow out over time, but the fear is that you'll add too much. Sugar can always be added later to a drink so I went light for now.

Sugar cube layers

I had wanted to add honey to the ginger lemon concoction, but I have friends and relatives who are allergic to honey so I refrained from using it.

After adding a layer of sugar cubes, I poured in the Rum, Vodka, or Brandy as appropriate. 

After pouring in the liquids

Much to my surprise, I had made an amusing discovery; cranberries float. That could be good or bad for the process. I will know eventually.

Now, with these five concoctions that was the easy part. The hard part is to follow. It is called waiting. I have placed these five jars into a cool, dark place where the evil sunlight can't get at it. UV light will cause an unnecessary breakdown of the alcohol and increase the potential for nasty molds. After about three months, I will check on their progress. If there is any mold, I will have to pitch the concoction. Otherwise I will wait another three months, so that they will have had about six months to properly infuse.

Tagged, sealed, and soon to be stored.

See you in six months!