It’s not a plum. It’s not an apricot. It’s an ume!
In central Japan, the earth sings ume. You might have heard about this fruit before. People mistakenly call it the Japanese plum, even though it’s more closely related to an apricot. However, ume is neither plum nor an apricot. It's a unique fruit! An ume is an ume!
(Image 1: Ume fruit ready to harvest).
These electric green to ruby red stone fruits are too sour and astringent to eat raw. So instead, people salt and pickle them into the famous umeboshi, preserve them in vinegar, infuse them into liquor, or boil their juice down into the highly medicinal concentrate known as Bainiku Ekisu.
(Image 2: Ume fruit with shiso leaves drying in the sun).
(Image 3: Ume fruit pickled into umeboshi)
I dedicate this two-part blog series to the ume fruit. I was captivated by its history, culinary applications, and medicinal value while traveling through Japan in 2019.
Part I provides a brief overview of ume—some basic botany, facts on where it originated, its importance in Japanese food and beverage culture, and information about its medicinal qualities. Part II recounts my experience visiting the two towns—Minabe and Tanabe—where smallholder farmers collectively grow more than 50% of Japan’s total ume harvest.
The botany of ume (Prunus mume)
Ume (Prunus mume) is a small deciduous tree that grows to an average height of 5-10 meters. The tree has dark purplish brownish bark and fragrant five-petal flowers that bloom in diverse colors—white, pale yellow, pastel pink, magenta, and crimson—depending on the cultivar [1,2]. The tree is cherished in many cultures because it's an early bloomer. Small flowers set forth by January and February. By mid to late summer, those flowers give way to small juicy stone fruits.
(Image 4: Ume blossoming amidst the snow).
Ume is a member of the rose family (Rosaceae), which contains over 100 genera and up to 3,100 species. Members of this family are distributed all over the world and include economically important and delicious fruits (e.g., apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots, quinces, cherries, almonds, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries), and gorgeous ornamentals (e.g., roses, cherry blossom trees, meadowsweet [3].
Ume originates in China
Ume, commonly known as Mei in China, was domesticated over 3,000 years ago for both its ornamental flowers and edible fruit. The tree’s center of origin and diversity is in the Hengduan Mountains, one of Earth’s 36 biodiversity hotspots [4]. This area extends from southeast Tibet through western Sichuan and into central and northern Yunnan. The area is characterized by extreme topographic relief. The elevation changes rapidly between river valleys and ridge tops to create a diversity of habitats. This unique geography supports the most botanically rich temperate forest in the world [5].
Ume has played a significant and enduring role in Chinese culture. People perceive the plant's propensity to blossom vibrantly amidst the snow as an example of perseverance in the face of adversity. For this reason, it's among one of the country's most beloved flowering plants, appearing in poetry and art throughout the centuries. Some have even declared it China's unofficial national flower [6].
(Image 5: Ume (plum) blossoms by Jin Nong 1757, Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art).
Many people also revere the fruits for their powerful medicinal properties. The oldest medical document in China, the Shennong Ben Cao Jing, written roughly 2000 years ago, references ume. It documents that the fruit is good for reducing fever and alleviating pain. Known as Wu Mei in Traditional Chinese Medicine, the fruit is prepared with other herbs to treat various disorders ranging from lung infections to abdominal pain, dysentery, and nausea [7].
Ume in Japanese food and beverage culture
Historians believe that ume first made its way to Japan via humans and livestock sometime between 1200 and 1800 years ago. Over the centuries that followed, the tree grew deep roots within Japanese culture.
People started pickling the fruit into umeboshi beginning in the Heian period (AD 794-1185). The story goes that an emperor healed himself from a plague by drinking tea brewed with umeboshi and kombu kelp. Thus, for many centuries the fruit held elite prestige as a medicine for the nobles. Eventually, the custom of eating umeboshi spread to the samurai class.
During the Sengoku Period (AD 1467-1603), a time of social upheaval and civil wars, samurai would consume umeboshi on the battlefield to counter fatigue and dehydration. Historians recount that every samurai would set out to fight with an umeboshi hanging from his belt.
In the Edo Period (AD 1603-1868), ume farming became popular, and the surplus meant that the masses could finally enjoy it. This was fortunate timing because, in the 1800s, a series of cholera outbreaks ravaged Japan. Umeboshi and the ume fruit concentrate (Bainiku Ekisu) played essential roles in these epidemics. Many years later, scientists discovered that the fruit's high citric acid content is a potent sterilizing force against the menacing bacterium [8].
Umeboshi is indispensable to Japanese food culture, and people eat it at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It stars in the patriotic bento box, Hinomaru bentō, where one umeboshi atop white rice resembles the Japanese flag [9].
The fruit also makes its way into alcoholic beverages. People commonly infuse the fruits in sake or shochu to make Umeshu, a delicious sweet-sour liquor. You can enjoy it neat, on the rocks, with seltzer, or in cocktails as a mixer.
(Image 6: Umeshu with soda water).
An ume a day keeps the doctor away
Modern science has reinforced what people have already known for thousands of years — ume is extremely good for you.
In 2016, a researcher systematically reviewed two decades of literature on the health benefits of ume. They found numerous quality studies that confirm ume has more than 20 benefits, including anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-microbial, and anti-viral effects [10].
Ume contains phenolic acids, which scientists believe can help lower the risk of some chronic diseases. Ume also has the highest concentration of citric acid in any fruit. Even a tiny ume contains anything from two to three times as much citric acid as a lemon. Citric acid gives umeboshi its mouth-watering sourness. It also helps boost the immune system and improve circulation, reducing the chances of catching a cold. In addition, researchers have shown that citric acid can limit the activity of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which is a leading cause of gastroenteritis, stomach ulcers, and stomach cancers [11].
Additionally, citric acid helps the body break down and flush out lactic acid, which is one of the causes of physical fatigue. Some believe this could be the reason behind why the samurai ate umeboshi on the battlefield.
Ume's flavor profile and well-researched medicinal qualities make this fruit to add to your diet.
References:
1. Zhang, Q., Zhang, H., Sun, L. et al. 2018. The genetic architecture of floral traits in the woody plant Prunus mume. Nat Commun 9, 1702.
2. Gao Z., Shi T. 2019. Botanical Description of Prunus mume. In: Gao Z. (eds) The Prunus mume Genome. Compendium of Plant Genomes. Springer, Cham.
3.Hummer K.E., Janick J. 2009. Rosaceae: Taxonomy, Economic Importance, Genomics. In: Folta K.M., Gardiner S.E. (eds) Genetics and Genomics of Rosaceae. Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models, vol 6. Springer, New York, NY.
4. Hrdina, A., & Romportl, D. (2017). Evaluating Global Biodiversity Hotspots – Very Rich and Even More Endangered. Journal of landscape ecology, 10, 108-115.
6. Li, Y., and Q. Liu. 2011. Prunus mume: History and culture in China. Chronica Horticulturae 51(3): 28–35.
7.Ibid.
8. Kim, Jeong-Ho, et al. 2020. Anti-fatigue effect of Prunus mume vinegar in high-intensity exercised rats. Nutrients 12.5: 1205.
11. Maekita T, et al. 2015. Japanese apricot improves symptoms of gastrointestinal dysmotility associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease. World J Gastroenterol. 21(26):8170-7.