![\"172\"](\"http:\/\/www.hyogoajet.net\/hyogotimes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/172.jpg\")
<\/a>1kg<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>of fresh<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>u<\/b>nripened<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>u<\/b>me (<\/b>a<\/b>o-<\/b>u<\/b>me<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>\u00e9\u009d\u2019\u00e6\u00a2\u2026<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/p>\nI went for the slightly larger variety of what was on offer at my supermarket as apparently the smaller ones tend\u00c2\u00a0to be\u00c2\u00a0on the sour side of things.<\/p>\n
1kg rock sugar<\/b><\/p>\n
You can use brown rock sugar if that floats your boat.<\/p>\n
1.8 Litres of White Liquor (<\/strong>\u00e7\u201e\u00bc\u00e9\u2026\u017d<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/p>\n This stuff\u00c2\u00a0is sold\u00c2\u00a0in huge milk carton type containers and is\u00c2\u00a070 proof\u00c2\u00a0liquor that resembles\u00c2\u00a0shochuu. Some people choose to omit this ingredient and use brandy instead as it gives the\u00c2\u00a0umeshu\u00c2\u00a0a sweeter flavour. Personally I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not a huge fan of brandy to begin with and since your white liquor is only going to set you back around 1200-1300\u00e5\u2020\u2020 for\u00c2\u00a0the whole\u00c2\u00a0carton, not using it is sure to bump up the cost of your brew.<\/p>\n If, like me, you happen to find yourself living in Japan, procuring such a jar will be of little trouble as they sell specially made\u00c2\u00a0umeshu\u00c2\u00a0double sealed glass jars in the supermarkets with the other ingredients. If not, well you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not out of luck. Basically, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re looking for a large thick glass jar that\u00c2\u00a0can be\u00c2\u00a0sealed tightly as its contents may sit in there for years!<\/p>\n Toothpicks (Tsumayouji\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>\u00e7\u02c6\u00aa\u00e6\u00a5\u0160\u00e6\u017e\u009d<\/b>)<\/b><\/p>\n Or preferably bamboo skewers, these\u00c2\u00a0are used\u00c2\u00a0to remove any remaining stems from your ume to make them 100% clean and poke holes in them before you subject them to a year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s worth of\u00c2\u00a0deliciousification.<\/p>\n A friend of mine, a 3rd<\/sup>\u00c2\u00a0year JET who\u00c2\u00a0has been making\u00c2\u00a0umeshu\u00c2\u00a0since he arrived, strongly recommended a variation to the traditional recipe which he claims\u00c2\u00a0to be\u00c2\u00a0the most delicious beverage he has ever tasted. So\u00c2\u00a0rather than\u00c2\u00a0going down the straight and narrow I took his advice and my chances and decided to make a cherry brandy\u00c2\u00a0umeshu.<\/p>\n To take it up a level you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to need \u00e2\u20ac\u201c<\/p>\n 200 grams of fresh cherries<\/b><\/p>\n 100-200mls\u00c2\u00a0of Brandy (add as much as you like depending on how much you like brandy)<\/b><\/p>\n So now I presume you have obtained all the components for your brew \u00e2\u20ac\u201c good job, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re awesome! Now\u00c2\u00a0onto\u00c2\u00a0how exactly you go about turning these unappetizing ingredients into the nectar of the gods!<\/p>\n 1. Clean the glass jar thoroughly<\/b>, if you can get your hands on the\u00c2\u00a0heatproof\u00c2\u00a0variety, boiling water will do the trick. Make sure it is 100% dry before you add any ingredients.<\/p>\n 2.Wash and de-stem your ume<\/b>, ensuring that they are well washed and dry before you put them into the jar. As even a small amount of residual water can cause the fruit to go mouldy under the liquor, I recommend patting them down with a paper towel then\u00c2\u00a0letting them air dry for\u00c2\u00a0a couple hours<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0before moving to the next step. You will also want to spot check\u00c2\u00a0each and every\u00c2\u00a0ume for blemishes, removing any that have bruises or broken skin. 4. Pour in the 1.8 litre carton of white liquor<\/b>, if you are comfortable with the wrist tilting action\u00c2\u00a0frequently\u00c2\u00a0used to add milk to a cup of coffee then I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure you will have this step down.<\/p>\n 5. Adding in<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>additional<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>flavours to personalize your brew.<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0So here is the extra step that I did but is completely up to you, basically\u00c2\u00a0there is\u00c2\u00a0a plethora of extra\u00c2\u00a0ingredients\u00c2\u00a0you can add to your\u00c2\u00a0umeshu. I simply just cleaned\u00c2\u00a0200 grams\u00c2\u00a0of cherries in the same fashion as the ume and added them along with about\u00c2\u00a0200ml\u00c2\u00a0of a nice brandy. If cherries and brandy aren’t your thing a couple of the other variations I’ve heard of include garlic, strawberries or grapes in place of the cherries and\u00c2\u00a0alongside\u00c2\u00a0this you could also use any kind of spirit\u00c2\u00a0in place of the brandy. From what I gather gin or vodka will give you a harsher end product where sweet brandy\/bourbon\/whisky will make it even more so sweet and delicious (I was considering Canadian club or\u00c2\u00a0Drambuie\u00c2\u00a0before I settled on Brandy).<\/p>\n<\/a>A large glass jar (preferably<\/b>\u00c2\u00a0<\/b>4-5l<\/b>) with a double seal<\/b><\/p>\n
\n<\/a>3. Layer you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re ume and rock sugar in the jar<\/b>, if you like you can also prick small holes in the ume with a toothpick before you send them to their boozy graves (2 or 3 per ume). This step is not essential but will help the liquor permeate the ume and speed up the process. Also\u00c2\u00a0the whole\u00c2\u00a0layering process is pretty much just for aesthetics and completely up to you, as after 24 hours the bulk of your sugar is going to have dissolved and the ume will have floated to the top anyway. I chose to because 1, it is fun and 2, it looks cool =P<\/p>\n