Spiced Ume SyrupCinnamon, Cardamom and Clove for a Grown-Up Flavor

A variation on ume syrup, with spices.

It has a crisp, spicy, grown-up flavor.

Ingredients and tools

We made a small batch. The jar is Muji’s 500 ml soda glass sealed jar.

You can also add star anise, ginger or whole black peppercorns if you like.

• 200 g (7 oz) ume
• 100 g (3½ oz) rock sugar
• 100 g (3½ oz) kibi sugar (Japanese raw cane sugar; light brown sugar works too)
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 2 cardamom pods
• 2 cloves
• A colander
• A storage jar
• A bamboo skewer
• Paper towels

Fresh ume are hard to find outside Japan. See finding ume outside Japan on the overview page.

When to make	June
Time	About 3 weeks
Storage	Cool, dark place. Refrigerate after opening

How to make it

Wash the ume

Put the ume in a bowl and gently wash off dust and dirt in plenty of water. Drain and put them in a colander or on a tray.

Dry the ume

Carefully wipe each ume dry with a paper towel.

Remove the stem ends

Pick out the little stem ends with a bamboo skewer. Be gentle so the tip of the skewer doesn’t damage the fruit.

If you have time, let them air-dry further in the shade. (If you wiped them thoroughly, you can skip this.)

Sterilize the jar

Sterilize the jar in boiling water. (Remove rubber seals and metal clips first.) Be careful not to burn yourself.

Put the jar in a large pot with enough water to cover it and heat. When it boils, keep it at a gentle boil for 10 minutes.

Stand the jar upside down on a clean cloth and let it dry completely.

Fill the jar

Layer the ume, rock sugar and cane sugar in the jar, alternating in 2–3 layers. Don’t add the spices yet; add them once the syrup has risen to about a third of the jar.

Add the spices

After one week. The sugar has dissolved and the syrup has reached about a third of the jar, so add the spices.

Storage

Keep it in a cool, dark place out of the sun. Shake the jar 2–3 times a day to mix everything.

Cane sugar is slow to dissolve; if it clumps at the bottom of the jar, shake the jar in small, quick movements to dissolve it.

When all the sugar has dissolved, after about three weeks, the spiced ume syrup is done. Once opened, keep it in the fridge to prevent mold.