Last week’s post “oh-my-gosh-i” introduced the amazing Umeboshi plum with it’s myriad of healing benefits. This weeks post has more: it’s uses, where to buy and recipes.

Umeboshi are an incredible super food, useful as a home remedy to alkalise our blood or an overly acidic blood or condition, these small red coloured plums are pickled with sea salt and shiso leaves and have an intense sour and salty taste.

Find them at health food stores; whole plums, puree or umeboshi vinegar, all have which have different uses. The whole plums are wonderful for cooking with grains and useful as medicine for nausea, digestive disturbance, heart burn, hangover and fast healing of cold sores and mouth ulcers.

Cooking with Umeboshi:

Add to any grain (to alkalising and yang): rinse the grains, place in cooking pot with required water, add 1 whole plum and cook as required, pref using absorption method.

Place a piece of umeboshi plum inside a plain brown rice ball, wrap with a sheet of dry toasted nori and serve with a bowl of miso soup for a very healthy meal

Fine chop a umeboshi plum and add to brown rice ball mixture before forming and baking

Add to your sushi rolls, using a smear of paste or finely chopped plum flesh

Add to any grain porridge such as brown rice or whole oat porridge

Rub an umeboshi plum over freshly cooked cobs of corn for delicious healthy alternative to high fat butter – heightens the beautiful natural sweetness!

Sauces and Dressings:

Spiral Ume sauce: stunning with steamed seasonal salad, vegetables, fish or chicken

mix 2 teaspoons ume boshi puree with 1/4 cup filtered water until smooth. add 2 teaspoons Mirin sauce & 1 teaspoon brown rice vinegar. stir in 1 teaspoon of (both)finely chopped shallot & parsley

sesame umeboshi tahini: mix 4 tablespoons tahini sauce with 1/4 cup umeboshi vinegar and 1/3 cup spring water – mix until creamy, add more water if runnier consistency required. Use with red cabbage, chinese cabbage, grated diakon and carrot salad.

Teas and Medicine Drinks:

ume sho ban tea (to combat digestive disturbances, fatigue, nausea, hang over) fine chop a piece of ume plum in a tea cup, add few drops of fresh ginger juice, 2 drops of shoyu sauce, top up with fresh brewed Bancha Tea.

Fatigue Tea: soak a whole plum in a mug of Bancha Tea, drink after 5 minutes

to heal mouth ulcers or cold sores: place a piece of ume plum over the effected site, allow to stay in situ for minimum 30 minutes. Apply this 2/3 times per day.

As the year draws to a close, remember the wisdom and teachings, for your benefit and those you care about.

Remember the pure light which is the essence of who you are.

With love

Gwynne