PICKED PLUM

A traditional Japanese preserved food made with salted plums and shiso (beefsteak leaves) known for its bright red/purple color and intensely salty and sour taste. Umeboshi is often used as a filling of onigiri or an accompaniment for bento (boxed lunch). High in citric acid, it is known to help recovery from fatigue, increase appetite, and facilitate digestion and is thus treasured as a health-promoting food as well. We’d better watch out though not to swallow the seed inside umeboshi. I remember, during a summer vacation many years ago, I planted an umeboshi seed in grandma’s yard. Did it sprout? I have no way of finding out now. It is a fond memory of a distant past.