Every Chinese kid has eaten these preserved fruit treats when they're little, I think, and puckered up with glee at the deliciously sweet, salty and sour taste. These Chinese Huamei Preserved Plums 話梅 or 酸梅, and also known as Li Hing Mui 旅行梅, are usually found in a dried state but, since we made these fruit candies at home, we have left them swimming in their delectable syrup . Same taste, with delicious syrup to boot!
This particular food adventure began at the sightings of mounds of these little green fruits at the wet markets. What could these green lovelies be? After asking the fruit vendors, we discovered that these were green plums 青竹梅, seasonally available starting in late March. These are literally plums that are not ripe yet and thus still very sour. These are never used for eating, but instead used to make preserved plums and plum wine!
Pssst...we also made plum wine, omgosh so nommy, so stay tuned for that post!
In the making of these preserved plums we witnessed the miracle of salt once again! To start the process we washed the green plums and let them dry. Then we added salt. Salt draws the moisture out of the green plums as well as helping to stop microbial growth.
After a while you will see the salt has melted and there will be a collection of seeped out juices at the bottom of the bowl.
The seeped juices are poured out and then the plums are soaked in cool water for a couple of days. The salt still left on the plum will lightly salt the water, creating a light brine for the plums to soak in.
At the end of the couple of days you will see the the plums have gone from green to yellow.
It's then the time to let the plums dry. Ideally you should place in the sun for another couple of days. But alas for us apartment dwellers, it's a hard thing to find a patch of available sun. So we turned to our trusty oven.
By setting your oven to a very low temperature, around 140°F (60°C), and leaving the oven drop opened just a bit to let out moisture you can dehydrate any fruit! Pretty cool, amirite? So, in lieu of the sun, we used our oven to dehydrate the plums until they were wrinkled.
Note: Dear readers, I think I might have over dried my plums a bit. After the fact I realized that over drying the fruit makes them lose too much texture. What to do then? Dry the plums until they are just wrinkled but still plump! Any further dehydration needed will be achieved thru the 'sugaring' process described below.
This next part is what puts these Chinese preserved plums in the category of candy for kids (and kidults!). A very old technique called 'sugaring' is used to finish off the preservation. 'Sugaring' is a method of food preservation that uses large amounts of dry sugar to create osmosis that draws out water from fruit, further dehydrating them and inhibiting any microbial growth. Fascinating, isn't it? I had never heard of 'sugaring' before now.
Dry sugaring is super easy to set up. Start by adding a layer of plums. Then a layer of sugar to cover.
Repeat until all the plums are laid out. Lastly add sugar until the plums are completely covered. Rather like a scene from a wintery day, eh?
Now it's time to wait. Patience brings great gifts! The osmosis will take some time to complete and you can track the process by the state of the white sugar. It will slowly melt into liquid as the osmosis proceeds. You can see from the progress photos above that the sugar is slowing melting.
This process will take around three months. Slow and yummilicious it is!
The final product, our Chinese Huamei Preserved Plums 話梅, floating in syrup, is perfectly preserved and ready to eat. By keeping them in this syrup they can be preserved for a very long time. Eat them as is, sour and sweet and plum-y in equal measure, just remember to spit out the stone still inside!
Besides eating these fruity lovelies as mouthpuckering candy? Use a bit of the syrup and a preserved plum or two to make our Chinese Preserved Plum Lime Soda 話梅檸檬水, the perfect refreshing drink for a long hot summer. Or use a bit of the syrup and the flesh from the fruits to make a totally delectable sweet and sour sauce to drizzle over steamed fish or meat! Enjoy!
Chinese Huamei Preserved Plums
話梅
(makes 50) Prep time: 5 mins Salt time: 8 hrs Brine time: 2 days Dehydrate time: 2 days Preserve time: 3 months
Ingredients:
- 1 lb green plums 青竹梅, 450g
- 1/3 cup salt, 100g
- 1 1/2 cup sugar, 300g
- cool boiled water to cover
Directions:
Clean the plums: Wash the plums gently, removing any stems.
Salt the plums: Add plums to a large clean pot or bowl. Add the salt to the plums and mix gently until all the plums are completely coated with salt. Let sit in a cool area for 8 hours. Juices will seep out and collect on the bottom.
Brine the plums: Pour out seeped juices. Add completely cooled boiled water to cover the plums. The water mixes with the remaining salt on the plums to make a light brine. Place in a cool area to brine for 2 days.
Dehydrate the plums: Drain the water and spread the plums out in one layer and let dry in the sun for 2-3 days until the skin becomes wrinkled but the plums are still plump.
If you don't have sunshine use the oven to dry the fruits. Place the plums in one layer on baking trays. Set the oven at 140°F (60°C) and dehydrate the plums, with the door propped open slightly to allow moisture to escape, for 6-8 hours or until the plums are wrinkled but still plump.
Sugar preserve the plums: In a sterilized glass or ceramic container that will fit all the plums with at least an inch to spare lay down one layer of plums to fill the bottom of the container. Add sugar to cover the plums. Repeat until all the plums are laid down. Add the final layer of sugar to completely cover the plums.
Close the container and place in a cool, dry and dark place for around 3-4 months or until the sugar is completely melted. At this point the preserved plums ready to eat and/or use. Be sure to use a clean dry utensil to remove the preserved plums as needed.
Store the plums: Store in the same (or different sterilized jar) lidded container with the sugar syrup for up to 3 months in a cool dark place. For longer storage keep in the fridge.
Fruitilicious Ferments at The Hong Kong Cookery:
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