Smoked plum

Smoked plum is the smoked fruit of Asian plums, used in East Asian cuisine and medicine. It is called wūméi (烏梅) in Mandarin, omae (오매; 烏梅) in Korean, ubai (烏梅; うばい) in Japanese, and Ô mai in Vietnamese.

"Omae" redirects here. For the Japanese surname, see Ōmae.
Smoked plums
Smoked plums

Overview

Smoked plums, matte black to dark brown, with a rugged surface, have a unique flavor with a sour taste.[1] The fruit is spherical or oblate, around 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.18 in) long and 1.5–2 centimetres (0.59–0.79 in) in diameter.[2] The surface is wrinkled, with the round stem-end underside.[2] The fruit kernel is hard, olate, yellowish brown, 1–1.4 centimetres (0.39–0.55 in) long, 1 centimetre (0.39 in) wide, and 0.5 centimetres (0.20 in) thick, with a dotted surface.[2] The seed is flat obloid and light yellow.[2]

Production

Unripe plums are picked in early summer, smoked, and dried at 40 °C (104 °F).[3]

Use

Cuisine

In China, smoked plums are used to make suānméitāng, a sour plum drink.

In Korea, smoked plums are used to make traditional teas and drinks such as omae-cha (smoked plum tea) and jeho-tang (medicinal summer drink).

Medicine

Latin (pharmaceutical) name for smoked plums is Mume Fructus.[2]

In Traditional Korean medicine, smoked plums are considered conductant for the liver channel, spleen channel, lung channel, and large intestine channel.[3] It is used to treat ascariasis, vomiting, cough, and diarrhea.[3] It is reported to relieve phlegm, inhibit intestinal motility, and fight bacteria in pharmacologic experiments.[3]

Dyeing

In Japan, the extract of smoked plums (ubai) is used as a mordant for the natural red dye derived from safflower (benibana).[4] [5]

See also

References
  1. "omae" 오매. Doopedia (in Korean). Doosan Corporation. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  2. Kim, Chang-Min; Lee, Young Jong; Kim, In Rak; Sin, Jeon-Hwi; Kim, Yang Il (2015). "omae" 오매. Hanyakjae gambyeol dogam 한약재감별도감 [Coloured Illustrations for Discrimination of Herbal Medicine] (in Korean). Academy Seojeok. p. 304. ISBN 9788976164865. Retrieved 16 June 2017 – via Naver.
  3. "omae" 오매. Hanuihak dae sajeon 한의학대사전 [The Korean medical dictionary] (in Korean). Seoul: Jungdam Publishing. 1998. ISBN 9788980850297. Retrieved 16 June 2017 – via Naver.
  4. "Off-the-beaten Kyoto: landscape for propducing "ubai", carbonized plum fruit, used as a color fixing mordant". Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  5. "Yoshioka Dyeing Workshop". Japan House, London. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.