Recommendations for Soy Sauce-Pickled and Miso-Pickled Plums

I heard that this year's plum harvest was poor, and I was surprised by the high prices at my local supermarket (1,580 yen). When I went to a discount store further away, they were 980 yen. Seeing this as an opportunity, I bought five bags and immediately pickled them in soy sauce.
That was five days ago. Yesterday, I happened to be near that discount store again, and to my surprise, they were 680 yen! In these times when everything is getting more expensive, that's the same price as a special sale from a few years ago. I felt a pang of regret for having rushed to buy them a few days earlier, but I pulled myself together and bought three more. I intend to pickle these in miso.

To defend the local supermarket, prices vary depending on the size of the fruit, so a simple comparison isn't possible. If you're making pickled plums (umeboshi), larger ones are better.
In my case, since I'm making soy sauce-pickled and miso-pickled plums, smaller ones are fine—or rather, they are actually better because there are fewer gaps. The larger the gaps, the more soy sauce or miso you need.

I stopped making traditional umeboshi about five years ago and now only make soy sauce-pickled and miso-pickled plums. The initial effort is much easier, and it requires less salt. It wouldn't be good for someone like me who doesn't do manual labor to eat umeboshi every day.

I use green plums for both soy sauce and miso pickling. I think ripe plums might be tastier for both, but the risk of mold skyrockets!
The biggest point of caution for soy sauce and miso pickling is preventing mold. Here are the tricks I use.

For the soy sauce-pickled ones,if you leave the plums floating, they will mold, so you need a way to keep them submerged in the soy sauce. If you have a small plate of the right size, you can cover them with it and place a weight on top, but that doesn't work well with the jars used for plum wine. A small plate that fits through the mouth of the jar is too small to hold the plums down. It's also difficult to stabilize a weight on top of the plate.
So, since last year, I've started packing dried red shiso leaves tightly on top. However, while that keeps the plums submerged, there's a risk that the red shiso itself will mold, so you need to check it occasionally. If I see anything white, I replace the shiso. I understand the white stuff to be benign bacteria, but since it could turn into blue mold, I take action there. That worked well for me last year.

For the miso-pickled ones,the point of caution is that liquid seeps out and collects on top of the miso, and if left alone, it will mold. So, I started adding dried red shiso to absorb the moisture. If you stir the whole thing at that time, it won't mold. In the beginning, it's better to check it about once every two weeks.

As for storage, I think a refrigerator is preferable. However, it's a nuisance if you don't have space in the fridge. I use a plastic container for the miso-pickled ones, so I manage to keep them in the fridge, but the soy sauce-pickled ones are in an extra-large plum wine jar, so the fridge is impossible. Therefore, I keep them in the coolest place in the house. That has worked for me so far.

As for how many months it takes until they are ready to eat, some say three months, but I leave them to pickle until the start of the new year.
Regarding the taste, the soy sauce-pickled ones have the flavor of soy sauce, so they are relatively suitable for everyone. I use the soy sauce infused with plum extract as ponzu.
As for the miso-pickled ones, they don't look very appetizing, so the majority of people seem to have no desire to eat them. The taste is a combination of miso, plum, and red shiso. It's not particularly "delicious!" In my opinion, it's just average. I eat them every morning, believing they are good for my health.

If you are interested but still skeptical, it's best to start with a small amount (1 kg).
I'm sure there are kind people who have introduced the details with photos. I also learned about it from an online article and started doing it.

Regarding health, plum and loquat seeds contain some well-known, quite beneficial components, so I think it serves as a kind of "insurance." You can't eat loquat seeds regularly (though I do take loquat wine if something comes up), but if you prepare a large amount of plums, you can eat them every day.
However, there isn't a "wow, that worked" feeling like with loquat wine. In the case of loquat wine, you cut the seeds and soak them, so you get the extract directly, but with plums, you only eat the fruit part, after all.

That's all for this rare cooking-related post. Hope you enjoy it~

The header image is a work by marian8.
Thank you very much.