What is umeboshi and is it good for you?

Question

My friend eats something called an umeboshi. I tried it and it was extremely sour and salty.

What is it? Is it good for you??

Answer 1

Pickled Plums.  Yes it's good for you if it's made with low sodium.  It takes an acquired taste to enjoy.

Answer 2

It's a pickled Japanese plum. Asians like a lot of preserved & pickled stuff, eating them like snacks and also in lots of culinary ways like making wine (plum wine from Japan is good to drink & marinate meats), steaming fish, accompanying rice porridge, in stir-frys etc. Many Asian women are also very fond of such sour & salty preserved tidbits, especially when pregnant (pity poor dads who have to search for hours or drive miles for a particular brand of preserved fruit). Asians believe that these pickled stuff are good for the digestion, a small amount is ok but some have lots of preservatives. There are shops solely selling hundreds of different such tidbits and they are very well patronised.

Answer 3

Hi!

"Umeboshi" are pickled plum fruit.  They taste very salty, and are extremely sour due to high citric acid content.

Umeboshi are very popular in Japan

They are usually round, and vary from unwrinkled to very

wrinkled.

Here's a pic for visual:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/piccies/186...

As for how healthy it is...

Umeboshi are often cited in Japan as being extremely healthy. The standard Japanese folk remedy for colds and flus is okayu (Japanese congee) with umeboshi.

I hope that helps!

GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

Umeboshi is pickled plum, which is supposed to be good for digestion. I learned to like umeboshi inside toasted rice balls.

Answer 5

According to the Chinese book of Food cures this extremely pungent plum is good for the kidneys and liver. Which makes sense if you consider how salty it is due to the salt and vinegar. Both will cause a person to dring a lot of water and will also replace lost salts from sweat.

I get them at my local korean/asian market. I love em but it's not for everyone. I like to joke and say that it will turn a person's face inside out.

Answer 6

It's a preserved Japanese plum.  I don't know if it's good for you, but it's definitely an acquired taste.  For other ume things you might like better, try the ones called "hoshi-ume" that are dried and sweetened and have the seeds in them, or drink an "ume-shu" like Choya which is pretty d**n tasty.