”Bit of a garden project this one. After just finishing the salted sakura cherry blossoms I noticed the that the young plums of the black cherry plum had started forming. At this point the seed is negligible and they are simply perfect for making into a a salted pickle or ferment for delicious preserved flavours throughout the year. They are zingy & tangy so I picked what I could reach (nearly 2kg) and washed then salted them with 20% salt leaving them overnight.
GeorgeFlavour Fred
The next day I split the batch into two. Washing off the salt from the first is a process I use a lot when making pickles using vinegar. It prevents softening and I find with flavoured vinegar it gets more of that flavour in. I have done the same process with wild garlic scapes. This vinegar is just apple cider vinegar (@willysacv) with the figs left on the tree at the end of 2024.
The second batch I left in the salt adding a bit of vodka to sterilise a little for Umeboshi and we will leave that for a month or so before straining the liquid (Umezu) for many other uses and I’ll be sun drying the young black cherry plums and maturing for longer.
