Mito No Ume Shinkinbai- Ume Paste

Shikinbai is a traditional Edo period condiment made out of ume, salt and shiso leaves. Tastes just like umeboshi (salted plum), but more easy to use in dishes like congee, pasta or salads as the seed has already been removed. 

This recipe was made by Nariaki Tokugawa, the ruling daimyo of Mito in the Edo period. He ordered this to be made upon noticing that many ume was being wasted when they could not be used for umeboshi due to slight imperfections in the fruit. Slightly dinged or bruised ume are made into a pulp, and salted. Shiso leaves are added for color and additional flavor. 

Nemoto tsukemono is a 80 year old family owned company which produces Japanese pickle products completely in-house, from growing, preserving to packaging.

Mito is infamous in Japan for its 3000 ume trees in its Kairakuen garden, planted in 1842 by the feudal lord Nariaki Tokugawa.  Designated one of Japan's top 3 gardens, Kairakuen draws numerous tourists every year to see the beautiful blooms in March.

Tokugawa chose to plant ume trees in his city for 3 reasons: 1) ume blooms in spring right after the snow melts, which he believed would bring joy to his people, 2) ume contains natural acid which has long been said to relieve fatigue and promote health, and 3) ume can be preserved for very long periods of time in the form of umeboshi and thus is ideal to bring to battlefields. 

Ingredients: Ume, salt, shiso

Content of umeboshi: 150g