Prunus mume
Prunus mume, also known as Chinese plum, is a tree species in the family Rosaceae. It is also referenced by its flowers as plum blossom. Although referred to as a plum in English, it is classified in the Armeniaca section of the genus Prunus, making it an apricot. Mei flowers, or meihua, which bloom in the late winter and early spring, notably during the spring festival, symbolize endurance, as they are the first to bloom despite the cold; the flower is one of the Three Friends of Winter.
The plant is intimately associated with art, literature, and everyday life in China, from where it was then introduced to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. In East Asian cuisine, the fruit, known as meizi in Chinese, is used in juices and sauces; as a flavoring for alcohol; and may be pickled or dried. It is also used in traditional Chinese medicine. Meihua are also appreciated for their characteristic fragrance, which is unique among apricots.
Prunus mume should not be confused with the plum Prunus salicina, a related species also grown in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam also referred to with the common name of Chinese plum, nor with the common apricot Prunus armeniaca, which is closely related under the same section.
Origin
Prunus mume originated in the region around the Yangtze River in southern China and was cultivated domestically for both its ornamental beauty and its fruit. It was later introduced to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. It can be found in sparse forests, stream sides, forested slopes along trails, and mountains, sometimes at altitudes up to, and regions of cultivation.Description
Prunus mume is a deciduous tree that starts to flower in mid-winter, typically around January until late February in East Asia. It can grow to tall. The flowers are in diameter and have a strong fragrant scent. They have colors in varying shades of white, pink, and red. The leaves appear shortly after the petals fall, are oval-shaped with a pointed tip, and are 4–8 cm long and 2.5–5 cm wide. The fruit ripens in early summer, around June and July in East Asia, and coincides with the East Asian rainy season, the meiyu. The drupe is in diameter with a groove running from the stalk to the tip. The skin turns yellow, sometimes with a red blush, as it ripens, and the flesh becomes yellow. The tree is cultivated for its fruit and flowers.Names
Native to southern China, where it is known as mei. The scientific name combines the Latin prūnus and the obsolete Japanese pronunciation of 梅, which is ultimately likely derived from Middle Chinese. The plant is known by a number of different names in English, including flowering plum or plum blossoms. Another misnomer, Japanese apricot, likely derives from the plant's introduction into Western knowledge by Philipp Franz von Siebold, who encountered it while living in Japan.The flower is known as the meihua in Chinese, which came to be translated as "plum blossom" or sometimes as "flowering plum". The term "winter plum" may be used too, specifically with regard to the depiction of the flower with its early blooming in Chinese painting. The character 梅 is a phono-semantic compound created by combining the semantic component with the phonetic component .
In Chinese, it is called mei and the fruit is called meizi. The Japanese name is ume, while the Korean name is maesil. The Japanese and Korean terms derive from Middle Chinese, in which the pronunciation is thought to have been muəi. The Vietnamese name is mai or mơ.
Varieties
varieties and cultivars of P. mume have been cultivated for planting in various gardens throughout East Asia, and for cut blossoming branches used in flower arrangements.Chinese varieties
In China, there are over 300 recorded cultivars of Prunus mume. These are classified by their phylogenetics into branches, characteristics of their branches in groups, and characteristics of their flowers in forms:- Upright Mei Group, Prunus mume var. typica
- * Pleiocarpa Form
- * Single Flowered Form
- * Pink Double Form
- * Alboplena Form
- * Flavescens Form
- * Green Calyx Form
- * Versicolor Form
- * Cinnabar Purple Form
- Pendulous Mei Group, Prunus mume var. pendula
- * Pink Pendulous Form
- * Versicolor Pendulous Form
- * Albiflora Pendulous Form
- * Viridiflora Pendulous Form
- * Atropurpurea Pendulous Form
- Tortuous Dragon Group, Prunus mume var. tortuosa
- Apricot Mei Group, Prunus mume var. bungo
- Blireiana Group, Prunus × blireana, Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii' × Prunus mume Alphandii
Japanese varieties
In Japan, ornamental Prunus mume cultivars are classified into yabai, hibai, and bungo types. The bungo trees are also grown for fruit and are hybrids between Prunus mume and apricot. The hibai trees have red heartwood and most of them have red flowers. The yabai trees are also used as grafting stock. Among yabai trees, Nankoume is a very popular variety in Japan, and whose fruits are mainly used for making umeboshi.Uses
Culinary use
Beverage
In China, suanmeitang is made from smoked plums, called wumei. The plum juice is extracted by boiling smoked plums in water and sweetened with sugar to make suanmeitang. It ranges from light pinkish-orange to purplish black in colour and often has a smoky and slightly salty taste. It is traditionally flavoured with sweet osmanthus flowers, and is enjoyed chilled, usually in summer.In Korea, both the flowers and the fruits are used to make tea. Maehwa-cha is made by infusing the flowers in hot water. Maesil-cha is made by mixing water with maesil-cheong and is served either hot or cold.
In Japan, a similar drink is made from green plums and tastes sweet and tangy, is considered a cold, refreshing drink, and is often enjoyed in the summer.
Condiment
A thick, sweet Chinese sauce called meijiang or meizijiang, usually translated as "plum sauce", is also made from the plums, along with other ingredients such as sugar, vinegar, salt, ginger, chili, and garlic. Similar to duck sauce, it is used as a condiment for various Chinese dishes, including poultry dishes and egg rolls.In Korea, maesil-cheong, a syrup made by sugaring ripe plums, is used as a condiment and sugar substitute. It can be made by simply mixing plums and sugar together, and then leaving them for about 100 days. To make syrup, the ratio of sugar to plum should be at least 1:1 to prevent fermentation, by which the liquid may turn into plum wine. The plums can be removed after 100 days, and the syrup can be consumed right away, or mature for a year or more.
Flower pancake
In Korea, hwajeon can be made with plum blossoms. Called maehwa-jeon, the pancake dish is usually sweet, with honey as an ingredient.Liquor
Plum liquor, also known as plum wine, is popular in both Japan and Korea, and is also produced in China. Umeshu is a Japanese alcoholic drink made by steeping green plums in shōchū. It is sweet and smooth. A similar liquor in Korea, called maesil-ju, is marketed under various brand names, including Mae hwa soo, Matchsoon, and Seoljungmae. Both the Japanese and Korean varieties of plum liquor are available with whole plum fruits contained in the bottle. In China, plum wine is called méijiǔ.In Taiwan, a popular 1950s innovation over the Japanese-style plum wine is the wumeijiu, which is made by mixing two types of plum liquor, meijiu made of P. mume and lijiu, made of P. salicina, and oolong tea liquor.
In Vietnam, ripe plums are macerated in sticky rice liquor. The resulting liquor is called rượu mơ.
Pickled and preserved plums
In Chinese cuisine, plums pickled with vinegar and salt are called suanmeizi, and have an intensely sour and salty flavour. They are generally made from unripe plum fruits. Huamei are Chinese preserved plums and refer to Chinese plums pickled in sugar, salt, and herbs. There are two general varieties: a dried variety, and a wet variety.Umeboshi are pickled and dried plums. They are a Japanese specialty. Pickled with coarse salt, they are quite salty and sour, and therefore eaten sparingly. They are often red in colour when purple shiso leaves are used. Plums used for making umeboshi are harvested in late May or early June, while they are ripe enough in yellow, and layered with much salt. They are weighed down with a heavy stone until late August. They are then dried in the sun on bamboo mats for several days. The flavonoid pigment in shiso leaves gives them their distinctive colour and a richer flavour. Umeboshi are generally eaten with rice as part of a bento, although they may also be used in makizushi. Umeboshi are also used as a popular filling for rice balls wrapped in nori. Makizushi made with plums may be made with either umeboshi or bainiku, often in conjunction with green shiso leaves. A byproduct of umeboshi production is umeboshi vinegar, a salty, sour condiment.
In Korea, there is 'maesil-jangajji' which is similar to 'umeboshi'. It is a common side dish in Korea.
A very similar variety of pickled plum, xí muội or ô mai is used in Vietnamese cuisine. The best fruit for this are from the forest around the Hương Pagoda in Hà Tây Province.