In spring, when you come across this fruit, don’t be soft. My family buys one box at a time and drinks it in summer. It is very sweet. In late spring and early summer, plums are green, and the green fruits hang all over the branches, exuding the scent of the season. Now is the season when the plums are ripe and they start to be available in large quantities. As the saying goes, “April plums are more or less green,” and most of the plums are freshly picked now and will taste sour. Although it is not suitable for direct consumption, it is the best choice for brewing.
Plums can be used to make jams, vinegars, preserves and plums. It is a very versatile fruit. Plums are rich in organic acids and minerals and have a special flavor. It is very suitable for making fruit wine. Plums are now only $5 a kilo. I buy ten kilos of plums every year to steep it. The aroma of sweet plums in my mouth gets stronger the longer it sits.
Before making plum wine, you should choose plums carefully. When buying plums, choose good fruits with green fruits, firm flesh and intact skin. If you are shopping online, the quality varies and you buy a kilo more than you actually use because there will be wear and tear, and plums with slight rotting, mold or pinch marks will be thrown away.
Tiny light spots on the skin can be kept. Remember not to immerse the plums in water before selecting them. After contact with water, it is easy to wash off hair mold and white hair, thus ignoring these bad fruits. After selecting, rinse with water, then sprinkle some salt and rub gently, not too hard, then wash off the salt.
Use a toothpick to pick off the flower stalks. Pay attention to the small, round and thin covering at the root of the stalk. They should also be removed to prevent them from falling off during the pickling process and causing spoilage. When washing the plums and picking the stems, hands must be clean and free of oil and sweat. After picking, soak the plums in water for more than 2 hours to eliminate the astringent taste of the plums.
After soaking, pick up the controller, place it on a hollowed out bamboo plaque, and place it in a cool, ventilated place indoors to dry. Be careful not to expose them to direct sunlight or overnight. The difference in temperature between day and night can breed bacteria. Don’t be afraid to use kitchen paper to dry them one by one. When hanging the plums, we will prepare other things needed.
Prepare a clean, waterless, oil-free glass jar, not too big. If you have a lot of plums, you can put them in several jars. Then prepare the white wine. The degree of white wine depends on your preference. You can use a low level of wine, or a 40-50 degree wine. 30-40 degree white wine is best. And icing sugar. White sugar tends to be sour and oily. It does not taste as good as rock sugar, so use rock sugar as much as possible.
Place a layer of plums and a layer of rock sugar in a glass jar. Remember to cut the icing sugar into small pieces so it melts quickly and doesn’t take up any space.
Pour in the white wine. This wine should be plum and rock sugar. It does not need to be an expensive wine. However, it must be pure grain liquor. Do not buy alcoholic blends. When buying, check the label on the package to see how the standard is applied. Pure grain wines must have a number on them. You can’t use beer or fruit wine.
After drinking the plum wine, seal the lid and leave it to time. Over time, the color of the wine will slowly change from clear to light brown, then become richer and richer, and the plums will slowly sink from end to end.
Two years ago, my bottle was soaked and the plums were wrinkled. It is best to label the plum wine after soaking. Usually you can drink it after 3 months. However, it is recommended that it tastes better after six months or a year. Once the plum wine is made, you can drink it directly or dilute it with cold mineral water. I don’t like to dilute it. I like to spoon the plum wine into another small bottle and put it in the refrigerator to chill. Sometimes I try a small glass in the summer. It tastes great.
