Cooking Index - Cooking Recipes & IdeasUmeboshi in our A-Z - Cooking Index


Umeboshi are pickled ume fruits. Ume is a species of fruit-bearing tree in the genus Prunus, which is often called a plum but is actually more closely related to the apricot.

Umeboshi are usually eaten with rice, in small quantities at a time. It is also a common ingredient in onigiri, rice balls wrapped in nori. Umeboshi may also be served as a complement of a green tea or a drink with shochu and hot water.

They taste salty, and are extremely sour due to high citric acid content – they have been known to corrode their way through aluminium lunch boxes if kept in the same spot every day.