Smoked plums, matte black to dark brown, with a rugged surface, have a unique flavor with a sour taste.^[1] The fruit is spherical or oblate, around 2–3 centimetres (0.79–1.18 in) long and 1.5–2 centimetres (0.59–0.79 in) in diameter.^[2] The surface is wrinkled, with the round stem-end underside.^[2] The fruit kernel is hard, olate, yellowish brown, 1–1.4 centimetres (0.39–0.55 in) long, 1 centimetre (0.39 in) wide, and 0.5 centimetres (0.20 in) thick, with a dotted surface.^[2] The seed is flat obloid and light yellow.^[2]

Unripe plums are picked in early summer, smoked, and dried at 40 °C (104 °F).^[3]

Cuisine edit

In China, smoked plums are used to make suānméitāng, a sour plum drink.^{[citation needed]}

In Korea, smoked plums are used to make traditional teas and drinks such as omae-cha (smoked plum tea) and jeho-tang (medicinal summer drink).^{[citation needed]}

Medicine edit

Latin (pharmaceutical) name for smoked plums is Mume Fructus.^[2]

In Traditional Korean medicine, smoked plums are considered conductant for the liver channel, spleen channel, lung channel, and large intestine channel.^[3] It is used to treat ascariasis, vomiting, cough, and diarrhea.^[3] It is reported to relieve phlegm, inhibit intestinal motility, and fight bacteria in pharmacologic experiments.^[3]

Dyeing edit

In Japan, the extract of smoked plums (ubai) is used as a mordant for the natural red dye derived from safflower (benibana).^{[4] [5]}

• List of smoked foods