Clean Maesil Cheong (Green Plum Syrup) Without Spoiling
A homemade summertime green plum syrup steeped with equal parts sugar and green plums to extract their concentrated juices.
Translated from Korean by AI and not yet checked by a native speaker. Amounts and numbers are taken directly from the original recipe. Read the Korean original →
This summertime preserve is made by layering green plums and sugar in a 1 to 1 ratio to mature. Making a shallow slit in the flesh helps the sugar dissolve quickly, allowing you to extract the syrup with ease. To prevent mold or white film from forming, it is essential to let the plums dry completely after washing.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spiciness
- Not spicy
Ingredients
- Green plums (cheongmaesil) (or ripe yellow plums (hwangmaesil))5 kg
- Brown sugar (or white sugar)5 kg
- For green plum syrup, you can also use ripe yellow plums that have turned yellow and fragrant, plums that are in the process of ripening to yellow, or plums whose flesh is not firm.
- Mix 1 cup of vinegar into water and soak the plums for at least 10 minutes to remove foreign debris and fine peach fuzz, remove the bitter stems, and dry them completely.
Steps
Prepare the ingredients
This is one 10 kg box of green plums.
I separate the plums so I can make 5 kg of pickled plums and 5 kg of green plum syrup.
For pickled plums, you need to use plums with a deep green color and firm flesh...
For green plum syrup, you can also make it with yellow plums that are yellow in color and fragrant.
Among the green plums, there are also some mixed in that have begun ripening to yellow or do not have firm flesh, and you can use those to make green plum syrup.
Here is the 5 kg of plums prepared for green plum syrup today.
Wash the plums
Pour enough water to fully submerge the plums, pour in 1 cup of vinegar, mix, and let soak for at least 10 minutes.
This helps the debris and fine fuzz clinging to the plum surfaces come off easily.
Rinse them several times under running water while gently rubbing them by hand. Keep going until you can hardly see any debris or fine fuzz.
Place them in a basket to drain the water well.
Trim the plums
I removed the bitter plum stems and spread them out once more to remove any remaining moisture.
If water gets into green plum syrup, it spoils and forms white film or mold, so you must remove the moisture thoroughly.
This is my secret trick for making the sugar dissolve more than twice as fast.
Take a sanitized, completely dry knife and make a slit into the plum like this.
Thanks to the moisture from that slit, the sugar dissolves faster than making it plain, and you can extract the plum extract quickly.
For bruised or scarred plums, just cut away the damaged parts and use them.
Pack the green plum syrup
Glass containers have narrow openings, making them inconvenient to stir, so putting them in a kimchi container has made making this much easier for several years now.
Wash the container thoroughly, wipe it down with soju to sanitize it, and let it dry completely before using. A 12 L container is just the right fit for 5 kg of plums.
Spread out a single layer of plums, then pour in sugar so it settles between them.
Alternate pouring the plums and sugar repeatedly.
Cover the very top with sugar and close the lid.
If you make it with a 1:1 ratio of plums to sugar, you can make delicious green plum syrup without fail.
Place it in the coolest, shaded spot out of the sunlight, and keep a close eye on the condition of the plums from now on.
Dissolve the sugar
After 3 days, moisture started glistening faintly on the top, and on day 5, the brown sugar on top dissolved, deepened in color, and formed a crust-like layer over the top.
This happening means that underneath, plenty of sugar is actively dissolving.
From now on, you need to diligently stir it every day until the sugar dissolves completely.
If you do not make slits, you will likely have to leave it for at least ten days to up to half a month before the sugar dissolves enough to stir.
Because a lot of sugar has settled to the bottom, stir thoroughly by scooping it up with a spatula and placing it over the plums.
As the sugar dissolves, the color of the plums turns darker and the surface begins to wrinkle.
This is how it looks after 2 weeks. If you stir the sugar diligently every day, it dissolves completely without any sugar settled at the bottom, turning into clear syrup like this.
Now, let it age for 100 days while stirring once or twice a week, and after 100 days, strain out the fruit flesh and enjoy.
Let it mature at room temperature until it reaches your desired flavor; when you want to stop the aging, move it to the refrigerator and enjoy it for several years.
Ppunwife's tips
- If water gets into green plum syrup, it spoils and forms white film or mold, so you must remove the moisture thoroughly.
- If you make a slit in each plum with a sanitized, dry knife, the sugar dissolves quickly and you can extract the plum concentrate fast.
- Wash the container thoroughly, wipe it down with soju to sanitize, and dry it completely before using.
- If you make it with a 1:1 ratio of plums to sugar, you can make delicious green plum syrup without fail.
FAQ
Is there a reason to remove the plum stems?
Plum stems can impart a bitter flavor, so they are removed during trimming to ensure a clean taste.
What is the benefit of scoring the fruit flesh?
Making a slit in the plum allows its natural juices to seep out, making the sugar dissolve much faster and speeding up the extraction of the syrup.
When is the best time to strain out the plum flesh?
If you prefer a clear syrup, strain it around 100 days; if you want a thicker, more concentrated body, you can also leave it for about 1 year until the fruit flesh becomes very soft before straining.
