Salted Plums

Last updated 2026-11-10 — Ingredients: 50 kg of plum blanks, 10 kg of white sugar, 2.5 kg of licorice powder, 20 g of vanilla oil, 100 g of sugar syrup, an appropriate amount of sodium benzoate. Production process: Ingredient selection → Plum blank making → Rinsing → Sugar soaking → Sun drying → Oil spraying → Packaging → Finished product. Production method: 1. Ingredient selection: Choose varieties with large fruit, thick flesh, and small pits (such as Sanhua plums), which are best harvested when ripe. Unripe, hard fallen fruits may also be used as raw materials. 2. Plum blank making: Wash the raw materials in clean water, then stir and rub the skins in a tumbling trough or earthenware vat. Next, cure them with 10–15 kg of salt per 100 kg of fruit for 15–20 days. The salt curing can be done in a barrel or pool: first, place a layer of fruit (about 6 cm thick), then sprinkle a layer of salt (6 mm thick), repeating layers of fruit and salt until full, and finally cover with a layer of coarse salt. After 5–7 days, when the fruit begins to float, press it down with a wooden board (or bamboo sieve cover) and weights. After 15–20 days, remove and sun dry. Once dried, it becomes the dried plum blank. To enhance crispness during curing, 200 g of alum or 300 g of quicklime can be added per 100 kg of fruit. 3. Rinsing: Soak the dried plum blanks in a running water tank (with inlet pipe at the bottom) or a pool (change the water twice daily) for 1–2 days until 80–90% of the salt is removed, then take them out and sun dry for half a day. 4. Sugar soaking: Add 25 kg of sugar syrup to the white sugar in a pot, heat until boiling, then add the licorice powder and stir well. Pour the plum blanks into the pot, simmer over low heat for about 1 hour until the plum blanks absorb enough sugar syrup and swell. Remove from heat along with the syrup, pour into a wooden barrel, then add saccharin and sodium benzoate, stir well, and let it soak for about 48 hours. When the plum blanks have fully absorbed the sugar, remove them and drain off the excess syrup. 5. Sun drying: Spread the plum blanks on bamboo sieves and place them under the sun to dry. When they are 80% dry, evenly spray the vanilla oil over the plum blanks and mix well. 6. Packaging: The salted plums are packaged to become the finished product. Product features: Sweet and sour in perfect balance, with a sweet aftertaste that tingles the taste buds and leaves a refreshing sensation. It has a uniquely distinctive flavor.