>umeboshi vs. hua mei

Today I read parts of Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking - The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. This clear, comprehensive book answers so many questions I have.

It is so comprehensive, in fact, that it's going to influence the way I blog. Before I do an entry, I'll check this book to see what I am about to say is not already mentioned in a similar way...

...which will be a formidable challenge. To me, the allure of something seems to be the unknown, and it's no fun blogging about something already mentioned by a book.

So today's entry involves questions about something I couldn't get a satisfactory explanation for. Intense tartness or sourness enjoyed by some people.

The Asian apricot (Prunus mume) is preserved dry in China and called huamei. It is pickled in Japan and called umeboshi. Both kinds are heavily salted and enjoyed for their extreme sour quality. So sour in fact, that just the thought of eating them makes you salivate.

So widely consumed, I thought it might be included on the pickled vegetables and fruits table. It wasn't, so here's my small contribution.