Grilled Umeboshi (Yaki-ume): How to Make It and Enjoy It

Yaki-ume is simply umeboshi (pickled ume) grilled until browned and fragrant. People eat it warm or pour hot water over it. All you need is umeboshi, so you can make it any time.

How to make it

Whatever the method, umeboshi burn easily, so keep an eye on them. Grilled umeboshi get very hot: let them cool a little before eating.

In a toaster oven

1. Line the tray with foil or baking paper and lay the umeboshi on it.
2. Toast until browned (about 5–10 minutes), turning them once halfway for even colour.

In a frying pan

1. Without oil, line the pan with baking paper and put the umeboshi on it.
2. Cook over medium-low heat, rolling them around until browned all over.

On a fish grill or grilling net

Put them on foil so the flesh does not stick and cleaning up is easy.

Times depend on the size of the umeboshi and your appliance. Sweet umeboshi such as honey umeboshi contain sugar and burn more easily, so check them early.

Ways to enjoy it

• Ume-yu (ume tea): put a grilled umeboshi in a cup, pour hot water over it and break it up lightly with chopsticks. Add ginger or a little honey if you like.
• Ochazuke: put it on rice and pour hot green tea or dashi over it.
• Rice balls: remove the stone, break it up and use it as a filling.
• Shochu with hot water: put it in the glass and break it up as you drink (for adults of legal drinking age).

Does grilling really create mumefural?

Yaki-ume is often said to create a compound called mumefural.

Mumefural was found in 1999 by Japanese researchers in bainiku ekisu, a concentrate made by boiling down green ume juice for a long time. According to NARO, it is formed when HMF, a compound produced by heating sugars, combines with citric acid during heat processing. But much is still unknown about the conditions under which it forms and how much of it foods contain.

We could not find any study that measured how much mumefural forms when umeboshi are grilled. Research on mumefural is mostly in test tubes and animals, and effects in people have not been confirmed. See Mumefural and blood flow: what research shows for more.

It is best to think of yaki-ume as a way to enjoy a toasty flavour rather than a health food.

Things to keep in mind

• Grilling does not reduce the salt. If you are cutting down on salt, do not have several a day even as ume tea. For salt levels, see How to read umeboshi labels.
• Remove any burnt parts.
• Take out the stone without cracking it (Can you eat the kernel inside an ume stone?).

For choosing umeboshi, see the umeboshi types chart.