# Umeboshi Plum Dressing



## free rider (May 23, 2006)

I'm looking for a creamy salad dressing recipe with umeboshi plum.

Anybody care to share?


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## culprit (Nov 8, 2006)

http://www.care2.com/channels/solutions/food/701

http://www.eat-well-to-be-well.com/dressings.htm


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

Neither of those is a cream-based dressing.


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## culprit (Nov 8, 2006)

Sorry, I was only trying to excite your imagination. Admittedly, these are oil based but I assumed that experimenting with substitutes for the oil might be interesting.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

Thanks for the try. I'm thinking of a particular salad dressing that is available in Durham, NC at a restaurant called Anotherthyme. I only vaguely remember it, but I want to recreate it. Unfortunately for me, I have no idea how to make a cream-based salad dressing at all. I've always been a dessert and pastry person.


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## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

Creamy dressings can be created from an emulsion made when acid and fat are mixed. Dressings are usually one part acid to three parts oil.

Do you already have a dressing in mind you are attempting to recreate? Did you try something somewhere? If yes, what did it look like?


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

It was creamy (cooked? mayonnaise?). I know some of the the ingredients, but I don't know the amounts or how to put them together.

Here's the list, partial list perhaps:

Umeboshi plums, oil, vinegar, egg, and herbs.

It's from the Anotherthyme restaurant in Durham, NC.

I can adjust the herbs if I can figure out what to do with the rest of the stuff.


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## culprit (Nov 8, 2006)

Here's a wild idea. Pick up some Umeboshi plum paste (or whatever is available) and mix it two parts Best Foods (Hellman's) Mayonaise to one part plums. Give it a taste and see how close it comes to what you experienced in the restaurant. You can adjust it, or not, depending on how you feel about the results. Nothing ventured nothing gained (or so I've heard)
And let us know how it works out.


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## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

Ok, so basically Umeboshi Plums are pickled Japanese plums. But it appears the dressings are made from the Umeboshi Plum Vinegar. Find this at your local ethnic grocery.

There are recipes to be found here.

If you whisk the oil and vinegar, it becomes creamy due to the emulsion process. Does this help?


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

I read part of Peterson's Sauces book last night and I've decided to go a different route. I'm not interested in the plum vinegar, but in using the actual plums, which are available in my local Whole Foods.

So... I looked up cold cream sauces. Peterson says that American heavy cream is too thin to make a good cold cream sauce, but that it can be thickened with an acid such as citrus or vinegar. As the plums are pickled, they should be quite acidy and I can add citrus. I think that, as I'm making a salad dressing, the citrus should be fine and I don't think it will conflict with the pickled plum.

This seems the easiest to me. No uncooked egg danger, no emulsion problems.

What do you think? Has anyone done this adding-acid-to-cream thing?


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## mudbug (Dec 30, 1999)

It's still acid to fat. The difference here is that your acid might not be as acidic as in normal recipes so you might have to add rice vinegar. 

Or it might work just fine if you up the ratio of plums. Try pureeing or even cooking the plums which are often used with meat dishes where they are not detectable via sight once cooked. Then incorporate into the cream.

They are delicious.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

Rice vinegar... great idea. I was wondering what type of vinegar to use considering balsamic wouldn't do. Thought about wine vinegars, but I think the taste would be a fight. Rice vinegar sounds perfect.

Thanks for the cooking the plums tip. I was going to puree, but I bet the cooking will make it even better. Going to try this over the weekend.


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## free rider (May 23, 2006)

In my quest to create an umeboshi plum dressing, I have found the following:

1. Umeboshi plum vinegar (Eden Co.) is not vinegar at all. It is the brine in which the umeboshi plums have been soaked. Soaking the pickled plums takes away some of the saltiness. This saltiness is then in the "vinegar". A taste of the vinegar was like taking a swig of salt.

2. Umeboshi plum paste (Eden Co.) is a paste of the pickled plums and the leaves from the plant that produces the plums, beefsteak leaves also known as shiso.

3. Umeboshi plums are not plums at all. They are a specie of apricot. I love apricots, so I will continue my quest for these plums.

4. A trip to the local Asian market got me a jar of pickled umeboshi plums. I soaked them to get rid of the saltiness, but obviously not for long enough because they were still quite salty. Next trip, I'm going to try some dried Japanese apricots because I think that refers to the umeboshi plum.


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## bjcampbell (May 19, 2013)

Hi Isaw free rider's post- I remember this salad dressing from Pyewacket restaurant in chapel hill 40 yrs ago- the chef also had the restaurant you mentioned- I too have the ingrediants on the old menu- I think the eggs were used as an emulsion, like a homemade mayonnaise-it was creamy , puckery, slightly sweet-very minimal . Definitely no cream. If you can get the plums you can use them to flavor the vinegar and I would use one plum at a time in the cuisonart puréed - a little will go a long way- as far as herbs or spices I don't remember any real specific taste of herbs or spices but I would make like a home made mayonnaise then taste it- wouldn't use anything overpowering but maybe fresh tarragon??

Do you know how to make the lemon tamari recipe- ?


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

Here's the original from AnotherThyme (originally SomeThyme on Broad St) then Pyewacket in Chapel Hill.

Straight from Muskie Cates (the chef) via David and Mary S. Bacon (original owners.)

Umeboshi Plum Dressing

Serving Size : 20 
Categories : Salad Dressings

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/2 cup water
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon garlic -- minced
1/3 teaspoon white pepper -- ground
1/3 teaspoon ginger powder
2 teaspoons chervil
2 tablespoons umeboshi plum paste
1 each eggs
1 1/4 cups canola oil

Add all ingredients except the last amount of oil to the blender. (If not 
confident of your egg source use pasturized eggs.) Blend together well. 
While blending, gradually add the oil in a thin, steady stream. Should 
pull toghether and be thick and pink, not brown and watery.

Makes about 3 cups of dressing. 
(That equaled one serving for some of Pyewacket's patrons.)

My husband and I are both Orphans of Pyewacket-he a former employee and me a regular customer of all three restaurants. 

If you Facebook, check out the Orphans of Pyewacket page-lots of fun memories and terrific recipes.

The Lemon Tamari Dressing is on there, but sadly, the Moutarde de Meaux dressing recipe has been lost, or Mary is not sharing it.

Enjoy!

Hey! It's great to know there are other 'Wacketers on this site. Happy to know you!


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## actoreye (Dec 15, 2014)

Hello,

I am a "Waketeer" from years ago. I lived in Durham and frequented Anothertyme, and  Sometyme. I loved their Umeboshi dressing and have never sucessfully achieved anything close. I have looked on and off for 20 years and came across this thread and went wild. I can't wait to try the real recipe. Thank you so much for your most helpful input!!


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## nellie-claire (May 24, 2015)

I too used to love Pyewacket, Somethyme and Anotherthyme. I loved the Lemon Tamari dressing. It has been 32 years since I have had any and I still crave it.  I could not find the recipe on Facebook.  If someone has the recipe for the Lemon Tamari Salad Dressing, would you please post it here?

Thanks so much.


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## oldfart (May 22, 2015)

I love Umeboshi...of course, I'm half Japanese, so that might the reason... /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif


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