One of my favourite recipes! It is from Japan and just so delicious. It takes a bit more time than a “fast brine” but it is worth the effort!!
I used sweet, yellow small plums (mirabelles). I’m not sure if the recipe also works with larger, blue plums. To prepare the plum ferment, you need to undergo 2 fermentation stages. First, a salt brine fermentation (using just plums, salt, and water – with enough salt to make the water taste salty! I heat the water and salt to ensure the salt is properly diluted). After fermenting for 10 days under the water (ensuring something heavy pushes the plums down), remove the plums and dry them for 3 days either in the sun (if the weather allows), in an oven (at 40°C for several hours with the door slightly open), or in a dehydrator.
Once the plums are slightly shriveled, return them to the brine and let them ferment for another 7-10 days.
Enjoy!