Unripe plum cheong
Korean syrup full of promise
This spring, my little plum tree is heavy with unripe fruit. They’re still green, rock-hard, and sour — not exactly the kind you’d want to bite into. But instead of waiting (and worrying about broken branches), I pick a basketful and make unripe plum cheong: a traditional Korean fruit syrup that quietly does all the work for you.
It’s a kind of preserving, but incredibly easy. No cooking or stirring is needed. Just layer fruit and sugar in a jar, and let time take over. The sugar slowly draws out the juice, ferments just a little, and transforms the sharp tartness of the plums into a syrup that’s floral, tangy, and surprisingly complex.
You can start using it after a few weeks, but the real gold appears after a few months — or even a year — when the syrup turns honey-colored and rounder in flavor. Summer in a jar.
How to use it?
Drizzle into yogurt, mix with sparkling water for a tangy soda, stir it into a vinaigrette. I love using it in fruit salads or as an unexpected sweetener in cocktails.
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Unripe plum cheong
makes about 750 ml
500 g / 16 oz unripe green plums (firm and unblemished)
500 g / 16 oz sugar (white or light cane sugar)
You will also need a sterilised glass jar with a tight-fitting lid + sterilised glass bottle
1. Pat the plums dry if they are wet and remove the stems.
2. Make layers in the jar: start with a bit of sugar, then add a handful of plums. Keep layering until everything is used up. Finish with a layer of sugar on top.
3. Seal the jar and place it in a cool, dark spot (like a pantry).
4. After 2–4 weeks, the sugar will have dissolved and a syrup has formed. Once all the sugar has dissolved, you can strain out the plums. If you like, you can leave them in for up to 3 months to intensify the flavor.
5. Pour the syrup into a clean bottle or jar.
6. It’s ready to use now, but after 6–12 months of aging in the fridge or a cool cellar, the flavor becomes even deeper and more mellow.
Too many unripe plums?
Try this recipe too: pickled green plums
