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Korean · VI The Beverage Tradition

Maesil-ju (매실주)

Korea; the southern coast and Jeolla provinces for the fruit

‹ The Beverage Tradition

I

Origin

Maesil-ju is the liqueur of green plums, maesil (Prunus mume), steeped in distilled spirit with sugar. It belongs to the Korean tradition of fruit and herb infusions, the gwasilju and yakju-like steeped wines of the household, made in early summer when the green fruit is picked. The plum itself came to Korea from China, and the fruit is grown today chiefly in the warm south, where the Jeolla and Gyeongsang coasts hold the orchards. It is carried by the home kitchen rather than by any single house: each family keeps its own jar, and the household recipe passes from one cook to the next.

II

Description

Maesil-ju is a clear, amber-gold liqueur made from unripe green plums, Prunus mume, layered with sugar in a glass jar and covered with a neutral spirit, in the home kitchen usually diluted soju of about 25 to 30 per cent alcohol. The fruit is left whole, stem removed, and the sugar draws out the juice while the spirit extracts the aroma and the bitter almond note of the stone. The liquid darkens slowly from pale green to gold. It is drunk small and cool, and the same fruit syrup, maesil-cheong, is the cook's companion to the liqueur.

III

The Thread

—Both steep green Prunus mume fruit with sugar in spirit and leave the jar to mature through the summer and beyond. Umeshu is commonly made with rock sugar and white liquor and often sold as a standardised bottled product, whereas maesil-ju remains chiefly a household jar. Japanese
—Both extract the flavour of a hard, sour fruit by steeping it with sugar in a neutral spirit until the astringency softens. Sloe gin uses a ripe autumn berry and gin, while maesil-ju uses the unripe plum of early summer and a grain spirit. British
—Both are fruit liqueurs made by macerating fruit with sugar in alcohol, and both draw a nutty note from the stone. Ratafia is typically made from a wide range of fruit and fortified wine or brandy, while maesil-ju rests on a single green fruit and soju. French
IV

Flavour Context

Maesil-ju is drunk chilled or at room temperature in small glasses, before or after a meal, and with rich, fatty dishes such as grilled pork belly, samgyeopsal, where its sweetness and fruit acidity cut the fat. Its gentle sour edge also suits fried dishes and salty banchan. The reason is structural: sugar and acid together cleanse the palate after oil and salt, so the next mouthful tastes fresh.

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