If you are from the Darwin area or have been brought up there, you probably remember spending your pocket money on salty plums? You might also recall how you hung onto that paper bag full of salty plums like it was a bag of gold. Nostalgia’s hitting in, right? Why not learn a bit more about salty plum history.
A Brief Story of Salty Plum History
However, even if you have been brought up on salty plums, you might not be aware of their origin. So, let’s dive right into it. Salty plums originate from China. However, a similar variety of salty plums in Japan is known as umeboshi. The primary way to tell the Chinese salty plum apart from Japanese ones is by comparing their size as the former are smaller than umeboshi.
Historically Salty plums are usually made from dried prunes, cured with a sugary, salt liquorice mixture. They are packed with flavour, and often not for the faint hearted. There are kid-friendly versions of salty plums too – a sticky sweet confection. Despite salty plums’ fierce effect on your taste palate, they remain a cultural icon.
Half snack, half cure-all for whatever ails you, salty plums can help with everything from overcoming nausea to stimulating appetite. Eaten in the right amount, they can also help with infections, sore throats, fatigue, infections, and a range of other illnesses.
Usually, we have been given instructions to consume salty plums in order to get the most out of them.
How Previous Generations Ate Salty Plums
- Pop a plum in your mouth
- Rehydrate it in your mouth
- Slowly massage the fruit’s flesh off the dried stone at the center
- Keep going until just the stone remains
- Suck on the stone to extract more flavor
- Dispose of the stone and start on the next salty plum
Even though salty plums have an origin that goes back all the way to China, they have certainly been a staple for fellas in not only the Top End of Australia, but almost all over Australia now.
If this article has brought back the lovely memories of salty plums, it’s time to bring them back to your pantry. Head on over to The Salty Plum Shop at the Winnellie Super Market in Darwin, where you can find world’s largest range of salty plums. If you are craving these Darwin plums but can’t make a run to the shop, don’t worry. The shop will bring the plums to you because they offer delivery through their online reseller.
Order up now, and relive the good old days where your only worry was not having enough salty plums in your pocket.