At first, I prepare red leaves like a basil, we call "aka-jiso",
and I wash it well and remove soil and dust with water.
And I sprinkle salt on it and rub it well in order to take out lye.
The shiso-leaves becomes the size of a big rice ball when I strongly squeeze it.
By an effect of the salt, very dark purple lye fully appears with water.
It is a very clean and beatiful color, but I have to leave all this liquid.
*The picture is waving salt once again after having thrown away the lye.
Ah! Watch out.
hands are stained with purple unless I wear rubber gloves.
And I repeat the work which is to sprinkle salt and to rub it well, again.
Then dark purple lye appears steadily again though I so strongly squeezed it a while ago.
And this time, the rice ball becomes one size smaller than the last one when I strongly squeeze it again.
Maybe you would feel slightly a waste, but I have to leave all this liquid, again.
Anyway, this is an end of work to need some power.
Then, I take out some white plum vinegar appearing from the plums which I preserved in salt before,
we call "shiro-ume-zu", and pour into the rice ball of the leaves and untie the rice ball well.
Then a color of the vinegar changes in clean purple-red immediately. Like an experiment of chemistry.
This beautiful purple-red vinegar is called "aka-ume-zu", and it is an important by-product in the making of UMEBOSHI.
At last, I return this vinegar with shiso-leaves onto the plums, and this work is completed.
Well, as you know, ume vinegar got a color, I use the glass plate instead of one weight and the wooden drop lid from today.
Well, finally, the next work is the sun airing, After the rainy season was over.
Meanwhile, the plum is in danger of molding by then.
But now what I should do is just to wait for the rainy season to be over.
And I'm going to report this continuance at another opportunity.
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