While I’m waiting for farmers market apples to cost less than a baby panda, I decided to try a recipe for Russian brined plums that I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while. The turning point was getting hold of a whole bunch of plums that were good but not great. A little too sour, a little too firm, they didn’t even taste right in pastries and pies.
WHAT IS RUSSIAN BRINED PLUMS
As the name would imply, brined or lacto fermented plums were part of the Russian tradition to preserve summer harvest. Brining tree fruit was a popular practice in central and southern parts of Russia, where it grew in abundance.
There are quite a few references of Russian brined plums in historical and classical literature. They were a favorite side dish to serve with meat and wild game. Adding them to the spread of pickled snacks during a vodka drinking session was another thing to do.
RUSSIAN BRINED PLUMS ARE ONE OF THE EASIEST FERMENTS
As much I love my yearly fall tradition of brining apples (which can be quite tricky), I found myself smitten with the ease of process and the amazing results I got from fermenting plums. I’m on my third batch already, and I didn’t encounter any ‘I wish I knew this earlier’ moments.
Plums don’t float like apples so there is no issue of browned unappetizing sides exposed to oxygenation. Everything stays perfectly submerged without putting effort into it.
Plums that don’t taste good fresh, taste absolutely amazing when fermented. I can tell you with certainty – my kids would never eat 12 fresh plums in one sitting, which is what happened with my first batch of brined plums. The taste and texture are really something special.
A lot of recipes suggest cold fermenting plums for several weeks after the initial room temperature fermentation. I do follow that suggestion but the plums already taste great even before the cold storage.
VARIATIONS OF RUSSIAN BRINED PLUMS
There are quite a few versions of Russian brined plums floating around the old country. The popular ones include mustard, honey and sprouted malted rye flour (solod). Virtually all recipes call for rye flour.
Before you ask if you can use whey as a starter, which Sally Fallon forged into a status equivalent to Windex with Greek people (aka ‘works for everything and everyone’) – don’t bother.
There is a reason why traditions perpetuate a certain way. If adding a dairy starter to brined fruit was a good idea, every babushka in Siberia would be using it.
HOW TO MAKE RUSSIAN BRINED PLUMS
Ingredients
10-12 red plums (or enough to fill half-gallon Mason jar) firm but ripe
A quart of filtered water (or enough to fill half-gallon Mason jar with plums in it)
A handful of fresh mint leaves
If available, a handful of currant leaves (see note below)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon whole grain rye flour
1/4 cup raw light honey (dark tastes too strong)
1-2 tablespoons sourdough starter (I use rye sourdough starter) or a piece of stale rye bread
1/2 teaspoon cardamom pods (optional)
Instructions
Place plums in a half-gallon Mason jar, alternating with mint leaves and currant leaves, if using. Wedge them in securely.
Measure how much water you need – fill the plum jar with water. Pour the water out into a medium pot.
Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of whole grain rye flour. Whisk, bring to boil. Cool to room temperature.
Once cool, add 1/4 cup of raw honey and a couple of tablespoons of active sourdough starter. Whisk. This is your brine.
Pour brine over the plums to the very top.
Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 5-7 days. Open the jar once a day and remove any foamy residue that forms on top.
Transfer the jar into refrigerator and let the ferment mature from 2-4 weeks before eating.
Notes
I grow a couple of currant bushes just for the leaves, they are perfect steeped in tea, and add nice flavor to kvass, kombucha or other lacto fermented foods. Black currant leaves are especially fragrant.
Russian Brined Plums
Ingredients
- 10-12 red plums or enough to fill half-gallon Mason jar firm but ripe
- A quart of filtered water or enough to fill half-gallon Mason jar with plums in it
- A handful of fresh mint leaves
- a handful of currant leaves if available (see note below)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon whole grain rye flour
- 1/4 cup raw light honey (dark tastes too strong)
- 1-2 tablespoons sourdough starter I use rye sourdough starter or a piece of stale rye bread
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom pods optional
Instructions
- Place plums in a half-gallon Mason jar, alternating with mint leaves and currant leaves, if using. Wedge them in securely.
- Measure how much water you need - fill the plum jar with water. Pour the water out into a medium pot.
- Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon of whole grain rye flour. Whisk, bring to boil. Cool to room temperature.
- Once cool, add 1/4 cup of raw honey and a couple of tablespoons of active sourdough starter. Whisk. This is your brine.
- Pour brine over the plums to the very top.
- Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 5-7 days. Open the jar once a day and remove any foamy residue that forms on top.
- Transfer the jar into refrigerator and let the ferment mature from 2-4 weeks before eating.
Notes
26 comments
Ha, I was just looking for a recipe for pickled plums, as they are coming in season, and 4 of 6 jars of my plum jam from last year are still in the fridge. My American husband doesn’t trust my 2-ingredient jam, he prefers a 12-ingredient stuff from the store. LOL Thank you for this, it sounds perfect!!!
Lol, so funny, sounds vaguely familiar! There might have been a point in time when my hubs felt the same way! Luckily it didn’t take long to convert him, now he swears by all things fermented and sourdough and homemade from scratch 🙂
You’ll really enjoy these plums, my only problem is making enough to last longer than a day 🙂 I did my last batch in gallon jars!
These look delicious! I’m hunting for local plums to try this recipe. Do you think this recipe could use pears instead of plums?
Hi Katie, I haven’t tried brining pears yet but it is another popular ferment in Russia. Pretty much the same concept, I’d probably ferment them longer in the fridge. Also, you might need to weigh them down to keep them submerged. Not sure how floaty they are. Let me know if you try! 🙂
Thanks! We live on the Canadian prairies (COLD), so most pears don’t grow here and the ones that do are very firm and not tasty for fresh eating. I hoped they might be like the firm plums and improve with fermentation. We’re hoping to find some, but there aren’t many people who grow plums or pears around here. Thanks again.
I haven’t been able to acquire local pears or plums yet, but we live in the country, so I did go out and buy a couple plum trees and a black currant shrub last week. Lord-willing, we will have a few plums from our small trees next year!
I’m trying pears today! Little Bartletts. I’ll keep you updated! 😀
I tried making these (they are in cold storage in my fridge, waiting for a few weeks to try them). I used Italian prune plums that were begging for a little fermentation love. After 2 1/2 days, they were floating to the top of the jar (surface was weighted so they weren’t exposed) and the skins had cracked. I was concerned about them, so I pulled the ferment early and put it into the fridge. Did I panic too early? Were my plums too soft? (They were a little softer than the firm texture you suggested.) I would love some tips.
I feel kind of bad that I might have jumped the gun on the ferment by putting it into the fridge, since I was reading that some bacteria takes more days to develop than other bacterias. 🙁 Thanks for your help!
Hey hey Em, I haven’t had any of the plums I tried float yet so good to know that prunes do! Skin cracking did happen to me with black plums and the really soft ones, but not those that we just a little soft. The red plums came out perfect every single time so I’m definitely sticking with them only!
Thank you for answering my questions!
UPDATE: The prune plums turned out amazing! Even with the floating and cracking. 😀 They are fizzy and clean tasting. I am wondering if they floated because they were a bit softer than you described — they were last of the season plums — in October! O.O But I could not resist them, since I didn’t want to wait almost a year to try brined plums. I am sure glad I did, they are delicious! My only wish is to somehow have made more before plum season ended. Hehe.
Another couple questions– what do you do with your leftover brine? I just used some in my brined apples that I made today. Just a little as a “starter” along with your brine recipe. I thought it couldn’t hurt. With the rest though…it’s such a shame to throw it out! Do you ever drink yours? Or cook with it? Are there any recipes for using it? I feel like our ancestors would find a way to use it, rather than throwing it out, since everything was precious back then. (A good lesson for me, nowdays… :D) Maybe it would make a good hair rinse or facial toner or body toner? I don’t know? Do you have any tips, ideas or recipes? Thank you so much! 😀
Hi girlie, so glad you are enjoying these plums, they do go so fast! I love the brine, I actually mix it with water and sometime a squeeze of lemon and drink it like lemonade. My kids like it too. The plum brine is the best, especially with a lot of mint. What I did with the apple brine a couple of times in the past is added a little bit of dry bakers yeast and within a day, I got a super fizzy refreshing drink that’s got all the fermentation goodness 🙂
I had an interesting experience with extra brine from a batch of brined apples and pears which I made by using a 3% brine plus honey,some tea leaves and thyme.
I put some brine in a screw top vinegar bottle, which had been washed. I left it in a cool place and forgot about it. When I tried to open it, perhaps 2 or 3 weeks later it was SO fizzy that I gave up trying to open it. I put it in the fridge and tried releasing the pressure a bit at a time until eventually I was able to open it!It had a slight cider-ish taste and I have been drinking it diluted with water.
Today I’m going to do your recipe for brined plums.
I know this is 4 years later, but I wanted to toss in a suggestion for anybody hunting recipes now (like I am). I like fruit brine/syrup mixed with a bit of cider or balsamic vinegar and sparkling water to make a shrub mocktail. Pleasantly sweet, bracingly tangy, and so refreshing
Hi Valeria,
thanks for the very tasty recipe!
I found out that it isn’t necessary to boil the brine before you are using it for the plums. At least not with my water here in Germany. We don’t have chlorine in the water here.
It’s totally safe to use the water directly from the tap and if you are using sourdough as starter, no “wild ” fermentation should start in there.
Why do you think it is necessary to store it in the fridge after 5-7 days? My fridge is quite small, so I will try to leave them at room temperature and taste them frequently. I keep you updated!
Kind regards,
Robert
Hi Robert, thank you! I agree that it’s not necessary to boil brining water, in Russia we could never trust our tap water, and even in the States I feel better boiling it first, so that’s why I prefer to do it :). Fridge / cold cellar storage is to slow down the rate of fermentation and prevent alcohol formation, so we don’t wind up with a bunch of boozy plums!
I have celiac disease and so I can’t use rye grains or the sourdough starter. Do you have any recommendations for possible substitutions to make it gluten-free? Thanks!
Hi Caitlin, you can use any fermentation starter, like brine from pickles or sauerkraut, non-gluten sourdough starter, or whey. Fermentation should technically start even on its own, and extra starter is to establish acidic environment quicker.
Thank you! I thought I could use other starters, but wanted to double check first.
Bonjour,
Merci pour toutes ces explications, mais avant de vous lire, il y a une semaine, j’ai voulu faire quelques bocaux de mirabelles au sirop, sans stérilisation (â part bocaux vides). Lavé et entassé mirabelles dans bocal, puis versé un sirop par dessus bord, puis refermé avec couvercle hermétique. Puis j’ai vu que ça fermentait (sans le vouloir). J’ai desserré les couvercles pour ne pas que ça explose, puis légèrement resserré. Faut il tout jeter où tenter de laisser fermenter à la cave? Si ça tourne en alcool, est ce dangereux à consommer dans une salade de fruit par exemple? Merci beaucoup pour votre avis.
Hi Valeria–thank you for the recipe, and I am going to try this today. I’m wondering, do you know what traditional preservation would have been for these, before refrigeration? Just more salt maybe? I’m interested in doing it in a non-refrigerated way.
Hi Valeria,
Thanks for this recipe!
I started this a couple of days ago, but I had neither the rye flour (oversight on my part because I thought I had some) nor the sourdough starter. In place of the sourdough starter I used an equal amount of tepache I had brewed, but in place of the rye flour I used unbleached all purpose flour, which the various sourdough sites out there suggest as one of the ways of feeding a sourdough. Within the same day of assembling the ingredients, this was already bubbling actively, so I know there’s fermentation afoot.
Two things I would like to get clarity on, if you happen to know:
1) How essential is rye flour to the flavor of this recipe? It didn’t seem like enough to me to really impact the flavor, but I am still pretty new to fermentation.
2) Is the flour just feedstock for the SCOBY? I see above your suggestion to use another active brine to help kickstart fermentation, so it doesn’t seem like the flour is absolutely required, but if there’s another purpose it serves, I would be interested in learning.
Again, thanks.
Thank you for this recipe which I plan to try. Do I use whole plums or do you cut them? Thanks
Hello Valeria,
Thank you for the recipe. Here in France I have two plum trees: mirabelles (yellow) and reines claudes (green). Would these work for the recipe?
Another question: The flour and starter in the recipe imply consuming uncooked flour. Do you consider that this is not problematic health-wise?
I just saw in a comment that you said that the fermentation should technically start on its own. That’s interesting because I notice that our plums seem to naturally have a white coating. I wonder if it’s yeast, as with grapes? Should they be only lightly washed, then, perhaps just rinsed and not rubbed at all? (I know fermentation is more a bacteria question than yeast.)
An American in France
I correct myself: only the starter is a source of raw grain in this recipe.
Should I only use plums that I have picked from the tree? I’ve been harvesting by gently shaking the tree and letting them fall, but of course this can bruise them. Would the fallen ones rot rather than ferment? I really don’t like getting out and climbing the ladder… 🙂
Hello again,
Why was my comment disapproved?
These are just amazing! Such a wonderful and special flavor. Thank you so much!