Ume/Maesil Galore

This past weekend was the first annual Hi Desert Jujube festival, but I somehow left with loads of ume products!Mr. Sang Lee of Wild Blue farm and the ume co-op saw me at the event and invited me to his farm. I had no idea what a treat it would be. The farm is well maintained, the trees healthy with minimal water thanks to the thoroughly mulched ground. Inside the packing house, Mr. Lee let me try his ume and jujube gochujang -- the key sauce to bibimbap! He had many test batches of ume sriracha, ume extract, and so much more. One was an ume soybean paste that reminds me of my grandmother's batches, only that the ume brings an extra sweet and tangy quality. I can't wait for the world to taste these dynamically flavorful foods!