If you love taking a stroll through the farmers’ market, we are certain you’ve fallen in love with vibrantly colored plums.
They’re extremely satisfying to eat, dripping with sweetness but did you know just how convenient plums are in a variety of tasty recipes?
Then again, plum extract isn’t anywhere near as common, and that’s why we have the best plum extract substitutes coming up in this article.
Plum Extract – What Is It?
Plum extract is a famous ingredient in Korea and widely used in other areas of the world. Plum extract is made from green plums, which are often called Japanese apricots by some people.
The plums are marinated with sugar and honey for a few months resulting in the thick, goopy plum extract that we know and love.
You’ll find this tasty ingredient widely used in marinating and dipping sauces, favored for its tangy-sweet flavor.
You’ll also find plum extract widely used in soju cocktails. When added to meat marinades, it eliminates any oily taste and gets rid of meaty smells.
Its ability to soften meat leaves it perfectly tenderized, ready for convenient cooking. There are tons of ways to use plum extract.
Try adding a little to hot water to make a delicious plum tea called Maesil Cha (매실차) that you’ll keep coming back to.
However, if you can’t get a hold of this Korean staple, simply use any of the plum extract substitutes in the section below.
The Best Plum Extract Substitute
If you don’t have access to plum extract and can’t find a store with any in stock, give these excellent alternatives a try.
1) Bean Paste & Brown Sugar
Plum extract tends to have a flavor profile that’s both sweet and slightly salty. If you run out, try a combination of brown sugar and bean paste. It’ll give the same consistency and a very similar flavor.
For the best results, make a blend of bean paste, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, and five-spice powder.
Blend well, and you’ve got a tasty plum extract substitute that’s nearly an identical match to the flavor.
2) Garlic Teriyaki
One may at first believe that plum extract only contains plums, but it actually has a range of other ingredients in it, and garlic is one of them. This makes garlic teriyaki sauce one of the best substitutes for plum extract.
To make your own garlic teriyaki, blend together teriyaki sauce, minced garlic cloves, molasses, red wine vinegar, five-spice powder, and cooked or canned kidney beans.
Blend well until you’ve got a sauce that’s a close match in taste and consistency to plum extract.
3) Garlic & Prunes
Garlic and prunes blended together make for a fantastic plum extract substitute. Boil pitted prunes until they’re tender and soft. Once soft, add soy sauce, garlic cloves, and a generous amount of dry sherry.
Blend until you’ve got a paste that mimics plum far better than you’d ever expected.
4) Black Bean & Plums
Black beans might not sound like a good substitute for plum extract, but add plums to the mix, and you’ll have the perfect balance of flavor. To create this substitute:
- Combine chopped plums, cooked or canned black beans, garlic sauce, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, five-spice powder, and sesame oil.
- Reduce the plums with water and brown sugar until they’re a paste before adding to the other ingredients.
- Blend the mix until it reaches a similar consistency to plum extract.
5) Barbecue & Molasses
One of the simplest plum extract substitutes is a mix of molasses and barbecue sauce. It’s about the easiest out there, and if you want it to taste even better, all it takes is a few extra ingredients.
Combine soy sauce, barbecue sauce, molasses, and five-spice powder to create a sticky sauce. If you find your plum extract alternative to be a little too thick, simply stir in water until it’s the right consistency.
6) Soy & Peanut Butter
It’s pretty obvious that most people don’t associate peanut butter with plum extract at all. Yet, mix peanut butter with soy sauce, and you’ve got a salty, sweet sauce that’s surprisingly similar.
The flavor is fine and refined, making soy sauce and peanut butter one of the tastiest overlooked substitutes out there.
The best blend is a mix of sesame oil, soy sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, white vinegar, honey, garlic powder, and black pepper.
7) Ginger & Plum Jam
Peel and grate ginger root and combine it with teriyaki sauce, plum jam, garlic cloves, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Blend well, and you’ve got an irresistible plum extract substitute that’ll be slightly sweeter than the original.
8) Plum, Onion & Pear
Blended plum, onion, and pear combine into a tasty sauce that’s a close match to plum extract. Reduce your plums and pear with water and brown sugar, and you’ve got a paste.
Add in a little minced onion that has been softened by blanching in boiling hot water and all-spice and process the mixture well in a blender or food processor.
9) Miso, Garlic, Mustard & Raisins
Soak a cup of raisins in water for an hour and mix with the following combination.
Combine 1 1/4 cups of water with 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper, and a tablespoon of miso paste, mustard, and sesame oil.
Blend well in a blender or food processor until you’ve got a sauce that’s the same consistency as a plum extract.
10) Sriracha & Molasses
Sriracha is one of the most popular sauces around and a staple that most people have in their kitchen. Make a great sauce that tastes like a midway between plum extract and hoisin sauce by blending the following ingredients.
Mix together a tablespoon of sriracha with a quarter cup of soy sauce, two tablespoons of molasses, and a tablespoon of peanut butter, rice wine vinegar, sesame seed oil, and water.
Combine the mixture with half a teaspoon of five-spice powder and a clove of garlic in a large saucepan. Stir until it’s mixed together thoroughly before allowing it to cool down.
Blend the paste until it’s a sauce in a blender or food processor.
12) Hoisin Sauce
The Cantonese cuisine favorite, Hoisin sauce, carries a blend of sweetness and saltiness that makes it an excellent plum extract substitute.
If your store is out of plum extract, plum jam, and plum sauces, buy a bottle of hoisin sauce, and you’ve got one of the most readily available alternatives ready to use.
13) Duck Sauce
Duck sauce can be found in most stores. The sweet-sour flavor and jelly-like consistency make duck sauce a fantastic plum extract substitute.
The taste of this condiment made from apricots, plums, pineapples, or peaches is so similar to plum sauce that the terms duck sauce and plum sauce are often used interchangeably in Chinese cuisine.
14) Sweet & Sour Sauce
Sweet and sour sauce is inexpensive and readily available in many different forms. If you don’t have any handy and want to use sweet and sour sauce as a plum extract substitute, make your own.
Try combining 3/4 of a cup of white sugar with 1/3 cup white vinegar, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 2/4 cups of water, a tablespoon of ketchup, and two tablespoons of cornstarch.
Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a saucepan on a low to medium heat, stirring until the mix reaches the degree of thickness you prefer.
15) Umeboshi
Umeboshi are Japanese pickled plums that are actually made from a fruit that’s related to an apricot, not a conventional plum.
They’re salty and very, very sour. Despite the strong taste that’s reminiscent of plums, umeboshi’s low global availability is what puts them so far down this list.
Make sure to adjust your recipe by adding extra sugar if using umeboshi as a plum extract alternative.
16) Ume Shiso
Ume shiso is a Japanese plum paste that’s very similar to umeboshi. You get the same sour sweetness but without the umami flavor and complexity.
Adding extra sugar, just like when using umeboshi, is highly recommended if substituting ume shiso for plum extract.
The Best Plum Extract Available
Plum extract is a very specific taste that takes particular alternatives. No single substitution will work as the best as every recipe incorporates this tangy additive differently.
We’ve provided a complete range of the best plum extract substitutes available, but each will change your dish, altering its flavors slightly.
Always consider the full implications of what you’re adding and taste as you go so that you know when to compensate for any sweetness or savory flavor that may be missing.