Dark Plum Concentrate
Dark plum concentrate is a concentrated aqueous extract of smoked dried Prunus mume fruit, the material known in Chinese cooking and pharmacopoeia as wumei, sold as a high solids liquid used chiefly to make sour plum drinks.
The starting material is not a fresh plum but a processed one. Green mume fruit is harvested before ripening, dried and cured over low smoke until the skin blackens and the flesh becomes leathery, which fixes a smoky, tarry aroma over the fruit acidity and drives the colour to near black. The resulting fruit is extremely sour, with citric and malic acid as the dominant organic acids, and it carries phenolic acids, a small amount of organic acid derived furan compounds from the curing, and the smoke volatiles that define the flavour. Because the fruit is dried and hard, the juice is recovered by hot water extraction rather than by pressing.
Concentrate is traded as a dark brown to black viscous liquid, usually at 60 to 70 Brix, or as a spray dried powder for sachet drinks. It dissolves fully in water to a translucent brown liquid with a pronounced sour and smoky character. Colour and the smoke note are both heat sensitive over long holds, so concentration is run under vacuum.
We source bulk Dark Plum Concentrate from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Zhejiang. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Beverage ingredient
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Viscous liquid, free from foreign matter and stone fragments |
| Colour | Dark brown to black, translucent brown on dilution |
| Flavour and odour | Characteristic sour and smoky dark plum, no burnt or musty note |
| Soluble solids | 65.0 to 70.0 Brix at 20 degrees Celsius |
| pH | 2.6 to 3.4 |
| Titratable acidity as citric acid | 10.0 percent minimum on concentrate |
| Insoluble matter | 0.5 percent maximum |
| Benzo(a)pyrene | 2.0 microgram per kg maximum |
| Sulphur dioxide | Not detected |
| Lead | 0.1 mg/kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 0.2 mg/kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 1000 cfu/g maximum |
| Yeast and mould | 50 cfu/g maximum |
| Salmonella | Negative in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Liquid concentrate at 60 to 70 Brix is the main traded form and is bought on Brix, titratable acidity and colour intensity. A lighter extract at 30 to 45 Brix is sold where the buyer intends to dilute immediately and wants lower viscosity for dosing. Spray dried dark plum powder, usually carried on maltodextrin, is the third form and is used in instant sour plum drink sachets and in seasoning blends, where it is specified on moisture, bulk density and solubility rather than on Brix.
Beyond form, lots are distinguished by whether the extract is from smoked wumei alone or from a compound base that already includes hawthorn, liquorice, osmanthus and tangerine peel, which is how much of the sour plum drink trade actually buys the material. Compound bases are specified on the finished drink profile after dilution rather than on the individual fruit contribution.
Applications
- Sour plum drink, the traditional chilled summer beverage that is the largest single outlet
- Instant sour plum drink sachets and powders, using the spray dried form
- Bottled and canned plum beverages, where the concentrate is diluted and blended with sweetener
- Tea shop and food service syrups dosed at point of sale into iced drinks
- Preserved fruit and dried snack seasoning, contributing sour and smoky notes to plum and olive snacks
- Confectionery, hard boiled sweets and jellies with a sour plum profile
- Sauces, marinades and braising liquids for pork and duck, where the acid cuts fat
- Frozen desserts, ice lollies and sorbets built on a sour plum base
- Vinegar drinks and shrub style mixers, where the smoke note carries through dilution
China Manufacturers of Dark Plum Concentrate
Top Dark Plum Concentrate manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
Prunus mume fruit has a long history of food use in East Asia, and dark plum extract moves in international trade as a conventional food ingredient rather than as an additive. In the United States it is used as a food ingredient and as a flavouring, with no food additive listing engaged because the extract functions as a food and as a flavour, and packers operate the food safety plan required for the product type. Where the material is used specifically for its flavour, it falls within the framework for natural flavouring substances.
In the European Union, Prunus mume fruit preparations are assessed on the history of consumption in the Union, and importers check the Commission novel food catalogue before placing new preparations on the market, since fruit food use and traditional medicinal use follow different routes. Smoked and smoke cured materials attract separate attention: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formed during curing are subject to maximum levels for contaminants in food, and this is the specification point that matters most for dark plum, so lots for the European market are routinely tested for benzo(a)pyrene and the sum of four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Codex addresses the material through its general contaminant standard and through the standards applying to fruit based beverages.
Manufacturing Process
Cured dark plum fruit is received, inspected and washed to remove surface ash and dust from the smoking stage, then steeped in hot water to rehydrate the leathery flesh. Extraction is carried out in a countercurrent or multi stage batch train at temperatures below boiling, usually in two or three passes so that the later passes recover residual solids at low concentration and are recycled onto fresh fruit. Stones and spent flesh are separated on a screen and pressed to recover held liquor, and the pooled extract is coarsely filtered.
The extract is centrifuged and polish filtered to remove fine solids and colloidal material that would otherwise settle in the finished drink, then concentrated in a falling film evaporator under vacuum, with the temperature held low to protect the smoke volatiles and to limit further darkening. Concentrate is drawn at target Brix, pasteurised, cooled rapidly and filled aseptically or frozen. Where a powder is required, the concentrate is blended with maltodextrin and spray dried, since the acid and sugar load makes the material too hygroscopic to dry on its own.
