This luscious butter uses one of my favorite types of Japanese teas, genmaicha. Genmaicha is a green tea to which toasted puffed rice is added. The flavor is unique and comforting, and pairs well with the dark and juicy and dark little plums that grow on my family's property.

Made by macerating freshly picked organic blue damson plums in a minimal amount of organic cane sugar overnight, and then slowly cooking them down in a low-heat oven with several bags of loose leaf genmaicha tea until they are reduced to a thick puree that is the most wonderful melding of flavors—the concentration of a fresh, fleshy California plum, with a subtle note of green tea and a toasty rice finish. Despite the ‘butter’ moniker, this preserve is 100% vegan&gluten free!