Umeboshi? Perche?

I first discovered umeboshi, which are preserved salty Japanese apricots (ume), in Italy of all places. I was working in Firenze (Florence) as a nanny, and my boss, who once owned a vegetarian supermarket, only bought the best organic and biodynamic produce. She also had a chef come in once a week to cook her a special lunch. The rest of the week I was cooking for them, and believe me - Italian families love to eat. I learnt so much about cooking while living there, mostly Italian, but surprisingly some Asian cooking.
One of the things that this family liked to use in their cooking was umeboshi. . They also taught me about the therapeutic properties of umeboshi - which came in handy, as I got travel sick every time I went in their car.
The first time I tried umeboshi, was in a vinegar form on top of a light tofu salad. I would also take the whole umeboshis in the car with me to eat when I felt car sick.
I loved umeboshi instantly, and knew when I got home to Australia that I'd miss this lovely red salty stuff. Lucky for me, they sell it here too.
I now have umeboshi vinegar, puree and whole fruits on hand at all times and use it for many different dishes, especially for onigiri (rice balls) and sushi. My little boy loves to have it on everything.