Mulberry Recipe - Mulberry Jam

Mid June brings us mulberries in two different colors, red and white. Calling them red and white mulberries is a bit misleading, as the red mulberry (Morus rubra) will ripen to red or black, and the white mulberry (Morus alba) will ripen to white or a light purple. The red mulberries have a more balanced, sweet-tart flavor while the white mulberries are incredibly sweet. We often see small trees along city streets, with a berry-covered sidewalk beneath them, filled with squawking birds. Mulberries are quickly gathered by spreading a tarp or sheet beneath the tree and giving the branches a shake. We de-seed and de-stem our mulberries with a food mill, the Roma Food Strainer with a berry screen for a thick, pulpy jam that goes really well spread over toasted cornbread. If you don't have the food mill, you need to cook the mulberries with a bit of water and pass the pulp through a mesh strainer to remove the seeds and stems and obtain 5 cups of pulpy juice. So far, we have made some jam from the ripe, black berries. The white mulberries are about a week behind in ripening.

Mulberry Jam                makes 9-8 oz. jars

5 c. seedless and stemless, pulpy mulberry juice
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 box Sur-Jell pectin (1.75 oz)
7 c. sugar

1. Sterilize and heat jars and lids.
2. In a large pot, add mulberry pulp, lemon juice, and pectin, whisking together. Bring the mixture up to a rolling boil.
3. Add all of the sugar at once, stirring until it is dissolved. Return to a rolling boil and cook 1 minute.
4. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle into hot, sterile jars, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes. Cool.