Mulberry Jam

Let's just preface this post by saying it doesn't hurt to ask. Our mom always said that and she's right. What's the worst that will happen? Someone may tell you "No." But then again, they might just say "Yes."

There is a 4-plex near our home that is currently vacant and up for sale. It is en route when we walk our dog. And it also has the largest mulberry tree that is absolutely LOADED with berries. In the past we have snitched some during the walk and they are oh so lovely.

However, since the building is now vacant it pains me to see all those berries go to waste. So I made a point of going to the building the other day and reading the info posted on the door. The realtor's name and number was listed so I called to see if he would have any problems with me picking mulberries. His response, "None whatsoever, pick as many as you'd like." Hallelujah!!

So we took our rake, a tarp and the kids and shook down 4 - 5 qt. buckets worth of mulberries. And we'll be back in a couple more days as there are even MORE not quite ripe. It pays to ask, that's all I can say, it pays to ask.

All that I've found out about mulberries indicates that anything you can do with a raspberry, blackberry, or other similar berry you can do with a mulberry. They supposedly freeze well and will last for months that way. I plan on freezing a good portion of them so we can have them during the winter months.

My kids eat them straight off the tree.

I made one batch of Mulberry jam.

I found the recipe in the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, pg. 31.

It may end up being more like syrup because I almost forgot the lemon juice and added it at the end instead of the beginning. I'll have to try one more batch to see if that little detail makes a difference or not. I'm looking forward to trying it on vanilla ice cream with a little bit of nuts, too.

How to collect and freeze Mulberries found HERE.

You may want to try this Mulberry Jelly recipe.

NOTE:

Mulberries STAIN EVERYTHING!! Don't wear nice clothes or shoes when picking. You may even want to use plastic gloves when rinsing them out to freeze. Bring newspaper to set your shoes on once you get back in the car.

This is what they will do to everything they touch.

They'll stain your towels, when canning jam. Use a dark dishcloth to clean up and dab up the water. Seriously...they STAIN everything!! But man they taste awesome! And when you can get them for FREE--even tastier!