Making Mulberry Jam

Ned and berry

On one of the last golden days of summer, we helped some friends pick their fine mulberry tree, laden with plump, deep red fruits. Amazingly, the local bird population hadn't yet discovered this perfectly ripe crop.

If you have never eaten mulberries they have a delectable, slightly sharp flavour (and their runny red juices make excellent fake blood!).

The fruits are delicate souls so they don't travel well which is why you rarely see them in the shops. And they're not great for freezing either. They are best enjoyed eaten fresh with cream, used in sponges and tarts, and are excellent for jam-making.

We hope you will enjoy making your own Mulberry jam with the recipe below.

Making Mulberry Jam

Ingredients
- 1kg mulberry
- 750g sugar
- Rind and juice of 1 lemon

Method
- Rinse fruit gently
- Simmer till soft
- Add lemon juice, rind and sugar and dissolve then
- Boil to setting point (104cor 220f) 

It is then a case of bottling your delicious jam up into sterilised jars.

So delicious was the mulberry jam we made, our friend won first prize in the local village fair with it!

Saturday 20th September, 2014