Go Native with Mulberries for Pies, Wine and Jelly

Mulberries resemble slender blackberries, but the fruit has a stem after it is picked, distinguishing it from blackberries and raspberries.  Red mulberries are native to Missouri, but white, black, and red hybrid varieties can be found in some markets. 
 
White and red mulberry fruits (and hybrid fruits) are ready for harvest in late spring. Black mulberries ripen in summer to late summer. They do not ripen all at once, but when they are ready they drop from the tree. Mulberries are often harvested by spreading a sheet on the ground and shaking the limbs. Black mulberries must be picked.

Unwashed, the berries will keep several days in a refrigerator in a covered container. Mulberries may be eaten fresh or used in jelly, wine, and desserts. Slightly unripe fruits are best for making pies and tarts. Mulberries blend well with other fruits, especially pears and apples.

Mulberries, like strawberries, are lacking in both acid and pectin.  To get the mulberry juice to gel successfully, both lemon juice and a pectin product must be used.

Mulberry Jelly with Liquid Pectin
3 cups mulberry juice (Use 3 pounds ripe mulberries)
½ cup lemon juice
7 cups sugar
2 pouches liquid pectin

Procedure: Wash and rinse jars; keep warm until ready to fill. Prepare lids according to manufacturer’s directions.

Sort and wash berries; remove stems. Put mulberries in saucepan and crush. Heat gently until juice starts to flow. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Place in jelly bag and squeeze out juice. Measure 3 cups of juice into a very large pot; add lemon juice and sugar and mix well. Bring quickly to hard boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add pectin all at once. Bring to a full rolling boil, (a boil that cannot be stirred down); boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off foam with a metal spoon. Pour at once into clean, hot jars, leaving only ¼-inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids.

Process pints and half-pints for 10 minutes in a Boiling Water Canner. Yield: About 8 half-pint jars

Source: University of Georgia, National Center for Home Food Preservation. 2006 http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/can7_jam_jelly.html

Other May 2006 Articles:
Dress Spring Salads with Vinegars Prepared at Home
Vinegars at a Glance
Regulations Eased at Some Markets for Jam and Jellies Sold
Go Native with Mulberries for Pies, wine and Jelly
Making Specialty Vinegar