Mulberry jam anyone?

Sorry for only posting now, but with the hectic job of settling into  a new town and country again, mulberry Season came and went in November!

The mulberry trees produced an enormous crop, as is usual, and what else was there to do with so many mulberries, but to make yummy jam!

 Jam making has been a bit of a learning curve for me, with much frustration, primarily in trying to achieve the setting point without burning or caramelizing the jam. But practice makes perfect. Correct? Well so the experts say....

 The tree we have in our yard is probably the Morus Alba, although it is hard to tell as I haven't seen the blooms yet. Will keep you posted! 

Above: The front view of the leaf - Smooth and the margins have rounded little 'bumps' rather than very pointed/serrated ones of the Morus Nigra.

Below:  The back view of the leaf - slightly lighter and the veins quite prominent. Heart shaped.

I found a site that may solve some of the confusion with identifying the different species of Mulberry trees.
It is still as"thick as mud" to me, but hopefully It will eventually become clearer ones the blooms and buds arrive!

My son sneaking some mulberries.

The crop yield is very high, so we have had mulberries coming out of our ears!

A tip for picking: Lay a plastic sheet under the tree if the branches are not too low, and with a good shake you  can harvest quite a few.

Alternatively, it you have to hand pick, cut the stems off at the very tip of the fruit, thereby saving you the VERY tedious job of picking the stems off later.

If you pick too much, you may end up with a batch that goes moldy and has to be tossed into the bin! So pick only what you will need immediately.

The first job after picking bucket loads of the purpley and very messy fruits, is to wash them.

Make sure you protect your clothes as they stain!

This should remove any 'creepy crawlies' which may have inadvertently crept into your bucket.

I prefer to give them 3 washes. Do not soak them as this will draw in water and they will lose their flavour.

Rather pick and wash small batches at a time.

If you haven't already de-stalked them while picking the mulberries, do this now.

The next step is to prepare the homemade lemon and apple pectin, which aids with the 'setting' or 'jellying' of the jam. (Instructions can be found here.)

Now measure out no more than 6 cups of mulberries and 5 cups of sugar and set them both aside for later. (For a no-sugar recipe, replace the sugar with 3 cups of honey and 2 cups of grape juice.)

Cooking batches bigger than this does not allow for even heat distribution and can cause the jam not to 'set', and instead you will end up with something that closely resembles nice mulberry syrup!

Pour the mulberries into a large pot, with enough room so that it does not boil over, and very lightly mash them. This will release some of the natural pectin. Don't overdo it, as many people like whole fruit in their jams.
 Keep on medium heat until the mulberries are soft and then pour in the pectin (amount depends on the pectin test, details which are found here.)  Once the pectin level is correct, add the sugar and stir it in until dissolved. Now Stir in gently and increase the heat to medium high. Now bring the mixture to a fast 'rolling boil' (a boil that isn't disturbed when stirring, but try NOT to stir now), until setting point of 220c has been reached. (This is the setting point at sea-level, therefore at higher altitudes, the setting point will be slightly lower.)

Use a cooking thermometer if necessary. Some stoves battle to reach this point. A gas stove top would be the best as it reaches high heats fairly quickly.

Alternatively, you can used the saucer method below:

Place a glass saucer in the freezer and once the mulberries have been on a rolling boil for a few minutes, take a teaspoon of the mixture and place on the ice-cold saucer. Put this in the freezer for about 3 minutes. Then test by running your finger across the jam. It should resist and 'fold' rather than just let your finger run through it smoothly. If not set, continue on a rolling boil for another 5 minutes or until you feel it has set and try the method again. It may be a good idea to have a few saucers ready in the freezer.

Another method , also very similar though, is to use a glass of ice water and leave a teaspoon in it. Dip it into the mixture. If it gels or sets on the spoon after a minute, the jam has set.

Make sure that your clean jam bottles are sterilized, preferably first in the dishwasher and then in the oven, and 'bake' on high for about 5 minutes prior to filling. Once the jam has set, with forceps (to protect your hands from the high heat and hot jam),  remove a bottle from the oven and place near pot. Using a wide metal funnel, now pour the jam mixture into the bottle. Be sure to only fill to just over 3/4. The remainder of the jar, fill up just with  'syryp', therefore preventing it from being 'dry' by having too much fruit and not enough syrup.
ps: excess syrup can be used as a delicious desert topping. My cousin reckons I can make a killing on selling just the syrup on its own, it so yummy on ice-cream!

Fresh mulberries with mulberry syrup on ice cream.

Once completely filled to the brim, (which prevents air bubbles forming), close the jam jar with the now sterilized lid as tightly as possible, using an oven glove to protect you from the heat. Now place the jar upside down in an ice 'bath' which you need to have prepared before hand. This extreme temperature difference will ensure that the lids 'suction' feature comes into effect to effectively seal the jar.

Ensure that only high quality glass which is able to handle such extremes, is used.

Locally, the 'Consol' range of glass jars is really nice, but cheaper jam jars with rubber seal lids, are just as effective.

Voila, ready to be labelled and stored!