Mulberry Jelly

On the Menu Today~

Mulberry Jelly and an

Honor Flight

Mulberry Jelly

My son Bob and his beautiful wife Kim,
live in a gorgeous old home that has been in her dads family for over 60+ years.
They live in the upper half and
Kim's grandpa lives in the lower half.
He is 87+ years old,
so they help him out,
even though he is really quite independent.
I love talking to older people,
listening to them talk about the past and
the lives that they have lived.
Grandpa is a WW II Veteran and
recently took part in the  Old Glory Honor Flight.
Old Glory Honor Flights are dedicated to transporting our WW II Veterans to Washington, D.C.
to see the memorials built in their honor.
What a wonderful way to Honor the Men and Women who served in World War II.
"It's Never To Late To Say Thank-You" to all the brave men and
women that serve and
have served in our Armed Forces.

                                             

The property on which the house sits on is huge.
It is full of old trees, lilac bushes, flowers and
plants that seem to change with the seasons.
There is a garden behind the garage where Kim spent summers helping her Grandma.
It has a small pond with fish,
a small foot bridge that is over a creek that flows into Lake Winnebago and
2 sheds full of "grandpa's treasures"
There is antique farm equipment scattered around the property and
a large weather vane, that squeaks loudly when it catches the wind.
There is also a 3 car garage.
They even have a Smokehouse on the property that hasn't been used in years.
It's a gazebo style structure with a built in wood stove, where they cooked pizza, I do believe.
On the property, they also have wild life....
I live in the woods of Northern WI and
I have never seen a deer or any other animal,
except rabbits, in my yard.
They live in the city and
have a yard full of deer, raccoon's, foxes and a family of owls!
Update:
In the Spring of 2014,
The smokehouse had a face lift.
In July of 2014, it was the setting for a wedding..

Another thing they have in their yard are 4 humongous Mulberry trees..
I mean these babies are Huge!
In June, we had planned a thrift shopping day.
When we got back from our adventurous day thrift shopping,
we were walking around the yard and
I noticed these blackish, purplish stains on the driveway.
I walked over to get a better look and
there were a million berries all over the ground.
At first I thought they were blackberries but nope,
blackberries don't grow on trees..
So I asked Kim," What kind of berries are these?" " I don't know" she said.
I said, "Let's go ask Grandpa"
Well Grandpa thought they were boysenberries but
he wasn't really sure what they were...
he was pretty sure the weren't poisonous.
I decided to eat a few and
they tasted pretty good to me.
Kim suggested I take a sample home and goggle it.
Well, they weren't boysenberries but they were mulberries.
Score!

I immediately called Kim and told her what they were.
Like any good wife, she sent Bob back outside to pick the berries.
He picked a gallon size, zip-lock baggie full of berries.
I told him to freeze them until I could get back.
Evidently,
according to Bobby,
mulberries aren't much fun to "pick"
They stain your hands, clothes and
anything else they come in contact with.

It was a few weeks later before I got back for a visit and
we (me, Kim and Bobby) picked a 5 quart ice cream pail 3/4 full.
These yummy berries aren't fun at all to pick...
Our hands were stained black,
we were getting bitten up by mosquitoes,
bees also loved the berries and
the berries were hard to reach.....
BUT, they are so worth it...

Lesson learned~
Next year,
we're going to lay a large tarp on the ground and
bang on the limbs of the tree with a bat.....
that should make it easier...
If your wondering what Mulberries taste like,
to me they taste like blackberries, blueberries and acai berries,
all wrapped into one delicious berry.
I came home and
froze the berries until I was ready to make jam.

Since mulberries are loaded with seeds,
cook the frozen berries down, stems and all.
After I cooked down the berries,
put the berries through a food mill or
strain through layers of cheesecloth,
squeezing the pulp, seeds and stems.
Discard pulp and what's left behind is the juice.
From the 5 quart pail of mulberries,
I ended up with a 1/2 gallon of juice and stained hands..
The recipe I used to make jelly called for 4 cups juice per batch.

Now on to the Recipe~

General Rule of Thumb:
Fruit juice is used to make jelly.

How to Make Fruit Juice for Jelly
Here are a few tips~

• Use soft fruits such as: Grapes, Cherries, Berries, etc. 
• Select top-quality fruit. 
• Wash, pit and stem fruit. 
• Slightly crush fruit. 
• Add 1/4 water per quart of fruit in a large saucepan. 
• Cover; simmer fruit until soft. 
• Strain mixture through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth to extract juice. 
• Juice may be used fresh, canned or frozen for later use.

Mulberry Jelly Recipe #1

Ingredients

• 4 cups mulberry juice
• 7 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 pouches ball liquid pectin

Cooking Directions

1. Yield: recipe makes about 8 half-pint jars.
2. Put mulberry juice in a large saucepan.
3. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved.
4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
5. Stir in liquid pectin. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly.
6. Remove from heat. Skim off foam if necessary.
7. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head-space.
8. Adjust two-piece caps.
9. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Mulberry Jelly Recipe # 2

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups mulberry juice
• 6 tablespoons ball classic pectin
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 5 cups sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Yield: recipe makes about 5 half-pints.
2. Combine mulberry juice, classic pectin and lemon juice in a large saucepan.
3. Bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Add sugar, stirring constantly until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam if necessary.
5. Ladle hot jelly into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head-space. Adjust two-piece caps.
6. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Mulberry, Jelly, Juice
Recipes found in: Ball Blue Book, Guide to Preserving