Easy Mulberry Jam
I felt like I won the lottery. A new friend of mine just told me she has surplus Mulberries and I was welcome to go and pick some. Um…..YES! of course. My two trees are only 3 years old and have only just starting fruiting. By that I mean, there are 20 Mulberries in total, but that’s cool.
So we go and pick 2 kg of Fruit. Woo hoo!
To make the Jam (any Jam) you need equal quantity of sugar to fruit. A couple of Lemons to help set although it’s the best tip I can give you if you want a really firm set jam is to put a handful of unripe Mulberries in your jam. These are high in pectin and help the thickness of the Jam.
In order, here’s what I did:
Put a small plate in the freezer. (to test for set later on)
In a pot, put the 2 kg of fruit (don’t wash it unless you have to)
Cut 2 lemons in half and put them in the pot too.
Boil vigorously, stirring until the gorgeous juices start coming out.
Boil for 10 mins, take the lemons out extracting any juice on the way, then stick mix the sh#t out of it until it’s super smooth or mostly smooth.
Add the sugar (2kg) and stir until melted. (it won’t take long)
Here’s where I made a rookie mistake and had to change into a bigger pan. It started boiling up the sides and I need my bigger pot.
Boil for 30mins or until setting consistency is reached.
This is where the plate comes in. Put about a teaspoon amount onto the frozen plate. This will cool the jam down super quick and you’ll find out what it’s going to be like at room temperature after about 10 seconds. I run my finger through it (yummo) and it joined back together really quickly. Back in the freezer the plate goes and continue boiling this liquid lava for another 5-10 mins. The second test was great. The fact that the jam didn’t join back up after I swiped my finger through it tells me that this jam will set medium to firmly.
So I jar it up.
New rules for preserving mean that you can start with clean and dry jars without sterilizing.
Simply fill each jar with the liquid hot magma to nearly the top and put the lid on and tip upside down for 3 mins. This sterilizes the lid of the jar and the air in the jar. Invert after 3 mins and you have a jar of jam that will last 2 years unopened in a dark, cool cupboard. Mine will last a week because Mulberry Jam is a favourite!
