Mulberry Strawberry Jam
Last year Dane and I discovered that we actually had a big and beautiful mulberry tree right in our backyard. He was clearing out a new area for our extended garden. When he removed all the brush, there it was! He was so excited to show the kids and have them try the berries. Here in the Midwest, mulberries are a treat. They are a good source of iron, vitamin C, and other plant compounds that are beneficial to your health.
Dane was ready to harvest the berries, because the fruit was so abundant and he didn’t want to see any go to waste. Another fun fact is that mulberry trees are similar to the fig tree. This makes me ponder on the parables of the fig tree in the Gospels. What Jesus said about the fig tree in Luke is one that gives me so much hope:
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
“And he told them a parable: Look as the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I say to you, this generation will pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” -Luke 21:29-33
I encourage you read the whole chapter of Luke 21 to ponder on what Jesus is teaching and revealing to His disciples.
Ok, back to the mulberry tree! So Dane decided he would take a huge tarp to lay under the tree. He took the kids and they started to shake the tree and it’s limbs. By the end of the tree’s production, we had collected at least 2 full tote containers of mulberries. Now I had to order some pectin (click the link for the pectin I use) and make us some jelly from the juice extracted from the berries. But here was the issue…I have never made jelly!
So what do I do? Well, leave it to my granny to come to the rescue. We got to spend the whole day together making jelly, jam, and canned the finished product. A lot was learned during the process both from mistakes and successes. The recipe to the mulberry/strawberry jam that was a success is listed in the side bar (this was Dane, Eli, and Ezra’s favorite).
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Quick Recipe:
Mulberry Strawberry Jam:
3 1/2-4 cups mulberry juice
1 cup chopped strawberries (having the whole fruit and not just juice in turn makes this a jam not a jelly)
2-3 cups of honey (can replace with 2-4cups of sugar *mulberries have low pectin content so the more sugar used the more set the end product will be, also must heat up juice, berries, sweetener and pectin to 220 degrees and maintain for about 3-5min to increase chances of the jam setting up well)
1/3 cup of fruit pectin
