Mulberry jam

[jason01]

Ive just picked a couple pound of Mulberries from the old tree in our local park, not a native tree, neither is it likely to be encountered in the "wild" over here but Mulberries make great jam as long as you throw in a crab apple for pectin.

I need to go back and get some more fruit as it ripens over the next week or so, in order to make a decent batch but I know these squishy mulberries wont keep for more than a day, can I just freeze them as they are for a few days?

I'll be making Rowan Jelly later on, and I want to find some Sloes and Damsons!

Sad thing is, the local kids in the park look at me as if I'm mad, picking fruit from a tree

Jason

 

[Tantalus]

Sad thing is, the local kids in the park look at me as if I'm mad, picking fruit from a tree

their loss mate

tho personally i m quite happy to take time to explain to people why i am collecting stuff

i see it as a way of passing on a little info that may otherwise be lost

had a convo with a guy while collecting rowan berries last year

ok so what, he still thinks i'm nuts but at least he knows a little more about the trees at the edge of his garden now

Tant

 

[jakunen]

Lucky:***: .
I had to chop my tree down, not that I ever got much fruit. Especially with all the damn blackbirds...
Yes, you can freeze them until ready. This does actually help as it causes the fruitlets to burst thus releasing more flavour/colour into the jam. Just remember DON'T THROW THE LIQUOR AWAY when you thaw them.

 

[jason01]

I'm happy to explain what I'm doing if anyone looks vaguely intrested, its usually older people that come up and ask what I'm picking, I guess the kids think it looks uncool, more interested in their car stereos and fish & chips!

Anyway..... I decided to go ahead with the jam sooner rather than later, picked a couple of pounds of Blackberries to add to the Miulberries and threw them in with a cooking apple (the crab apples I had in mind were too small) and the juice of a lemon, boiled the lot up and instead of a jam I followed the instructions in "Food For Free" and made a jelly, it came out perfectly and tastes delicious

There are a lot of Rowans round here, with loads of fuit on them (quite hard atm) Ive read its best not to pick them until October, does that sound right? I wouldnt have thought there'd be anything left on them by then?

Jason

 

[tenbears10]

I've made sloe gin before and it works brilliantly. The time to pick sloes is after the first frost (same principal as freezing which was already mentioned) there are loads around even that much later in the year so I don't see why rowans shouldn't be the same. Birds eat what is in season the same as us, if you think they are hard the birds prob do too.

The sloe gin recipe is simple.
One full bottle of gin and one empty bottle.
Divide the gin between both bottles and half the sloes in each bottle.
Add 5 or 6 tablespoons of sugar.
Close the bottles and shake once a week.
The minimum time needed is 3 months (I know but you have to leave it )
Maximum can be up to a year or so.
When finished you can remove the sloes and pour the gin back into 1 bottle now giving a full bottle of sloe gin which will keep for several more years.

It really tastes great and not like neat gin for those of you who are not too keen on gin. Vodka can be used with most other berry type fruits I believe.

Bill

 

[MartiniDave]

Remember you can keep the sloes that come out of the gin, stone them and cover with melted chocolate. As Ray M often says "Mmm - delicious!"

Dave "Why do my trousers shrink at the waist"

 

[jakunen]

My mother can't drink gin so I make sloe vodka. I use brown sugar to give it a more liqeuer flavor then put the sloes into a pie.