Mulberry Jelly

As you can see I decided to make the jelly instead of the pie. But I still have a lot of berries left on the tree, so who knows, my kids may still get a mulberry pie.

I have made plenty of jam, but I have never made a jelly before, so I was excited to try something new. My hubby laughs at what I sometimes consider exciting, he is a Policeman, so his stories are much more entertaining than mine.

Making the jelly wasn't hard, it just took a little more time because I had to squeeze and and strain all the juice and berries so that I wouldn't have any seeds. That was just a personal preference on my part. I could have made jam and not worried about the seeds but, I wanted to try something different. I must say that it was worth the little extra effort. I think my hubby agrees. After he had tasted the jelly, he told me that he was taking a few jars to his office to share with his coworkers. Knowing that my hubby loved it enough to want to share with his friends made me happy. I got the recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. They have tons of other recipes if you would like to check them out.

Mulberry Jelly with powdered pectin

3½ cups mulberry juice Use 2 qts. mulberries* (¾ ripe, ¼ red)

1 box powdered pectin

5 cups sugar

* If all berries are ripe, add ¼ cup lemon juice to fruit juice

Yield: About 6-7 half-pint jars

Wash and rinse jars; keep warm until ready to fill. Prepare lids according to manufacturer's directions.

Sort and wash berries; remove stems. Crush berries thoroughly; heat slowly until juice starts to flow. (Caution: Berries will stain items and hands easily.) Cover; simmer 10 minutes.

Place in jelly bag (I used a strainer and pressed with the back of a spoon) and squeeze out juice. Measure juice, mix with powdered pectin in saucepan.

Bring quickly to a hard boil, stirring constantly. Add sugar all at once. Bring to a full rolling boil, (a boil that cannot be stirred down); boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim off foam with a metal spoon.

Pour at once into clean, hot jars, leaving only ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a Boiling Water Canner.