Are you growing or foraging mulberries and need a great mulberry jam recipe? Well, here you go! This mulberry jam recipe mixes fresh mulberries with dark cherries (or any berry you have on hand) for a rich flavor and unique splash on your morning toast.
Are Mulberries Good to Eat?
Mulberries (Morus alba) are very fruitful trees that are wonderful in the edible landscape. There are dark purple and white berry varieties, with the dark berries being the most common.
The flavor is reminiscent of grape and even fig, with a musky undertone. They grow native in North America and other places and range in both size of the tree and size of the berry.
If you are prone to food allergies, taste one or two and see if there’s any reaction. My husband can eat all manner of mulberry products like this cherry mulberry jam recipe. However, eating mulberries raw can cause this mouth and throat to itch.
Some urban dwellers consider mulberry trees a nuisance since strong roots can push up slabs of pavement. Also, the fruits drop free-will on cars and driveways, leaving dark stains.
Gathering Mulberries
Instead thinking of them as obnoxious, gather mulberries and make this dark cherry and mulberry jam recipe. It can be canned up in the early summer when mulberries and cherries are ripe and enjoyed all year round.
To successfully make the recipe with your children or grandchildren, please read this post on safety tips for canning with kids. Be sure to take your kids with you when you forage for mulberries because they’re really good at collecting errant berries.
The best way to gather mulberries is to get a big sheet and place it underneath the tree and then gently shake the limbs. The fruit drops and the kids are great at dashing off to collect them
We’ve also used a large umbrella upside down and stood under the tree – sometimes we say, “Tut, tut, it looks like rain” to encourage the mulberries to fall. If you’ve read Winnie the Pooh, you’ll know why that’s funny.
Mix the Mulberry Jam Recipe
Just a quick note: You can just make a plain mulberry jam recipe with these instructions by omitting the cherries and increasing the mulberries.
I like adding the tartness of the cherries with the mulberries and prefer my mulberry jam mixed with them. You can really mix the mulberries with any berry like raspberries or other cherries, regardless of color.
I just like dark cherries the best and they’re ripe when the mulberries are in the area where I forage both.
Also, don’t skimp on the sugar for this recipe. Or rather, taste test as you cook down the jam. With a lot of jam recipes I reduce the sugar because I just don’t like too-sweet jams.
However, this one is better with just the right amount of sugar.
Dark Cherry and Mulberry Jam Recipe
For a comparison recipe tested for safety please visit this article from the National Center for Home Food Preservation on cherry jam with pectin. Also, look for a NCHFP link for mulberry jam inside the recipe.
Dark Cherry Mulberry Jam Recipe for Canning
Ingredients
- 1 lbs. mulberries, washed
- 1 lbs. dark cherries, pitted
- 5 cups raw sugar
- 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon or lime juice
- 1 pouch pectin, optional
Instructions
- Wash mulberries; wash and pit cherries. You can use any color of cherry but dark cherries will make a naturally dark purple jam. FYI, I don't bother to remove the tiny stems of the mulberries since they don't alter the jam any. You can remove them, if you'd like, though.
- Add the cherries and mulberries to a large pot and cover them with the sugar. Add the lemon juice and mash the mixture. Allow the mixture to sit for about ten minutes.
- Bring the jam to a low boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching. Cook down until the jam reduces and thickens. OR, bring to a rolling boil over high heat and add the pectin according to the directions on the packet. Cherries are a medium pectin fruit so you may not need pectin unless you want to add juice to your jam recipe. If you do want to add juice, just check the notes section for a link to a mulberry recipe jam recipe from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.
- Add the nutmeg and stir well.
- Bottle into sterilized pint jars rapidly, before it cools to much, leaving 1/2 inch of head-space. Wipe the rims of the jars well. Put the seals and rings; tighten to just finger tightness.
- Process for about 15 minutes, adjusting for your elevation.
How many pints does this mulberry/cherry jam recipe make? I may have missed it
4-ish pints but you can double the recipe, if you’d like. I punk out pitting cherries after awhile, so I do small batches. Sometimes, I splurge and buy pitted cherries!