Mulberries and Syrup

The mulberries are almost in season, unripe green and red berries tease the birds and tease me with promises of the dark purple gems of sweet juicy goodness to come!

Mulberries are very common in my area - the trees I picked from as a child are still bearing berries. I brought my son there, and in another year I will bring my grandson and once again enjoy the sticky fun of berries being picked off the tree and then smooshed in little fingers. Mulberries are fragile, they bruise and rot too quickly to sell at market - but if you have a dry day and a few hours, you can pick a few sackfuls of these healthy and delicious berries - and then freeze or preserve what you can't stuff right into your mouth (smile). One quick and easy tip? Lay a clean sheet under the tree...and shake the branches. Berries will fall right into your hands.

I usually pick carefully, but if children are helping you will want to look through for any bits of stem or leaves (which can make you sick). You also want to ensure you *only* pick ripe berries, as unripe berries will give you a tummy ache.

I give my berries a quick swirl in a water/vinegar bath (1 part white or cider vinegar to 10 parts water) and then gently shake them dry in a colander lined with paper towel. Once dried off, you can lay the berries on waxed paper or parchment lined cookie sheets for freezing (once frozen, pop them into labeled freezer bags).

Mulberry Syrup

For a delicious syrup, gently simmer berries in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a small amount of water (figure about 1/4 cup to 4-5 cups of berries) to keep them from scorching. Gently press down on the berries as they cook, to release the juice. Strain the juice into a bowl, being sure to gently press the berries to extract all the juice. For each cup of juice, I add about 1/2 cup organic sugar or honey, to taste. Return to the saucepan, simmer and stir til well combined. Pour into a hot jar, cover, and cool. This will store well in the refrigerator. To store larger quantities, you will want to process in a hot water bath - and I would add 1 Tsp lemon juice to each pint if I were doing that.

How do you like to enjoy mulberry season? Comment below!