This homemade mulberry jam recipe is easy to prepare and absolutely delicious! Eat it on toast or drizzle it over ice cream! If you're looking for more mulberry recipes, be sure to check out my 26 must try mulberry recipes round up!
Mulberries are currently in season in San Diego. When ripe, they are plump, juicy, and oh so sweet and perfectly suited for all kinds of mulberry recipes!
Mulberries always remind me of Chicago and the mulberry tree we had in front of our house when I was a kid. Whether it's picking and eating the mulberries right off the tree, or using them in mulberry recipes, they will always remind me of home.
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🧐Why This Recipe Works
Of all the Mulberry Recipes I've tried, this Mulberry Jam recipe my favorite! This four-ingredient mulberry jam recipe is really easy to prepare. One of the reasons is that there isn't a ton of prep required. No fruit to chop or peel and you can even leave the mulberry stems intact!
The pectin takes care of a common problem that may arise when making mulberry jam or preserves. This has to do with the jam not thickening because mulberries are a low pectin fruit. Pectin takes the guesswork out of the equation and gives you perfect results every time!
🛒What Goes Into This Recipe
🔖Ingredient & Substitutions
- Mulberries — Fresh or frozen mulberries can be used in this recipe. Make sure to pick through them, removing any sticks, leaves, and little spiders.
- Citrus: You'll need the juice and zest of one medium-large lemon.
- Pectin — Although powdered pectin can be used, I recommend using liquid pectin, which I feel blends in better and does not clump together.
*A full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
🫙Tool Required
- Water bath canner
- half pint jars
- large pot
🍇How to Make Mulberry Jam and Preserves
Step 1: Start by washing the mulberries. Make sure to remove any leaves, insects, small sticks, or other debris.
Step 2: Add mulberries to a 5-quart saucepan, then cover with sugar and lemon zest. Allow the mixture to macerate until the mulberries begin to release their juices.
Step 3: Add lemon juice then gently simmer the mixture over low heat. Gradually bring to a boil over medium heat.
Step 4: Continue boiling for approximately 20 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning the jam or having it boil over. Stir in the liquid pectin until completely dissolved. Cook for a few minutes longer.
Pro Tip: If foam forms over the surface, just skim it off with a spoon or stir 1 teaspoon of butter into the jam.
Step 5: Ladle mulberry jam into sterilized half-pint jars, leaving ¼" headspace. Wipe the jar rims with clean paper towel, add lids and collars, then hand tighten. Process in boiling water bath for an additional 10 minutes to seal.
Step 6: Place the processed jars on the counter to make sure they all seal. If some of the jars don't seal, keep them refrigerated, or gift them to family and friends. Store sealed jars in the pantry for up to a year.
🤷🏻♀️Recipe FAQs
The quick answer is you don't! Mulberries are impossible to pick without their tiny stems staying attached. If you try to pull the stem off, you will end up with a smooshed berry in your hand.
Luckily, you can cook the mulberries with their stems on. If it really bothers you, and you have a lot of time on your hands, you can just cut the stems off with scissors or clippers. But trust me, it's not necessary!
Mulberries are not considered a high pectin fruit. In fact, most sources consider them a low pectin fruit. However, there are some varieties, including Superberry Black Mulberry, that are high in pectin and perfect to use in jam making.
What can't you do with mulberries? Add the mulberries in baked goods, mix in pancake batter, or swirl this mulberry preserves into cheesecake batter before baking. You can also use frozen mulberries in mixed drinks like margaritas.
👩🏼🍳Pro Tips
- Most mulberries don't contain a lot of pectin. As a result, you will need to either add a lot more sugar or add pectin to get the jam to jell. Although powdered pectin is one option, I prefer using liquid pectin because it's easier to mix in with the jam.
- If you prefer a smoother jam consistency versus chunkier preserves, use an immersion blender to get the desired texture.
- Keep the blade part of the blender submerged to avoid splattering yourself with the hot jam. Or wait until the mulberry jam is cooled before blending. You will need to bring the jam back up to temperature before canning.
- Mulberries are infamous for staining your hands while picking them. To avoid getting your hands stained, consider wearing rubber gloves while picking them. Another option is to lay down a tarp under the tree and shake the branches to knock off the mulberries.
- Make sure to wash the mulberries thoroughly before using them. Besides leaves, and other debris, you will most likely have small spiders and other pests mixed in with the berries. I like to place them in a large bowl and cover them with water, then pick a few at a time and transfer to an empty bowl.
- If you don't have a canning kit, I highly recommend investing in one! A water canner usually comes with everything you need including a funnel, jar lifter, bubble popper, magnetic lid lifter, jar wrench, canning tongs and more!
🍓Related Recipes
If you love this mulberry jam recipe, be sure to check out these other tasty recipes!
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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📖 Recipe
Mulberry Jam Recipe
Equipment
- 6 8-ounce canning jars
- 1 Dutch oven
- Canning tools, including tongs, and funnel
Ingredients
- 5 cups mulberries
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large lemon (juiced and zested)
- 1 packet sure-jell liquid pectin
Instructions
- Start by washing the mulberries. Make sure to remove any leaves, insects, small sticks, or other debris.
- Add mulberries to a 5-quart saucepan, then cover with sugar and lemon zest. Allow the mixture to macerate until the mulberries begin to release their juices.
- Add lemon juice then gently simmer the mixture over low heat. Gradually bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Continue boiling for approximately 20 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid burning the jam or having it boil over. Stir in the liquid pectin until completely dissolved. Cook for a few minutes longer.
- Ladle mulberry jam into sterilized half-pint jars, leaving ¼" headspace. Wipe the jar rims with clean paper towel, add lids and collars, then hand tighten. Process in boiling water bath for an additional 10 minutes to seal.
- Place the processed jars on the counter to make sure they all seal. If some of the jars don't seal, keep them refrigerated, or gift them to family and friends. Store sealed jars in the pantry for up to a year.
Notes
- Most mulberries don't contain a lot of pectin. As a result, you will need to either add a lot more sugar or add pectin to get the jam to jell. Although powdered pectin is one option, I prefer using liquid pectin because it's easier to mix in with the jam.
- If you prefer a smoother jam consistency versus chunkier preserves, use an immersion blender to get the desired texture.
- Keep the blade part of the blender submerged to avoid splattering yourself with the hot jam. Or wait until the mulberry jam is cooled before blending. You will need to bring the jam back up to temperature before canning.
- Mulberries are infamous for staining your hands while picking them. To avoid getting your hands stained, consider wearing rubber gloves while picking them. Another option is to lay down a tarp under the tree and shake the branches to knock off the mulberries.
- Make sure to wash the mulberries thoroughly before using them. Besides leaves, and other debris, you will most likely have small spiders and other pests mixed in with the berries. I like to place them in a large bowl and cover them with water, then pick a few at a time and transfer to an empty bowl.
- If you don't have a canning kit, I highly recommend investing in one! A water canner usually comes with everything you need including a funnel, jar lifter, bubble popper, magnetic lid lifter, jar wrench, canning tongs and more!
Jodi says
The recipe sounded very intriguing....20 minute boil? I tried and ended up with a consistency of fruit leather, solid and thick. I have never had this problem before, but have never boiled a jam more than 3 minutes. It tastes great, but it's not jam.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Jodi, I'm sorry the jam didn't work out for you. I've never had issues with it turning into fruit leather as you mentioned (as you can see in the recipe photos and other reviews).I looked at other mulberry preserve recipes and found they also mentioned 15-20 min of boiling. There are so many variables that play into this, so it's hard to predict what went wrong but nothing beats experience and knowing when to stop cooking the jam based on the texture vs. strict adherence to a specific time. I hope you can find a better recipe for next time, take care!
Lorelei Williams says
Hilda does it again with an amazingly easy recipe and great stories to make it feel like you're in the kitchen beside her learning. Made this at home after coming across some local mulberries. Actually made 4 batches!!! Great recipe, everyone who has tasted it loves it.
Will be keeping this one on hand for future mulberry seasons.
HildaSterner says
Thank you so much, Lorelei! I really appreciate your sweet review!❤️
Ann from Sumptuous Spoonfuls says
I love your jam recipe and your story about mulberries! I discovered mulberries later in life when we moved into a house with a mulberry tree in the back yard. It was my young daughter who discovered them and showed me ... I had never seen them before so I had to do some research to find out if they were edible and much to my delight, they are! We've been making mulberry everything every summer since then, and also enjoying eating them right off the tree, but I've never made jam! Thanks for the recipe ... this jam looks delicious. And also, thanks for including my salad in your post. 🙂
HildaSterner says
Thanks, Ann, I appreciate you allowing me to include your beautiful salad in the post. If I can get my hands on more mulberries, I'd love to try it sometime. I'm hoping I can grow a Mulberry tree in Montana where we're in the process of moving to. Anyways, have a great night, and thanks again!
Kate says
Wow that jam looks awesome... I wish I could find mulberries this year! One of my husband's coworker has a tree but with no mulberries for us this year because of social distancing. Enjoy your berries! Will save this one for next year, hopefully.
HildaSterner says
Thanks, Kate, I appreciate your comment and for your contribution to the post!