I finally got around to making this! We’ve been collecting mulberries, but we kind of had other things on our mind in the middle and hadn’t yet made it.

650 grams mulberries, washed and picked over to clean up
1 lemon, chopped into segments
400 grams sugar (then adjust according to taste)
250 mls water
8 tspns brandy

Boil mulberries, lemon and water for 10 minutes.
Add sugar and bring to a rolling boil for 10 minutes.
Test on a chilled plate (I then cooked it at a rolling boil for another 10 minutes). The test bits can be returned to the pot, or you can use them to taste and adjust your sweetness level.
Skim, and remove lemon segments.
Stir in brandy.
Bottle in clean, hot bottles, and seal immediately.

This quantity made 2 normal size jars and one mini-jar, so not a lot… but probably a good choice for a first attempt.

It’s a beautiful colour, but there is not really too much mulberry flavour (there definitely was a fabulous mulberry aroma while it was cooking though!). The lemon is too strong, I think next time I will put in half a lemon, and just add extra lemon seeds… If I’m organised, I’ll put the lemon segments and extra seeds in a muslin bag so that it’s easier to remove. I’d also pick out the stems a bit more. I thought the fruit would disintegrate more, so I didn’t bother, but the berries are pretty much still whole, and I don’t know that the stems are really sufficiently softened. I’d also try with less sugar, it’s a bit too sweet. Obviously that may vary with the fruit, but it would be better to try 300 grams next time… it’s easy enough to add more if it’s needed. I also didn’t particularly notice the brandy flavour at all.

Not a bad experiment, but definitely needs some work. I probably wouldn’t anticipate this keeping more than a couple of months.

Puggle obviously liked it:-) As I was putting him down for his nap, he thanked me for giving him some on toast for elevenses:-)