Makng Mulberry Jelly and Telling Stories in Appalachia 

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I had never eaten Mulberry Jelly till you made it, Tipper, and I have to say it's quite tastey and I appreciate that you give me a jar every time you make it. The canned jars of Mulberry Jelly is always one of the prettiest jars on the shelf, with that deep purple sparkle in it! I really enjoyed the video and I will also enjoy the jar you gave me!

Growing up, we had a big Mulberry tree in our front yard. We’d sit under the shade of the Mulberry tree and string beans or shuck corn until evening fell upon us and the fireflies would appear in all their splendor. 🥰

When I was a child, my mother sealed her jam/jelly jars with paraffin. I haven't seen boxes of Gulf Wax in stores for a long time. I suppose that practice is outdated, just like my wardrobe. Good video, Tipper. Thanks for trip down memory lane.

When I was in elementary school, there was a huge mulberry tree in a field near my house. The older kids would climb the tree and get out of sight to smoke. You could tell how many kids were up in the tree by the number of bicycles leaned against the trunk. I used to blow on each mulberry before eating. If the berry had bugs, they would come out and I wouldn't eat that one. But you can be sure, I ate plenty of bugs since we didn't ever wash them. 😅 I drove by there a few years ago when visiting my sister. The mulberry tree is long gone and there are houses there now. 😥 thank you for another great memory Miss Tipper!

Momma always said if we don't pick those mulberries and get rid of them we'll be washing the purple bird doo off of the windows. It was better making jelly than washing windows. We had a white storm cellar door. Ugggg. The birds aimed for that cellar door.

One of my most treasured kitchen tools is a wooden spoon that belonged to my grandmother from Candy Mountain section of Hiwassee Dam. Its handle is worn down and the spoon is stained purple from the many years of mulberry and blackberry jelly making. This video brought back lots of memories!

I remember my Grandma would seal her jelly with paraffin. I can't remember if she also used lids and rings. I lost her at the age of 92 almost nineteen years ago. Thank you for this video, it brings back so many memories of the smells of jelly making.

My wife and I used to make mulberry jelly every year. We would lay a sheet on the ground and our kids would climb up and shake limbs until we had enough berries to fill a cook pot. We would add a little lemon juice, boil the juice out of the mulberries and strain it with cheesecloth. Then the sugar and pectin were added. When we would serve it to guests they couldn't believe the jelly was made from "those nasty old mulberries!"

I do know that the chickens love them. A friend of mine had a big mulberry tree in the middle of her chicken pen and the chickens were the benefactors from that tree.

You literally live in the garden of Eden. We had fruitless mulberry trees in California. Every video I’m hungry for something different, this time I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Growing up I used to make crabapple jelly with my mother, a great memory.

I never had mulberries but remember helping my grandma can veggies, fruits, and jams. It was usually in the summer and was so hot I didn't enjoy it. Now as an adult I wish I paid more attention.

When I was a kid, us boys would go to a cow pasture that had two big mulberry trees. We would climb those trees and eat mulberries for hours at a time. One day, we had almost cleaned the tree of mulberries except for a few hard to reach areas out on the limbs. I bet you know where this is going!😜 I kept stretching out further on the limb, eating as I went. At last, there were only a few out on the very tip of the limb and they looked more plump and juicy than all the rest. Just as I almost got my fingers on the last one…..CRACK!!! The limb broke and over head first I went! I cut a complete 1-1/2 somersaults and landed flat on my back. Knocked my breath out, and I just knew I was going to die! But, after a couple of minutes or so, I was ok. 🤣

Mulberries remind me of when I was a little girl. We lived by the railroad tracks and on the street there was a wooden barricade we would stand on and pick mulberries. The branches were so flexible and you could get so many berries the more you pulled. Our feet were purple all summer long!! My dad would go pick black and red raspberries and he cut a hole in a milk container and strapped it to his belt and away he went. Hands free to pick! I miss those days.

I think you did real well without the sheet. I collect my wild rose petals with a sheet too just because it's easier than picking picking picking. Your story made me miss my Pap... he hasn't passed on but I haven't talked to him in a little bit. I reckon I aught to call him in the morning.

I also grew up canning with my mother. She has passed on now, but whenever I'm filling a jar, I remember her. There is something so satisfying about using food that you have put up yourself.

We snacked on a mulberry tree near my aunt's house. So good. Some years, the birds won out on the fruit. We did make jelly some years too. Nothing any better on toast. Yum 😋

I live about 30 miles south of Louisville, clearing some property this past year we discovered six mulberry trees. I'm so glad for your video! Thank you.

I'm with you on the little jars. I would get tired of a pint before I got it eat. I finally laid back a red and a black towel for working with the jelly.... can't see the stains. I made a batch of plum jam last week. Tree hadn't had plums in 4 years got froze out every spring. It is loaded down this year. My son planted that tree, he passed on in 2002.

I'll bet that is some goooood jelly! I think mulberries saved my life! When I was a kid (8-9 years old), we lived in Chicago one summer (another one of my father's alcoholic dreams), and we had very little to eat. One edible that was always available in Chicago in summer are mulberries (surprisingly). I became a connoisseur of mulberries; The white variety were sweet, but contain less 'taste', whereas the dark purple ones are more taste, but a little less sweet. I didn't give the "bugs" a chance to dissuade me, as I was much hungrier than they. (probably contributed to a few extra proteins) :)

I love mulberrys, mom use to get so mad at me every summer because i would come home covered in mulberry stains! LOL

I've never had Mulberries looks delicious. I made blackberry jam as a teenager but I haven't made any in a very long time. Thanks for inspiring me to make it again.

Oh my I hadn't thought about Mullberries in a long time. I use to help grandma make jams and jellies. There were a mess of us grand kids and way back in the day she would load us up in the back of a truck with five gallon buckets and she always knew what old red dirt road to drive down in the country where we grew up to pick whatever was in season. We would haul out of the truck, me and my cousins and pick and eat then go back home and she would only let two of us help with the cleaning the fruit and cooking and canning. What a wonderful memory, thank you for bringing it to mind. I just love your channel.

Oh my goodness! That jelly 😋 s a beautiful color. I'll bet it's going to taste beautiful too. My maternal grandma and grandpa had a mulberry tree and it was our play house more than a fruit tree. Where the trunk grew out of the ground it immediately bent over and was almost level with the ground. We played many hours on that tree. Then as an adult and married, my husband and I bought a mulberry tree and planted it inside our garden. It had so many berries! I neve tried making jelly with the fruit. I do remember our neighbor bringing his little grand daughter over to pick some berries and she had on a very cute new top. By the time they were finished picking and eating the mulberry her top was the color of your jelly. Thank you for more memories ❤. Jeri Whittaker

I haven't had mulberries since I was a small child. We had a tree in our yard and they were so good. Sadly I believe a storm blew it down. I would love to have some again.

We always used a sieve like yours for persimmons. Brings back memories.

Mulberry is among the list of berries I want to add to my yard if I can. I found wild grapes and autumn olives in my yard a few years ago so I started canning them, you're right, jelly is the easiest thing to start canning. This past spring I canned dandelion jelly and it is absolutely delicious!!!

Great video Tipper! Beautiful jelly you made. I never tried mulberries...blackberry is my favorite! Daddy couldnt wait for "cobbler time" to begin. Once the fruit was in season he wouldnt stop until cobbler appeared on the menu. I had three brothers and a sister. Mama gave us each 30¢ for bus fare and a small bucket for berries. We took the bus about three miles or so away. Our stop was where the train tracks crossed the road. We walked those train tracks, working both sides and dodging trains in the summer heat. We started at 91st street and ended at 116th street! At the end of the berry bushes was a large stone quarry filled with water. Kids would swim in there and a couple drowned. We didnt want to dawdle anyway. Those berry bushes I mentioned were along the back border of a very large cemetery! It was bright daylight but....no other humans around made it spooky. We turned for home tired with full buckets and very sun burned arms and faces. Im sure Mama was glad for the day of quiet while we were gone. If it wasnt too late she would make cobbler that day. Most of the time she waited and made it for Sunday served with ice cream. I know people will read this and think that was so dangerous. Kids back then could be trusted to act responsibly. My two oldest brothers were as harsh as Mama so no skylarking and acting up. Im a mom and have a wonderful daughter but would never have let her walk the railroad tracks! Blackberry cobbler though....I might go with her. Thanks Tipper. 💖

We had a big mulberry tree in our front yard when I was growing up. We'd pick a few and eat them, but the birds got most of them. For some reason Grandma never had any interest in making jelly from them like she would from blackberries or wild grapes. She actually didn't like that tree being there because the berries made a big mess in the yard, lol.

Mulberry jelly is great when I can get to the mulberries before the squirrels do around here. I usually loose!!

The birds planted a mulberry a few years ago and I now have a nice tree. I laid out tarps this year, and filled 10 1 gallon freezer bags with them. Not sure what I'll do with all of them yet. Jam, cobblers, and quite a few as gifts I guess.

My uncle had a patch of wild sand plums on his farm. Grandma would always send grandpa out to pick’em at the right time and she would make homemade sand plum jelly. Man it was good! She always poured some type of wax over top of the jelly rather then the lids. Can’t remember the name of that. I’m sure it was a good way to save some lids when money was scarce rather than buy new ones. Thanks for the trip down memory lane Miss Tipper!

When we were kids at the end of our block was a street called mulberry street. All the way down the street for several blocks were mulberry trees. We just loved them. You could eat them walking down the street. The adults didn't like them so much because they stained the sidewalk. The streets still called mulberry street, but don't know if there are any left. That was well over 60 years ago. Rockford, Illinois. I think of them trees often. Would like to plant one if it would grow here in Arkansas.💓

had a mulberry tree on the farm where we lived when i was a child. used to love putting them in my cereal in the morning and just eating them off the tree. very fond memories of that tree - we had a tired swing hanging from it and my younger brother and i climbed that tree so many times. wonderful memories

Hey Tipper. As a boy, us kids would pick fruit and nuts from various trees around the neighborhood. We had a plum, cherry, pear, apples, and walnut trees. Those were fond memories. Continued prayers for Granny and the whole family.

Called a funnel thingy? 😄🤗The color is beautiful. So nice to visit with you again.

Such a beautiful way of life we should all do all possible to be able to live in this way tha God intended us to live in happiness and freedom.

Love this! It brings back great memories of growing up in North Eastern Indiana. I grew up on the same property as my mother and her older brother. It was her grandfathers farm when she was a child and her two cousins lived in a small house next door on the same property. In between the houses down by a low spot we always called the swamp there was a grove of three mulberry trees. I spent many many long hours playing under those trees and picking mulberries. We also used to squeeze a drop of the juice on the tip of our finger and then run in the house to see if we could fool an adult into thinking we pricked ourselves. The farmhouse my mom and I grew up in was torn down this year and the grove of trees are gone. But just thinking about what a wonderful childhood I had here makes me smile and tear up a little knowing it won’t ever be quite the same for my children as it was for me even though we still live on the same property.

When I was a child , growing up in the mountains near boone NC, we had a mulberry tree and us kids always climbed and shook the fruit off...loved eating them....and of course Granny made jelly ....today my son who lives in the foothills in Caldwell county has a huge mulberry tree in the back of his property....I had to teach him the Joys of mulberry fruit ...haha.....thanks tipper ....God bless...🙏

Where I was raised we had a big mullbarry tree in the front yard

I totally miss mulberries! I grew up picking them from my friend’s huge Mulberry tree to the ones they had at our local park. So many great memories of purple stained fingers and clothes! ❤️

I have a mulberry tree. It’s tall! The birds n squirrels get them before I can get them, it seems. I’d never seen one, until I moved here and happened to have one on the property. It’s also not producing a lot, as it use to. I guess I need to fertilize it. Love your videos!

I have a mulberry tree in my yard! My grandkids and I like to just eat them for a snack. Shake them on netting works too !

The beautiful birdsong warms my heart. Don't seem to have many here in this area.I have taken such joy and peace from being in nature and the beauty God made all around me. Oh how I miss it. So thank you for letting me enjoy yours.

That jelly looked so delicious. Love the color

We always used gulf wax to seal jellies, but your upside down is a good trick.

We have a mulberry tree in our yard. A bird planted it!! I love watching your videos. Can't wait for the next one.

I've never had mulberries. Now, I have to go and find some.

I love mulberry trees and the berries! But what the birds leave behind after feasting leaves purple stains everywhere. they sure make pretty shade.

I remember when Granny did it she would use parifan wax if she had no lids on her jams /jellies..such good memories 🤗

You make it look so simple and easy, Tipper. Experience is a great teacher, and you are too.Im at total loss about mulberries.Wife makes grape jelly and it's so good on biscuits. Looks like the mulberry jelly turned out good .🙂 Thanks for sharing.

I have a 25 year old nephew who hunts and fishes and rides Harleys, but he also has a garden and cans and can cook. He had my Mom teach him how to make a homeade pie crust. This last weekend we had a cookout and he made a homeade currant pie. It was delicious. I am so proud of the fact that he is learning the old ways. It's a breath of fresh air in these days and times.

Must be the season! My mom, daughter-in-law and I just made mulberry jelly yesterday here in western Nebraska. We do shake the tree onto a tarp. I have never seen the jars placed upside down to cool. We've not had success with the 1-minute boil. While the men all like mulberry (or chokecherry or whatever) syrup, it aggravates me a little bit when the jell won't set, so we boil it until it thickens enough to sheet off a slotted spoon - just because that's what mom and grandma did. I enjoy yours videos. Thank you.

Yum! There was a mulberry tree at my great-grandpa’s house...they were so very sweet! 😊

I haven’t made jelly, but my grandma made and canned many jellies, apple butter, vegetables. Enjoyed your video.

Quick little story! We had a mulberry brush in our backyard growing up! I dressed up for Vacation Bible school. I was outback having a little snack. I ended up falling down, I had them all over me and my pretty little dress. Just within mins of leaving with my neighbor to their church. I ran in crying and asking my mother to help me change and clean up! I made it, stained up and all! I will never forget that! This would have been in the mid 60's. Here in Indiana we had lots of Mulberry. Seemed like they were in everyone backyard!❤

I make jam and jelly with any fruit I can and have always. For the last 4-5 years I’ve taken a little shortcut. My wife bought a Ball jam and jelly maker. It is so EASY. The hardest thing I ever made is marmalade. But it is so good

We used to have mullberry tree. In our yard. As a youngin I'd climb it and shake the limb. And eat em,,, that's been a long time ago. People used to make mullberry wine. Withem,, too,, I never did but. Some. Folks did back years ago,,,, That jelly I bet is good. Y'all take care now,,,

We had a mulberry tree growing up, but the fruits off of our tree turned a dark yellow instead of the usual black and they had an awful taste. They were huge also. I can remember that it would be loaded down with fruit and they would absolutely cover the ground. We used to love walking under this tree as kids and letting the berries squish through our toes!

I remember a nursery rhyme dancing around the mulberry bush. I had no idea what they were until today.Thank you Tipper! 😊🇨🇦

I don't think we have mulberries in WA, here black berries are my favorite jelly. Thanks Tipper!

We picked them at the end of my driveway every summer, my mom didn't ever mess with them but my mama made me and the boys pies and jelly just like your doing that and muscadine jelly, they grew naturally on the property back then but nowadays property owners clean the fences of every weed or vine : ( A girlfriend I went with for about 6 year's, her and I grew a garden every year and put up okra and squash and peeled whole tomatoes and usually dozen plus jars of salsa & we'd cold pack pickles, we brined her momma's garlic every year and many other types of food, I'm actually well versed in canning jars of food and growing a garden, just don't do it anymore. Guess it would be more fun to have someone to share those things with 😕

I had a mulberry tree when I lived in Maryland, but it was so tart you couldn’t eat them. I regularly make bourbon peach jam now. The sound of popping lids is the sweetest sound.

God bless you and your family for all the precious memories you so graciously share with all of us

I use a wire strainer. And cheese cloth. However I do no you can make it whole as a fruit spread. Great video.

Mulberries are something as far as I know I have never had. I can see how picking those in the morning and preparing them and canning them all in the same day would be really rewarding.

I HAVE MULBERRY TREES IN THE FIELD I LOVE WALKING AND PICKING SOME RIPE BERRIES THIS PAST WEEK,, YEP,, TASTE LIKE BLACKBERRIES TO ME,,,A NICE TREASURE,, I EAT THE BUGS TOO 😂🤣I KNOW THEY ARE THERE BUT I CLOSE MY EYES AND BLOW ON THEM AND EAT MY TREAT 👵🏻😄❤️

We had a Huge mulberry tree next door to my parent’s house but my Mom never made anything out of them. The only ones who enjoyed the mulberries were the birds, then they would fly over my white car and poop purple all over it. True story! I hated mulberries! Now I wish I had paid more attention when my Mom used to can all kinds of things. I can pickles and jelly now, but my Mom used to be an expert at canning everything. I miss my Mom so much! I wish we lived close enough that I could come over to your house and can with you! I love this video. Brings back so many memories!

Another great video! Thank you for sharing this process and the stories of your experience with mulberries. I had a similar one to your Pap’s except the ones I encountered as a wee girl had ants on them and I discovered it after eating a few, so I stayed clear after that! I haven’t seen a mulberry tree in decades. Your videos are reviving so many memories for me. Thank, you Tipper! (I’m glad you liked the butterfly! 🦋)

Oh the happy memories I have of a purple face, hands and feet. I grew up on a farm in WI and we had a wonderful old mulberry tree.

Your making me hungry for a PB&J Thanks for sharing!

Grew up eating them out of my grandmother's tree, she also make jelly and I have a tree now the I got a cutting from her tree. It makes beautiful mulberries and shade. When I make jelly (the same way you do) I think of growing up and all the wonderful things she taught me.

When I am stressed out, I watch one or two of your videos to calm me. Love your channel!

I grew up in Chicago and we had mulberry trees in our back yard and thru-out the neighborhoods, and still. We would eat them all season long and occasionally pick enough for a mom or grandma to make a pie or cobbler, I had some today on a walk actually! My favorite fruit of all time. Thx for the great video, have a happy day!

Mulberries are a rare treat here but so delicious to eat just standing under the tree and picking them off one by one.

I have never tried mulberries. When I saw that collender or river. The first thing I thought of was persimmons. Have ya'll ever heard of or made persimmon pudding?

I remember having some mulberry trees in the pasture in Oklahoma that we would stop under and eat fresh berries while horseback. Never could stand up in the saddle very long to reach higher for more berries without the horse putting his head down and walking off a step or two grazing. The berries would stain your fingers ,so you knew who had been off eating berries from the trees. In Colorado, we had a couple trees by the house . One tree had white berries. The white berries didn't have flavor like the regular ones just tasted like table sugar. Never park a white car under a mulberry tree. The birds will eat the berries and crap on what ever is under it ruining the paint. Walking under the tree sometimes a berry might fall in your shirt pocket putting a stain in the fabric if you mashed it , not knowing it was in there.

I've never had mulberries. I enjoyed learning about them. Also loved watching you make jelly. Haven't seen the jars turned down since I was in my twenties, my late mother-in-law would do that or seal them with wax. I didn't pay attention back then.

I remember my mother making jams and jelly. She always poured melted paraffin wax over the top.

Thank you for sharing this!

When I was a boy there was a large mulberry tree across the street from my house. There was a spot part way up in the tree where the limbs stuck out in such a way as to make a comfortable place to sit. I'd climb up the tree, sit back and fill my mouth with all the berries that were draped all around me on the surrounding branches. The tree reached over a sidewalk. I'd watch people pass by underneath me while I sat there eating mulberries, almost never noticing me up above them hidden by the foliage. If I was feeling mischievous, I'd say "Hi!" while they passed under me & watch them looking all around trying to figure out where the "Hi!" came from. Once they figured out where the greeting came from, they always laughed.

I guess it's time to go shake that tree in the back yard. Thanks for inspiring me to finally use those Mulberries!

As a senior in high school, I had a part-time, 2nd shift babysitting job. In that family's yard was a big, old mulberry tree that, to my dismay, I learned you should never sit under it wearing your new jeans. :(. Those were the days when faded denim was in style so big purple blotches on my behind were NOT a fashion statement. :D Fast forward a few years and my husband and I bought an old Victorian home with it's own big, old mulberry tree. With two little ones, I knew come mulberry season to be sure they only wore OLD clothes outside to play! That tree began to split and was hanging over our neighbor's garage so we had it removed. After watching your video, I regret I never even thought of making mulberry jelly with it! Of course, I had my hands full canning and preserving all sorts of local delicacies but if I had thought of doing something with that mulberry, I would have!

Here in Kentucky we go to my bestfriends grandma's house each year and pick from her 6 mulberry trees, we just got what may be our last crop for the year at least two 5 gallon buckets full. Like you said pap told you about the pear trees, my bestfriends great grandparents planted so many fruit trees back then, we have fruit all the time, whether it's the mulberry, apple, persimmon or pear trees, the wild blackberries and raspberries or my favorite one to find is the papaw tree. I have to agree with you as well about canning! It's so rewarding using something you canned in your own kitchen to feed family and friends

Mr Coffee filters works well. Ive used em for blueberries and straw berries, it is a bit slow but the result is clean juice, For larger seeds I used a hand cranked deseeder. Years ago made wine on a large scale.

Home-canned or home-cooked is best. I grew up on home-canned fruit and vegetables, jams and jellies and preserves, and never tasted a store-bought cookie until I was full grown.

When my dad retired from farming, we bought our first house in our small town. There was a large garden plot behind it and near the garden there was a large mulberry tree. My mother was not a person to let any fruit or vegetables go to waste, but she would not touch the mulberries. I was in high school at the time and I didn’t think much about it. I once heard her say the mulberries didn’t have a good flavor like blackberries or raspberries. The birds really enjoyed them, judging by the tell-tale messes they made after eating them. I think everyone has different canning habits. My mother always used Sure-jel for making jellies and jams. I never did see her turn filled jars upside down at any time. I was wondering if you can hear the jar lids seal as well when they are upside down and the fruit is in the lid. I’ve never canned very much, but it is very rewarding. I love the stories you share, as you go about your work!

I’ve never had mulberries, but have access to a large patch of wild blackberries. I’ve gathered enough to make two runs of jam, with more still for the picking! I agree, it is a rewarding feeling to open a jar of something you put up. Thanks for another great video! I especially love the food ones! 😀

One of the first things that I planted here in the Shenandoah Valley was a mulberry tree. That was over 18 yrs ago, so it produces lots of large, juicy berries now. The reason I planted it is that the birds seem to like them better than cherries and their seasons overlap pretty well. I usually eat a few in passing, but this year I believe I will try your jelly.

Mulberry madness! So sweet!

I just love watching your videos! You bring back so many good memories of my childhood!! Thank you ❤

Someday...I really want to make jellies. Those are just beautiful. How cool to be able to pick free fruit and make food for your family.

Like you, I never had or tried mulberry as a child, but was familiar with the nursery song. Canning is very gratifying. God bless yall. ❤

Love the video and the teaching lesson keep em coming

I can remember my grandma and mom making jams and jellies, sealing the jars with melted wax, when they didn't have lids to use.

You sure make it look easy! Yes a wonderful thing to do and they look delicious! And,like you I was grown before I tasted them but they are very tasty!

I love mulberries! Thanks for all the videos, I just love them!

Another very interesting video. Thank you. This is the first time I have heard about a mulberry bush.

Awesome