mulberries

 Got a bunch of mulberries and I'm having some fun.

Mulberry jam - I use Pomona pectin and their instructions because it always works great for me and it gives me a low-sugar option.

• 4 cups mashed mulberries
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. calcium water (needs to be made up from the powder in the pectin package)
• 2 tsp. pectin, in a separate bowl, added into
• 1 c. sugar
  

Mash fruits and add lemon juice, bring to boil, add calcium water, bring to full rolling boil.  Add the bowl of sugar/pectin and stir it in well for a couple of minutes and bring to full boil again.  Put up in sterile jars, water bath for 10 minutes.  

Mulberries for yogurt

I then took the rest of mulberries and heated them up again.  (Because I gathered them from a dirty tarp, I wanted them cleaned thoroughly and cooked.)  I added some honey then put in clean jars to refrigerate and add into yogurt or other such things. 

loquat cobbler

 So many loquats.  I go to pick a few and the next thing I know, I have heaps.  So I found this recipe for loquat cobbler which I modified.

Ingredients

• heap of loquats (about 2-2.5 pounds unprepped, 3 cups prepped with seed & skin removed)
• cardamom (1/2-1 tsp) 
• sugar (1 Tablespoon or so)

• Prep loquats and put into a baking dish (pie plate, 8x8, etc.), sprinkle sugar and cardamom on top and stir in.

Then mix together:

• 1 c. flour (whole wheat)
• 1 tsp baking power
• 1/4 c. brown sugar (I put in 1/2 cup - which is a third of what the recipe called for - and it was way too much)
  
• salt

Add in:

• 1 egg

combine with hand or fork.  Sprinkle that atop the loquats and then put on top

• 1/2 c. pecans, coarsely chopped

 Then melt and drizzle over the top:

• 1/4 c. butter

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

loquat jam

I have a beautiful loquat tree in my backyard.  Here in New Orleans they're called "misbeliefs" and they are also known as Japanese plums.  They're not something you'll buy in the supermarket because they don't travel or store well, but they are very tasty.  The dog and I have eaten countless loquats this year, as well as birds who like to come peck at them, and it just keeps producing.  So I grabbed a heap to make loquat jam and remembered that they are not fun to process.  Picking is easy, deseeding not so much.  I skinned probably about half or more because of marred skins, and I removed seed and tried to remove the dark part of the seed sack that goes to the hard blossom end part.  I kept a variety of ripenesses, from barely ripe to very ripe, for pectin and flavor differences.  Cut in half, I then put them with sugar overnight in the fridge.  Recipe below, taken from my own jamming knowledge and various websites.

Ingredients

• loquats - about 4.5 pounds prepared - seeds removed, etc.)
• sugar - about 1.5 pounds (a 3:1 ratio is what I'll try)
• lemon juice - 3.5 Tablespoons
• cardamom - 1/2 teaspoon (or more)
  

Directions

• Mix sugar into prepared loquats and allow to sit at least an hour.  Add lemon juice and cardamom.  Put into a large heavy bottomed pan.
• Prepare jars and lids at this time (sanitize, warm up, etc.).
• Gradually heat up the ingredients.  Bring to simmer until skins burst and juices start to boil.
  
• Increase heat to medium high and cook to a slow, thick boil (about 35 minutes or so). Stir often.
  
• Hot pack water bath process for 5 minutes.

Yield: about 6 jelly jars (half pints)