Before making mulberry jelly, you’ll need to turn your fresh mulberries into juice. This is easy to do on the stovetop and only takes a little bit of water to keep the berries from scorching.

Start by sorting through the mulberries. Remove any bugs, sticks, leaves, stems, or berries that are spoiled. Rinse the berries well.

Place the prepared mulberries in a large stock pot. Add just enough water to keep the fruit from scorching. A good rule of thumb is about 1/4 cup of water for every 4 cups of mulberries.

Bring the berries to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. As they cook, stir and gently crush the berries to help release the juice. Continue cooking until the berries are soft and juicy, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Line a colander with several layers of cheesecloth (I used a yogurt straining cloth, but beware it will stain whatever it touches!) and place it over a large bowl. Carefully pour the cooked berries into the lined colander and let the juice drip through.

Once most of the juice has dripped into the bowl, you can gently squeeze the cheesecloth with your hands to get the remaining juice out. I recommend wearing food-safe gloves for this part, unless you want purple hands for the rest of the day.

For a clearer jelly, let the berries drip naturally for at least 2 hours, or even overnight in the refrigerator, instead of squeezing them. Squeezing gives you more juice, but it can make the jelly a little cloudier.

Once you have 3 1/2 cups of mulberry juice, you’re ready to make the jelly.

Before you begin cooking the jelly, wash your jars in hot, soapy water and keep them warm until you’re ready to fill them.

You do not want to ladle hot jelly into cold jars because the sudden temperature change can cause jars to crack. Keeping the jars warm also helps the whole canning process go much more smoothly.

Prepare your lids and bands according to the lid manufacturer’s directions. You’ll want to use new lids each time you can, but bands can be reused as long as they are not rusty or bent.

Once your juice is prepared, pre-measure the sugar into a medium bowl. This is important because once the pectin and juice come to a full rolling boil, everything moves quickly. You don’t want to be measuring sugar while the pot is boiling.

Pour the prepared cups of juice into a large stock pot.

Add the powdered pectin and stir it into the mulberry juice.

Place the pot over medium-high heat and stir frequently until the juice mixture reaches a full rolling boil. A full rolling boil is a boil that keeps bubbling even while you stir it.

Once the juice and pectin mixture reaches a full rolling boil, add the pre-measured sugar all at once.

Stir continuously until the mixture reaches a full rolling boil again.

Once the sugar dissolves and it reaches a full rolling boil, boil for 1 full minute while stirring constantly.

Remove the pot from the heat.

Carefully ladle the hot jelly into prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace at the top.

Wipe the rim of the jars with a clean, damp towel. Add the lids and bands, tightening the bands to fingertip tight. You don’t want them cranked down too tightly.

Place the jars in a boiling water-bath canner and process for 10 minutes.

Once the processing time is finished, carefully remove the jars  without tilting them and place them on a towel where they can sit undisturbed.

Let the jars cool for 12 to 24 hours. After they are completely cool, check the seals. If a jar did not seal, place it in the refrigerator and use it first.