A few weeks ago I had a revelation, there is a mulberry tree - da fuq, they're not just bags!? On further inspection I found that said tree is pretty bad-ass and laden with plenty of gorgeous, juicy fruit. To save all the birds, dogs etc. gorging themselves into oblivion, I decided to pick some of these delicious berries and make something to stuff silly all of the featherless, non-four legged people around.
Once I had collected as many berries as I could reach (which was limited by my height, even though I was being helped out by a handy step ladder) I had to decide what to do with them. I have never knowingly consumed mulberries, and after consulting a pile of my Mum's recipe books was slightly exasperated. There were no recipes for mulberries, even Delia - DELIA SMITH people - couldn't help. Naturally I then did what I should have done first, I turned to the ever illuminating internet. After being unimpressed by offerings of jam, mulberry fools, and a few cheeky tarts I stumbled across some recipes for...mulberry liqueur, what a no brainer!
The recipe I am using is an amalgamation from a few sources, namely The Telegraph, and roughly goes like this:
450g mulberries
710ml vodka (apparently gin works just as well)
150g caster sugar
All spice and some vanilla essence to add some extra flavour to the mix (another suggestion is to chuck in a handful of roasted almonds)
Basically I mixed all of the ingredients together in a measuring jug, stirred thoroughly until the caster sugar had dissolved, then transferred into an empty vodka bottle (most sources suggest putting the mix in a tightly sealed and sterilised jar, but I did not have a jar large enough). At the moment the bottle is resting in a dark cupboard and will be 'turned' every couple of days for the next 2-3 months. Yes, this seems like a long time to wait, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Anyway, surely it can't be worse than Bacardi Breezers right?
