Mulberry butter

I grew up eating lemon butter, made from our own lemons when the hens were laying prolifically, at the time I didn’t think any other fruit could be used to make butters, but I was wrong. In my teen years I was introduced to passionfruit butter and thought this was the height of creativity (at least in the culinary field). In the present I am looking for ways to use the huge mulberry harvest that has been stored in the freezer, and in honour of the fine tradition of using excess eggs to make butters, I went looking for this recipe. Of course, I will change it a bit to suit what I have to hand.

Ingredients

400 g (3 cups) mulberries
2 Tablespoons wine vinegar
175 g ( 3/4 cup) butter room temperature
100 – 150 g (1/2 – 3/4 cup) sugar
4 large eggs approximately 225ml (1 cup)
You will also need some sterilized glass jars with lids.

Instructions

To make the mulberry puree

Wash the mulberries, then place the wet mulberries in a small saucepan.
Simmer on a medium heat for 5 – 10 minutes, or until the mulberries have softened and are starting to fall apart.
Push the mulberry pulp through a fine sieve with a spoon into a bowl. This will separate any seeds and stalks from the puree. Reserve the puree and dump any solids left in the sieve into the chook scrap bucket.
Allow the puree to cool before proceeding. This is important as the puree will curdle the eggs if it is too hot.

To make the mulberry curd on the Stove Top

Place the mulberry puree, vinegar, sugar, and butter in bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water.
Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved.
Whisk the eggs until frothy then pour into the mulberry puree. Stir in gently.
Stir continuously until the mixture has thickened and coats the back of a spoon. Do not allow the mixture to boil or it will curdle.
Let the mixture cool slightly then transfer to glass bottles, put the lid on straight away and store in the fridge.

Mulberry butter can be used to make flan or tart, it can be used as a topping for pancakes and waffles, it can also be used as a filling in layer cakes or to serve with cake. This stuff is yummy, but it does taste very buttery, which is not something I am used to these days.