By Scott Simmons

For many a Southerner, spring is heralded by the mayhaw season. Nothing is as sure a sign that spring has arrived down South than hard wood trees beginning to green up and finding mayhaws floating on the water in sloughs, bogs, bayous, and along the roadside in flooded woods.

Mayhaws grow on mayhaw trees, naturally. The mayhaw tree is a relative of the rose family and it produces berry fruit that ripens to pink, orange, and red in late April and early May. The berries are about the size of the end of your little finger and they perfume the air with an unmistakable scent that smells like a combination of pear, apple, rose, and a hint of citrus all rolled up into one. For those lucky enough to have wild stands of mayhaw trees growing near them, and the right amount of spring rain, the ripe berries fall onto standing water, ready for pickers to scoop them up by the gallon.

If you aren’t lucky enough to have a stand of mayhaws near you, and you can’t gather them yourself from the side of the road, farmers’ markets and produce stands sometimes have them for sale. And if you can’t find them there, many small town papers have classified ads where locals offer mayhaws for sale usually in gallon amounts. Spring green trees, finding the first mayhaw ads in the paper, and the warming weather makes me want to travel to the mayhaws, gather them in buckets and make lots and lots of half-pint jars of jelly.

Most people would agree that jelly is the main reason to find mayhaws. Oh, the festivals have food contests and the participants come up with creative and surprisingly great tasting results, but nothing compares to a sparkling, rose-colored sweet mayhaw jelly.

It’s a given that mayhaw jelly is terrific to begin with. It has a soft, mellow taste with a flavor that is unique. It tastes somewhat like mayhaws smell, but the flavor can only be described as that of mayhaw. And along with being delicious, the jelly is dear to many a Southerner’s heart because it is a sentimental favorite. For mayhaw jelly lovers, simply the color and the taste of mayhaw jelly is reminiscent of childhood, making jelly, going to visit grandparents, summer vacation, or even a leisurely weekend breakfast when jelly on a biscuit was the most important thing in the morning.

Grandmother doesn’t have to be the only one making mayhaw jelly. Once you find the berries, the process is a relatively quick, easy, and fun job with results that please everyone. Round up the berries, put them in a large saucepan with water, and boil the berries for juice. (The smell from the juice is heavenly, intense, and the perfect smell of spring.) Then science, pectin, and sugar work together to make mayhaw jelly. An amazing transformation takes place in front of your eyes. Berries gathered from the woods, boiled to juice in a pot, poured into jars as jelly, and set on the table to spread on biscuits in an astonishing few hours of work with a remarkable fruit.

The mayhaw is fruit worthy of celebration and Louisiana is home to two festivals for the marvelous mayhaw. In north Louisiana, near Arkansas, the town of Marion holds its Mayhaw Festival on the second weekend of May every year. It features a jelly making contest, food vendors, live music, crafts, and it’s all located in downtown Marion.

In the southwestern corner of Louisiana, about 6 miles from the Texas state line, the town of Starks holds its mayhaw celebration around the third weekend of May. Starks’ festival has a crafts show, cooking contest, food vendors, and even a fun run. On Friday, the festival features country and western music and on Saturday gospel music. The Starks Mayhaw Festival is in downtown Starks.

Marion Mayhaw Festival
May 11, 12, 2001
318-292-4717

Starks Mayhaw Festival
May 17, 18, and 19, 2001
Starks is about north of I-10. Take the Starks exit and follow Highway 109 to downtown.

MAYHAW JUICE

MAYHAW JELLY

Filed Under: Food Talk