The majority vote on our unidentified berry last week was that it came from a mulberry tree, and we agree! Thanks for chiming in, everyone. While we wait for enough berries to ripen for us to make something, we thought we'd take a closer look at the treasure we've found. What do you like to make with mulberries?
Seasonal Spotlight: Mulberries
The berries are fully ripe when they turn from pink to deep purple and pull easily from the stem. There is also a white variety native to east Asia that jumped the ocean at some point and can now be found in many of our back yards. Normally white berries are a sign of poison, but in this case, they're very edible!
We've never seen mulberries sold commercially, but the trees grow throughout the United States, so keep an eye out for them at farmer's markets. Or look for mulberry trees at the edges of fields and wild spaces - we found one site that said mulberries are often planted in those places as windbreaks because they grow so quickly. To identify a mulberry tree, go to our original mulberry post for pictures of the berries, tree, and leaves.
The dark varieties are sweeter than they are tart, tend to be very juicy, and have a fairly tough inner core. They can be used like any other berry and would make a close substitute for blackberries in any recipe.
On the sweet side, mulberries can be used to make jams, pies, or even cordials, and they go well in quick breads like muffins and scones. We found several of recipes pairing them with citrus flavors, particularly orange. We like the idea of featuring mulberries on their own, but it would also be interesting to mix them with other seasonal fruits like blueberries, raspberries, and peaches.
Mulberries can also be used in savory cooking. Simmered down and strained, the juice would make a great sauce for steak or it could be used in a vinaigrette for salad. Dark berries also pair well with game meats and can be used in stuffings or thrown into a braise. Herbs like sage, thyme, and bay leaf round out the flavors.
Here are a few recipes we came across in our research. We wish we had enough berries to try them all!
• Mulberry-Orange Muffins from Pleasant House
• Mulberry and Pecan Bread Pudding from ABC News
• Mulberry Wine from Food Reference
• Mulberry Cream Tarts from Sunny Raw Kitchen
• Berbere and Mulberry Glazed Duck from The Splendid Table
How do you like to use mulberries?
Related: Fallen Fruit: A Collaborative Community Project
(Image: Flickr member akeg licensed under Creative Commons)
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Ingredients - Fruit, Gardening, Summer, Fruits and Vegetables, seasonal spotlight, berries, mulberriesRelated Links
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When last week's post went up there was talk of white mulberries--which I had heard of but had never seen. That evening, I had to drive out to the suburbs and parked underneath--a giant, white mulberry tree.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/art_chel/3678621220/
view art's profile
Wow, those look like raspberries dipped in mercury. Beautiful
view akay's profile
I don't know if we have mulberries here in Ontario. That said, your mublerries look a lot like the black berries we get. I'm not a big fan of blackberries sold commercially though since they usually look so much better than the taste.
If you have time, you can see the blackberries we get here in Toronto in this post:
http://danamccauley.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/berry-nice/
view Dana McCauley's profile
We get the most amazing Persian mulberries here in California from the farmers market. They are juicier than the one's pictured above and the only thing I do with them is eat them over good vanilla ice cream - it's not worth wasting them by cooking or mixing them with anything that will dilute their pure bliss taste. They come in this week!!!! I can't wait. $9.00 a basket but they are work every last bit.
You won't find them in the supermarket as they are too delicate for the hustle and bussle of transporting that is required for supermarket produce.
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-market25-2008jun25,0,6504198.story
view fmktjod's profile
We ate mulberries in the Prague Zoo day before yesterday (near the Eurasion tigers' cage); the trees were dripping with fruit.
I think this says more about how amazing the Prague Zoo is than about mulberries :-)) (I am not a zoo person, but this is a fabulous happy zoo -- with the happiest zoo animals I've ever seen) -- landscaping is kept pretty wild and natural.
view mschatelaine's profile
I've made morat, it's a type of mead made with honey, mulberries, and spices. You ferment it just like mead and it comes out a beautiful purple-red color and has an herbal/floral scent. Otherwise, the mullberies I've had are pretty bland on their own.
view reubenclamzo's profile
My parents have a big mulberry tree in their backyard. once the berries start to grow and ripen the weight of them brings the branches closer to the ground so their pretty easy to get at. I grabbed a bunch of them last week and planned on doing something with them but they ended up going moldy before I got around to it. With the links you've posted I'm going to try again, this time I've already got something I want to make so I won't put it off too long.
view Zerfall's profile
mulberries are technically considered a weed. i can't believe more people haven't seen them! i've been eating them/making tarts with them since i was a kid!
view ewilde's profile
I like to mix them with sour cream and sprinkle a little honey on top. Yummy!
view Knerq's profile