Mulberry Season is Here

The mulberry season will be fast upon us in a few weeks. Mulberry season starts in spring and lasts through early summer. Perhaps you have a tree raining mulberries every spring and you still have not recognized the culinary uses of the mulberry. To many mulberry tree owners the trees are beautiful and the falling berries a nuisance. However, the mulberry deserves our respect as much as the blueberry or blackberry. Mulberries are bountiful in the Spring and catching what you can in the 3-4 weeks they are ripe will provide you with enough berries to make good use of them.

It's commonly believed that mulberries are not sweet and are not as tasty as other berries. However, If picked at the ultimate ripeness, mulberries are sweet and delicious with just the right tartness that you want in a berry. Purple mulberries should be so dark purple that they look black, they should be plump and heavy (for a berry), and they should fall with just the slightest pull. Any berry that hangs on is not ripe and should be tossed. If you are lucky enough to own or find a pink or white mulberry tree, the qualifications are the same save the color. These berries are also sweet but slightly more mild and less acidic than the purple mulberries but just as delicious.

What to do with mulberries? First of all, clean them thoroughly. Put them in a berry or mesh colander and rinse with slow running water-you don't want to squash them.Some people won't wash berries as they think washing ruins the texture. Personally, I have not found that to be the case and eating a bug would dampen my enthusiasm for the berries. I usually swish them around very lightly on a large bowl of water and drain. After cleaning,the berries can be eaten as is or added to a smoothie. Freezing mulberries for later use is another way to add them to a healthy smoothie. Baking the quintessential mulberry pie is what most people think of when they wonder what to do with mulberries. Another, more old fashioned use of mulberries is mulberry wine. This only requires mashed mulberries, water, honey or sugar, and yeast. Mulberry jam is also an oldie but I have never tried it so I can't comment. I have made pies, wine, and smoothies which have all been delectable.

Finally, even if you ignore their culinary use and still turn your nose up at mulberries, don't sweep them away, birds and small animals love the berries so leave them out for the little creatures.

Very Simple Mulberry Wine

5-6 cups of smashed mulberries
3.5 cups of honey
1 packet of wine yeast
or if not available bread yeast
1 large container-at least 1.5 gallons.
bottles equaling to about one gallon
1 gallon plus 2 cups water

Add mashed mulberries, honey, water and yeast to a large container. Cover with plastic wrap tied around the top of the container with just enough slack for fermentation gas to escape. Leave in a cool-not cold place until fermentation has stopped, i.e. no more bubbles. If you want the wine more sweet then bottle as soon as possible-in a few days. To bottle, drain the wine off the mulberry muck and add water up to a gallon. Then pour into bottles and cork or cap and place in refrigerator. Since this is not aged wine, it must stay in the refrigerator to prevent further fermentation and bottle bursting. If it worries you to use glass then use liter plastic soda bottles. This recipe is technically a melomel-mead with fruit, but most would call it wine.