Mulberries

[George]

Anyone collect mulberries while trekking or camping? I always looked forward to snacking on some on my springtime treks at the farm, but now Farmer Flint has bulldozed all the trees. I still have a couple small ones in my home yard, and if I play my cards very smart I can steal a few from the squirrels and birds.



Has anyone ever made any wine, jellies, jams or anything else from mulberries?

Spence

 

[Black Hand]

There was a Mulberry tree outside a relative's old country home in my mother's home town. I haven't eaten any since I was a kid but I remember they were delicious and my fingers were stained a purple color...

 

[George]

Yeah, I remember a big one which grew up the street from me when I was a kid. It hung over the sidewalk and street, and dropped so many berries they were purple for a while from the crushed berries. We ate them, but I don't recall anyone using them to make anything.

As a kid I loved blackberries with a little milk and sugar on them, stirred until the milk turned purple. I do the same with mulberries, and they are delicious.



Spence

 

[Black Hand]

Cold out of the refrigerator - I don't remember whether or not I sprinkled sugar on the Mulberries.

 

[Hairy Clipper]

When my ancestors came to Minnesota in the 1800's the original homestead had a small mulberry tree. It was much larger when my great uncle came back from France in 1918. When we would go to visit we always checked the mulberry tree for berries and as kids we would climb that old tree when we couldn't reach any more low hanging fruit. It is the only mulberry tree I have seen in my 65 years walking this orb. Those were some good eating berries!

 

[Sean Gadhar]

I can tell you the wood is interesting I had to drive my Mixer down a lane that was incroched by Mulberry trees. Had a rep come out, got papers signed because I was sure I was going to break a lot of branches.

Those branches bent like no willow ever could :redface: Didn't break a single branch even though I was pushing big limbs 3 or 4 feet out of place!

That night it took over an hour with a power washer to get the purple streaks off the drum of the mixer.

 

[fleener]

I have a couple of nice mature trees on my farm.

When the kids were little and I was younger, I would pick enough for a pie.

I started putting a sheet under the tree and shaking the limbs. The nice and ripe berries will simply drop off.

Or simply on ice cream is a favorite.


Fleener

 

[NeilMacleod]

I buy them dried from Turkey, love them, no trees around here for that

 

[Artie Peltier]

Great idea on using a sheet. I have two mature trees in my yard and there berthing up now! Always a fight to get them between the birds and squirrels. Love it when the birds eat the fermented berries on the ground and then fly impaired! Sometimes into my slider. The sheet will keep them out of the grass and make clean up easier. Thanks Art

 

[Blaze]

Mulberries yes! My son has a Mulberry tree in his yard, he has to get on top of his garage to pick them. Last year he picked enough for a batch of jam, it turned out quite good, we used the recipe for blackberries. Never tried pie from them, but I can see a Mulberry pie in my not to distant future!

 

[Ames]

I've watched the birds get tanked on over ripe mulberries before. Hilarious.

 

[Treestalker]

My next door neighbors in the Settlement as a boy, Uncle Asa Christman and his family had a huge mulberry tree in the back yard that Asa's boy Richard and I used to climb up in and gorge on mulberries. Seems like Aunt Maudie used to make a jelly out of them, but my mom Mary Ferroll did not; she held out for dewberries and figs. I remember Richard's mom used to jump timing about him 'ruining' his clothes; said he didn't have the gumption of a rutabaga.

 

[ppg1949]

When I lived in the country twenty five years ago, our rear fence line bordered a farm field. The fence line had a tree every few feet, probably about thirty or more trees. There were five or six mulberries. But one of the trees had white almost translucent mulberries. I've never seen white mulberries before or since. I'm guessing it was some kind of genetic defect. But the white berries were much sweeter than the purple ones. Anyone else ever see white mulberries?

 

[hinamanra]

When I lived in the country twenty five years ago, our rear fence line bordered a farm field. The fence line had a tree every few feet, probably about thirty or more trees. There were five or six mulberries. But one of the trees had white almost translucent mulberries. I've never seen white mulberries before or since. I'm guessing it was some kind of genetic defect. But the white berries were much sweeter than the purple ones. Anyone else ever see white mulberries?

I have never heard of white mulberries until I read your post, then I read this on a gardening web site that sells mulberry trees: The white mulberry (M. alba) is native to China, where for thousands of years it was cultivated as the food of choice for silkworms. As the art of silk-making spread to Japan, India, and Europe, travelers from the latter continent brought the tree to North America in hopes of spawning a silk industry here.

 

[ppg1949]

hinamanra, thank you for your response. I'm not as senile as I thought. Thanks again.

 

[Licespray]

I’ve got a white mulberry in my yard. Only a young tree. I wanna put in a regular one also. Probably after winter.

Also someone mentioned wine. I picked this up last year.

 

[DAKurth1]

When I was young, my grandparents had a mulberry tree next to their garage.
My brother and I would climb up on the garage roof and eat mulberries until our hands and faces were purple!
I thought they would be great on my cereal in the morning, so I picked a whole bowl full and put it in the fridge for the next mornings breakfast.
The next morning, I fixed a bowl full of Corn Flakes, added milk and a LOT of those Mulberries.
Took the first big mouthful expecting to taste those wonderful berries, only to find that they had mysteriously lost all their flavor overnight in the fridge and were just tasteless mush!
Lesson learned!
They are only a delicious treat when eaten fresh off the tree!

 

[GREENSWLDE]

After 3 or 4 hundred years Mulberries grown between the orchards of walnut trees gives us the finest gun stocks, usually, Circasion,( Have one) that ever came out of this world. OLD DOG

 

[sawyer04]

they were delicious and my fingers were stained a purple color...

Makes for a nice paint job on a white car too.

 

[Eterry]

We had 2 mulberry trees in our back yard as a kid. Mom had us pick them, made jelly/ jam. Dad took the must after making jelly and made wine.
I recall eating all i could one day, then filling my pockets with ripe mulberries...i got a proper tanning when my new jeans had purple stains on both front pockets.