All Around the Mulberry Bush

Mulberries for breakfast

The first time I saw this peculiar berry at the Farmers Market I thought, “that looks weird.  And gross.  And weird.”  I ended up buying the first pint more for its’ uniqueness than taste, (and three years later I still can’t accurately describe the taste), but each year I’m happy to see them again and end up buying and eating about a pint a week until the season is over.

Mulberries have the texture of a raspberry and the flavor of a plum crossed with a cherry, I think.  (I’ve got a bowl of them here and every few seconds I pop one into my mouth to make sure I can accurately describe it.  Yep, still can’t decide what it tastes like.)

The “World Encyclopedia of Cooking Ingredients” describes black mulberries, (there’s white ones too, which apparently silk worms love to eat but are “inferior in taste” to the darker variety,) as “elongated berries (that) resemble loganberries in appearance and the luscious black juice stains everything with which it comes into contact.”  (A fact to which I can attest – I am now the proud owner of a mulberry-stained reusable shopping bag.)

The Encyclopedia also says that ripe mulberries, “can be eaten just as they are with or without cream” (which is how we eat them – Madison loves them with cream.  But then, she loves any berry with a bit of cream and sprinkling of sugar.)  “They are a good addition to summer pudding and make excellent ice creams, fools and sorbets.  They can also be steeped in white wine vinegar to flavor it for salad dressings or in vodka for a fruity drink.”

Hmm, well now that I’ve read that, maybe I’ll have some other use for this funky berry before the season runs out.  I might also make jam or pie, but for the time being I’m just as happy to eat them plain and settle for the fact that they taste just like what they are – mulberries.