And a few days ago, strolling through a market in Zhongshan, I saw pints of fresh seasonal red bayberries, which I almost bought. Then I saw what was next to them. Lo, what are these? They looked like blackberries, but oblong. “First of the season!” exclaimed another customer to her husband. I typed the Chinese characters from the sign into my translator.
Growing up, I always associated mulberries with posies, pickled peppers, and curds of whey; as in, they were just the stuff of nursery rhymes. Growing up in suburbia, I never saw any mulberries in supermarkets, and assumed they were just the figment of some clever 14th-century storyteller’s imagination. How wrong I was about everything!
There are 3 main kinds of mulberries: black (the kind I bought), white (grown in China and used as food for silkworms), and red (available in the American Northeast, which I apparently missed because I did not grow up in a rural area.) I first tried mulberries in the form of a juice from my local Carrefour, and it was so overly sweetened I had to water it down. The fruit is also used as a natural food coloring. But I hadn’t seen fresh mulberries until now because the season is so short.
Despite the appearance, they taste more like raspberries, with more of a subtle sweetness than blackberries. Every 10th or 12th berry was sour enough to make me pucker up, but couldn’t stop me from eating more.
I confess. I was going to create some sort of cold spoon dessert to celebrate spring. But then I kept picking and, before long, had eaten the entire two pints. (Insert sheepish look.) So mulberry panna cottas and granitas will have to wait. Until then, if you happen to find mulberries near you, try these recipes I dug up:
Mulberry and Cinnamon Cake from Cook (Almost) Anything
Mulberry Bramble from Sloshed!
Mulberry and Vanilla Muffins from Morsels & Musings
Mulberry Sorbet from Garlic Breath
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
The recipe below originally called for blackberries, but I made it last week with mulberries and it worked out very nicely.
Mulberry & Pineapple Mojito
10 mint leaves
4 mulberries
3 pieces of pineapple
4 teaspoons of sugar
Rum 2 oz
Cold Club Soda 0.5-1 oz
Crushed ice
Utensils: Thick round Mojito glass with a heavy bottom, bar spoon, muddler (pestle, or end or rolling pin), jigger
Place 10 mint leaves in a round Mojito glass. (It is critical to put them at the bottom so that they don’t get over-crushed and give the drink an “old mint” taste)
Place 3-4 pieces of pineapple on top and then 4 blackberries.
Add 4 bar spoons of sugar (equivalent to 4 teaspoons).
Muddle the mixture, mostly crushing the pineapples to indirectly crush the mint leaves and berries.
Fill up the glass with crushed ice and using the bar spoon; pour in the rum and then gently mix all ingredients in the glass.
Pour a little club soda to give the drink a little fizz.
Finish with a crushed ice “pyramid” on top and garnish with mint leaves and more berries.
MULBERRIES! I had no clue what they were called. I can get them at the supermarket next to my house. They seems to be more popular than the standard set of western fruits.
Hek
Mulberry ice cream and mulberry syrup over shaved ice are my favourites.
I used to have a mulberry tree in my yard when I was little and Mum would send us out to pick them – but we’d end up eating them all! I really miss them.. they’re so yummy.
Beijing Gourmand _ I don’t understand the crushed ice pyramid in the last step. Is this supposed to be more of a crushed ice dessert than a cocktail? I’d much rather sip a mulberry mojito than slurp one.
Helen – Do you make your own mulberry ice cream or buy it? If it’s the latter, what brand?
Having also grown up in suburbia I had no idea that what we call a “toot etz” (tree berry) here in Israel, is in fact a mulberry.Should have figured it out when the kids fed their leaves to silkworms for their science projects!!