We have just returned from a holiday in beautiful sunny Devon. While there, we were fortunate to notice a Mulberry tree in Salcombe.
At first glance it did not look like there were many fruits on the ancient looking tree but I sent my daughter (the official taster) to check and on closer inspection we realised that a lot of the fruit was just hidden under the leaves.
The red Mulberries are unripe, they look similar to Raspberries but felt harder; they also taste less interesting and are slightly tart. We picked a couple to try but the darker black/red fruits are far sweeter and delightfully palatable.
I imagine that Mulberries are now a fairly rare and I'm sure that with a little research some interesting traditional recipes could be turned up. I may experiment with the local tree in a Southampton park. One thing is clear though, it would be much easier to pick Mulberries off a bush than a tree.
Hello there...could be something to do with the variety you have found? But mostly mulberries should be eaten when black as then they are fully ripe and very tasty. Far tastier than a raspberry even!
ReplyDeleteCheers Andy.
ReplyDeleteIt's quite possible that they were not fully ripe then - we were on holiday so we took a chance.
Perhaps we will pop up to the tree in the Southampton park and see how those ones favour us.
I can feel a bit of a hunt coming on this weekend, we need a new pear tree for starters...
Alan
Hi there - saw your post on CSH and thought I'd pop over for a look. :-)
ReplyDeleteThose Mulberries are definitely not fully ripe yet. My mother has a tree in her garden and the fruit are glorious once they are fully ripe. She makes wine, cordial and jam from hers. Yield is down this year against previous years though - too much rain and not enough sun!
Very interesting blog, keep it up!!
Hi Ruth
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info.
If I can gather enough locally - I think I might try making wine - you can see my other drink based expoits on the blog here ;-)
Alan