Mulberry fruits are ripening now in many parts of the world. Time to share some of the many ways to use this very tasty fruit.  Since there are SO very many ways (kind of like mesquite, or maybe acorns), we will get you started with this today.  Later, we will revisit this topic.

Arizona Mulberry

Mulberry trees are found around the world.  Before the rabid native-plants-only people show up and yell at me, let me tell you that there is a native Arizona species of mulberry, and I have one in my yard. I didn’t plant it. It showed up courtesy of some bird who used my bird bath and left a fertilizer package full of mulberry seed in the damp soil beside the bird bath.

The native mulberry is Morus microphylla, the little leaf mulberry. Little leaves means it survives the desert conditions better than the larger-leaved species. It is also called Arizona mulberry, Texas mulberry, Mexican mulberry, and a host of other names – which is an indication of how widespread it is.

Harvest Mulberry

I did not think to look for mulberry fruit so soon in the spring, my trees usually ripen in late April. But the cardinals were squabbling in the mulberry tree and it drew my attention. Now, if you grew up with sisters and brothers, you know the importance of not squabbling. If you start squabbling then Mom comes in and gives you chores. In this case, “mom” was the human being who has been watering the tree. Instead of chores, she decided to pick the mulberries for herself. 

Mulberry is a fruit that is easy to pick – too easy, in fact. It drops off the tree with a mere brush of the hand! You barely touch the fruit on a nearby branch, and all of the ripe fruits in the general vicinity will drop to the ground.

With this in mind, the best method of harvesting mulberry is placing old sheets around the base of the tree, and gently shaking the branches. Use sheets that you don’t mind getting stained. I have 4 old sheets I use for harvesting all manner of fruits, nuts, flowers, and seeds. Edible flowers like ocotillo and citrus flowers are both simplest to harvest by letting them fall onto sheets spread to catch them. But I digress.

Mulberries are not all ripe on a single day.  You can return time and again for harvest.  There are about three peak weeks.

Mulberry Fruit – Consider This First

Start your mulberry journey knowing that mulberries do not keep well. They last maybe two days off the tree in the refrigerator. This means you should plan to eat, preserve, dry, prepare, or in general, cook them right away.

Mulberry are not excessively sweet. Despite over 10,000 years of human use, mulberry are about as wild a fruit as you can grow. They will not be super sweet right off the tree. Most recipes call for some sweetening. How much sweetening you will need to use depends on the species and variety of the tree, the growing conditions, and maybe whether the mulberry gods are smiling on you or not. Some berries are sweeter than the berry next to it on the tree.

Mulberry fruits have stems. Little tiny stems. Little tiny very soft chewy stems. Think about this. Strawberries, blackberries, and kiwi have seeds. We are used to eating these fruits with crunchy seeds. When it comes to mulberry, just retain your brain a little bit and accept the chewy mulberry. I’ll take chewy berries over mango strings getting stuck between my teeth any day!

Many of the berries will fall off the trees, leaving the stems on the tree, but for the rest. They are fiber. Good for your gut. Yes, you can try to get the stems off, but I don’t bother. It is virtually impossible to remove the all stems.

How to Use Mulberry

Mulberries can be used in virtually any recipe that calls for berries. Know your variety, some are juicier than others and may affect your recipe (especially pies).

Fresh mulberries make a nice substitute for either raisins or blueberries. Add them to a cole slaw salad instead of raisins. Instead of blueberries use them in pancakes or muffins. Easiest perhaps is to use them as the fruit with oatmeal or yogurt. Also good in your morning smoothie.

Juice

Boil together 4 cups berries and 4 cups water. Once berries are softened, strain the berries and save the water. Now mash the berries. Add them back to the water and let them steep together for half an hour. Now strain for serving – or not. You can can this as tomato juice.

Pie

Mulberry pie is delightful. You can use fresh or frozen mulberry (freezing is below). Use any blackberry pie recipe. They are about the same amount of juicy. Generally a corn starch thickener is added to the berries. Incidentally – does anyone know where I can find some non-GMO corn starch?

Cake

Use the basic cake recipe we shared for Calendula Cake. Use 1 cup fresh mulberries instead of calendula petals. BUT. The recipe calls for X cups of flour. Measure the flour into a bowl and roll your mulberries in it and then pull them out. Make the rest of the cake with this reduced amount of flour. Before you pour the batter into the pan, add the mulberries into the batter. By rolling them in flour you help them become part of the matrix, rather than a wet kerplop on the plate.

Preserve Mulberry

Dry 

Some varieties dry better than others. The white mulberry (Morus alba) dry the best, they are also the least juicy. If you have not planted a mulberry tree yet and love raisins, may I suggest this variety. My Arizona mulberry (Morus microphylla) also dries very well.

If you have a juicier mulberry, may I suggest drying them in a dehydrator where you have added a layer of parchment paper under the berries. Turn the fruit every 6 hours. More about drying fruits. Mulberry also dry well on solar dehydrators, or on screens or sheets in the sun if you can keep the birds away.

Freeze Mulberry BUT!

Do not simply put your mulberries in a plastic bag or other container and drop them into the freezer. You will end up with a frozen block that will break your blender blades.

Lay your mulberries to be frozen onto a cookie sheet. One layer thick – not more! After half an hour, pull the sheet out and now put you half frozen mulberries into a freezer bag or container. I like to do these in specific amounts – either two cups (pint) or four cups (quart). It makes for ease of use in recipes and no guessing later.

Mulberry Jam and/or Preserves

This is as simple – as all jam recipes are, but even simpler because you do not need pectin. It’s just mulberries, sugar, and some lemon juice. No water. You just simmer in one pot until thickened and then jar it up.

The one time I did use pectin because I was young and grandma taught me to use pectin by golly. Let us say that was some of the toughest jam I have ever made. Shoe leather might describe it, but it didn’t come out of the jar easily enough to spread to the thinness of leather.

Mulberry Wine

You can easily make your own mulberry wine from the fresh berries. I do not have breathers or any fancy set up. I just make it counter top method, the same way I make prickly pear wine.

And sorry – I thought I remembered posting the recipe. Instead I remember thinking about posting and what I would say and how I would say it. Words writen in electrical impulses in my brain and never committed to electrical 0’s and 1’s on the interweb. I shall have to get that up here.

When will I post the wine recipe? May I suggest that you subscribe to our free Substack email newsletter? No need to download any app – unless you want to. It’s just the newsletter that comes to your email inbox. The link to the newsletter is to the side or way down at the bottom of the page if you are on a tablet or phone.

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The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals, or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.