Storing mulberries.

[TXDirtDog]

Ok,

This is a DOHHH!! question, I feel I really should know the answer, but am not sure:

The first of my two trees are starting to ripen mulberries. The other seems to be a couple of weeks behind this one. I picked mulberries this morning, and only got about a cup of truly ripe ones. The recipe I plan to use calls for 3/4 fully ripe and 1/4 with some red still in them for tartness. And calls for about 14 cups of berries to make 3-4 cups of juice.

Historically, we have only eaten them fresh-picked and washed and not tried to store them. Left in a bowl on the counter, or in the fridge, they tend to dry out in a day's time in my experience.

I washed them and stuck them in a freezer bag and put them in the freezer to see what happens, as I collect more, but is this the best way? Should I be getting the juice and freezing that? (More work and clean-up sessions!)


Search on the forum was frustrating, and google came up with tons of recipes, but nobody talked about keeping them till ready to use, at least in the hour I spent searching.

Thanks for advice.

[jokenmar]

mulberry jelly is one of the best tasting jellies I have ever made. You can store the washed berries in the freezer in freezer bags until you get ready to use them. However, you have to cook them in some way, as they are not good to use as fresh berries. I cover them with water and boil them a while and then strain then through a clean cotton cloth, squeezing all juice from the berries, throwing away all the little seeds. Then I use the juice to make jelly and usually make a pot of berry dumplings. Man oh man they are so delicious.

[TXDirtDog]

jokenmar,

Thanks for the tips. Glad I am using a way to store that has been tested.

The recipe I plan to use sounds like what you do for the jelly.

BERRY DUMPLINGS. Mmmmmm!

Hmm, betcha I could use an amended blackberry cobbler recipe with mulberries. (Loves my blackberry cobbler)

[TastyofHasty]

You-all are inspiring me to want another mulberry tree! I planted one in 2004, I think; it was s'posed to be Illinois Everbearing, but died down to the ground and came up again ... and now it's a WHITE mulberry (probably that was the rootstock it grew back from).

I've always thought of mulberries as something you have to just eat fresh. Seems I tried making something with the berries years ago and they went tasteless after they'd been sitting around awhile. But googling, there actually ARE recipes for cobblers and stuff made with them!

TXDirtDog, Hidden Springs Nursery has mulberries suitable for zones 5 - 8, and then a DIFFERENT kind of mulberry for zones 8 - 10, here:
http://www.hiddenspringsnursery.com/....html#Mulberry
When we lived in southern Louisiana, I had an incredible fast-growing mulberry tree I had planted about 5 feet away from the house. It must've grown to 25 feet in two years, iirc. I would go on the roof of the house and pick mulberries.

[TXDirtDog]

Tasty,

Sorry to hear about your everbearing. Never seen a white mulberry tree before.

I'm hoping the freezing locks the flavor.

Nice link.

With a step ladder, I can't reach em all. lol.

[jokenmar]

I have not found any loss of flavor in freezing. You can also can the berries in jars, but I don't ever get enough to can, so I just make jelly.

[TXDirtDog]

Originally Posted by jokenmar

I have not found any loss of flavor in freezing. You can also can the berries in jars, but I don't ever get enough to can, so I just make jelly.

good to know jokenmar. The freezing in my case is until I get enough to jelly-fy

Well, come to think of it, may have to keep some in the freezer for cobblers for days to come

[peapicker]

Berry Duplings
I have only seen it served in South Alabama
I always looked forward to visiting my grandmother doing blackberry season.

[mjc]

White are supposed to be sweeter...but less flavored.

The best way to collect the berries is to stretch a sheet or tarp under the tree and shake the tree. That's about the only way to beat the birds.

[TastyofHasty]

mjc, that is exactly right. They still taste like mulberries, but very mild and sweet. They are coming ripe right now. I love picking and eating mulberries straight off the tree.