White Mulberry: It's Actually Usually Purple
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White Mulberry (Morus alba)
Come late spring and early summer, mulberry turns into many a homeowner’s nightmare as juicy ripe fruits plop to the ground and explode purple all over sidewalks. But I say bring it! I welcome this season of endless berries and berry products: pie, crisp, muffins, waffles, and many more! Hopefully the following information will help you pluck up enthusiasm for this under-appreciated fruit!
Mulberries: behold the carnage!
Habitat and Distribution
White mulberry (Morus alba) is a small-to-medium-sized Asian tree that is cultivated as food for silkworms. It has spread across most of the US and British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec in Canada. It prefers open areas in sun and part-sun, like woodland edges, fields, and fence rows. It produces berries that—even when ripe—range in color from white to pale red to dark purple. The dark purple variant is the most common, however. So why is it called white mulberry, do you ask? I don’t know - it’s very confusing!
Identification
White mulberry is easily identified by its purple-staining berries that appear in June and July. The berries can be quite small at times, around ¼ to ½ inch long. But more often I see them grow plump and juicy, over 1 inch in length. The berries grow singly from the twig, starting out as light green in color and ripening anywhere from white to pale red to dark purple. As I mentioned above, the dark purple variety is by far the most common.
However, it’s best to learn to identify mulberry without relying on the berries, so that you can spot the trees in the off-season and harvest the fruits when they’re ready! In this case, the leaves are probably the best identification feature. Leaves are attached alternately to the twig, and are variable in form. They can be unlobed or have 2 to 7 irregular lobes. The leaf margins are coarsely serrated. The tops are glossy and the undersides light green.
The bark of white mulberry is orangish-brown with furrowed ridges. The form of the whole tree, when growing in open areas, is typically short-trunked with low-hanging, spreading branches.
The bark of white mulberry (Morus alba) is orangish-brown with furrowed ridges.
Similar Species
Red mulberry is a small-to-medium-sized tree native to the eastern US and Canada. It prefers moist soil in the shade of taller trees in open woods and forest edges, and along trailsides and roadsides. Its range extends from Vermont south to Florida, west to Texas and north to Minnesota. It is also found in Ontario, Canada. It is often confused with white mulberry; mainly because if a mulberry has purple fruit when ripe, it is assumed to be red mulberry. I mean, it only makes sense! Unfortunately, naming convention doesn’t always follow logic.
Botanical plate of red mulberry (Morus rubra).
Fortunately, there are a few key ways to tell the two apart. Red mulberry leaves are mostly unlobed—two-and-three lobed (rarely more) variations exist, but are less common. In contrast, white mulberry leaves are mostly 3-to-7 lobed. Also, the upper leaf surface on red mulberry is a dull dark green, whereas white mulberry leaves have glossy tops. Red mulberry fruits are typically larger than those of white mulberry, and are always dark purple when ripe. They are also edible and delicious!
Red and white mulberries also hybridize, which can further confuse identification between the two. Apparently, the hybrid isn’t well-documented, but presumably the features are a mixture between red and white mulberry.
There also exist local mulberry varieties with limited ranges, such as the Texas mulberry (Morus microphylla) and the black mulberry (Morus nigra). In addition, there are trees like the paper mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) that aren’t in the same genus and look significantly different. The fruits of these three trees are edible, but I recommend doing more research on your local variety before digging in!
Look Alikes
Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) leaves look superficially similar in that they come in the same general shapes: simple, two-lobed, and three-lobed. However, unlike mulberry leaves, the margins are smooth. Also, sassafras leaves emit a citrus-like odor when crushed. Sassafras can be found in Eastern and Central US, from Maine south to Florida, extending to Texas, north to Wisconsin. It also grows in southern Ontario.
The leaves of sassafas (Sassafras albidum) have smooth leaf margins. Photo credit: Sassafras Leaves / Evelyn Fitzgerald / CC BY 2.0
Harvest and Preparation
Pick mulberries when dark purple and juicy (or when white, plump, and sweet, if you managed to find one that bears white fruits!) Because branches are typically low-hanging, you don’t usually need a ladder. But you may want one if you’re trying to reach as much fruit as possible! Gather them into a broad basket, bowl, or tray. The weight of the berries on themselves will squish them if you’re harvesting a lot, which is why a wide, shallow container is better than a deep, narrow one.
The purple fruits of white mulberry (Morus alba) stain prolifically.
When you get the berries home, gently wash by placing them in a colander and swirling them around in water. Drain the berries and gently pat dry. Store in the refrigerator if you plan to use them shortly. Otherwise, berries are easily frozen. Arrange them in a single layer on a baking tray, and place the tray in the freezer. Allow to freeze 8 hours or overnight. Then move the frozen berries into freezer bags, and label with the contents and date. Freezing them on a tray first makes sure that they don't clump together in the freezer, making them easier to measure out. However, if you lack the freezer space to do so, you can put them straight into bags. You might just have to use a knife to hack them apart!
I prefer freezing my berries without sugar. However, sugar is supposed to help preserve the flavor and color. After rinsing and drying the berries, gently toss with a small amount of sugar. (One quart berries only needs around 1/2 cup sugar.) Then freeze as directed above.
Fruit leather is another delicious way to preserve mulberries! Drying them whole can be challenging due to the high water content, but thankfully fruit leather presents an easy way around this.
Fruit leather is a fun and easy way to preserve the season’s bounty! Photo credit: Fruit Leather Project / Taz / CC BY 2.0
Easy Fruit Leather
Ingredients
Fresh fruit, washed and patted dry
Honey or sugar, to taste (optional)
Instructions
Puree fruit in a food processor. If you like, you can run the puree through a food mill to remove the seeds and skin. If you don’t have a food processor, you can mash the fruit with a potato masher. Stir in sweetener, if desired. Keep in mind that the flavor concentrates as it dehydrates, so a little bit goes a long way! If the fruit is very juicy (such as mulberries are), it should be simmered to remove some liquid before dehydrating.
To dehydrate, pour your puree into a flat pan to about 1/8 inch thickness. There are several options for drying the fruit:
Use a food dehydrator.
Put it in your oven at the lowest temperature. Leave the door open a crack to allow some air circulation.
Stick in the back of a south-facing car on a sunny day.
If the weather is hot and dry, leave it outside. Be sure to put a screen or cheesecloth over it to keep bugs away.
Regardless of what method you choose, dehydrating the fruit will take several hours. When the puree is hard to the touch on top but soft beneath, cut it into strips and flip it over. The fruit leather is ready when it’s slightly sticky to the touch on both sides. Cut into rectangles and store in an airtight container in a cool, dry location.
**Note: Typically you want to avoid applying heat and sunlight when dehydrating food or herbs, because it destroys the delicate flavors and compounds. Low humidity and high ventilation are ideal for drying. While I never use heat or sunlight when drying herbs, I've found it's necessary for berries due to their high moisture content. If you live in a very dry climate, dehydrating fruit leather may be possible without heat or sun. Otherwise, I recommend following the instructions above to avoid spoilage.
Baking with Mulberries
Mulberries are quite wet and juicy, which can pose a problem when adding them to baked goods. The simple solution is to partially dehydrate the whole berries first using one of the methods above. Then add to waffles, muffins, or quickbreads following any other recipe featuring a sweet berry.
Mulberry waffles with partially dehydrated berries.
They are also excellent in crisps and cobblers. The excess juice gets absorbed by the cornstarch, creating a thick sauce that’s sweet and delicious! There are many crisp recipes out there, but this is the one I like to use. It is all that a crisp should be-- sweet, fruity, crumbly, and delicious!
Berry crisp is a simple and satisfying recipe. Try it topped with ice cream!
Mulberry Crisp
Serves eight.
Mix for crumbs:
¾ cup flour
¾ cup oats
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup butter, chilled and cut into chunks
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Filling:
4 cups berries
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbl cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Directions
In a large bowl, mix together all crumb ingredients except butter. Use a pastry cutter, two butterknives, or your fingers to cut in the butter. Process until crumbly, with pea-sized butter chunks.
Combine filling ingredients in a separate large bowl. The amount of sugar you will add depends upon how sweet you like your desserts. I prefer 1/4 cup sugar, but I also don't like my food very sugary.
Pour berry mixture into 8 x 8 inch pan. Top with crumb mixture. The berry mixture will get very bubbly while cooking, so make sure the pan is deep enough to give plenty of headroom!
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, until brown on top. Cool before serving.
Cooking with Mulberries
The most practical way around the juiciness problem is to embrace it! Use mulberries as a sauce or in a maceration.
Macerated Berries
Macerated berries are similar to berry sauce (below), except you use solid sugar and you don't cook the berries. Dry sugar draws moisture from the berries, producing a sweet juicy syrup. Simply mix 8 part berries to 1 part sugar (for example 4 cups berries and 1/2 cup sugar.) Mash the berries and sugar together if desired, but it will work fine if left whole. Let sit at room temperature for one to two hours, stirring occasionally. Serve over waffles, french toast, ice cream, etc.
You can slightly alter this recipe to make a soda base. Mash berries together with sugar as directed above. Refrigerate for about 8 hours or overnight. Strain the mixture through fine wire mesh, or through a food mill with a fine berry screen. The juice and pulp should strain through, leaving the seeds and skins behind. Mix this thick juice with sparkling water to make your own soda, or use it in a cocktail!
Berry soda made with macerated raspberries.
Sauces
Berry sauce is typically made with liquid sweeteners. I like using honey or maple syrup. The general recipe calls for equal parts berry to sweetener. Place the sweetener in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add berries. Reduce heat and simmer until berries are softened, about 2 to 5 minutes. If desired, mash or blend the berries into the sweetener; however, the sauce is also delicious with whole berries. Serve over waffles, pancakes, french toast, ice cream, or whatever you like!
For a thicker sauce, bring maple syrup to a boil and reduce the volume by half. Keep a close eye on it, so it doesn't boil over. Then add berries and proceed as usual. Alternately, sprinkle in some cornstarch or arrowroot powder and stir.
You can also alter this basic recipe by adding herbs and/or spices. Mulberry-sage sauce? Yes, please!
Wildlife Loves it Too!
If you live in the eastern US, chances are that you can harvest prolific amounts of mulberries come June and July. I hope that you will join the birds and squirrels in consuming this delicious fruit! Just beware the purple poop splatters!
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