Black mulberry fruit, Toronto, Canada, are messy to pick but delicious. Photo 1 by Don Tai
Every year our black mulberry tree, of the genus family Moraceae, shoots out new branches, which bear fruit the next year. This tree is consistent, and the fruit is very good.
Chinese people have a connection to the mulberry tree. Long ago white mulberry leaves were fed to silkworms in order to produce silk. Therefore the mulberry plant was forbidden to export from China.
As we have no silk worms in our house, and we have a black mulberry tree, this is not a problem. I do not know what happens to silk when you give black mulberry leaves to the silkworm. Do they produce darker coloured silk thread?
The black mulberry fruit is easily bruised and stains the hands when picked. It would be very difficult to box these up for transport to a grocery store, as they are very delicate. The purple from these berries stains near everything, from sidewalks, to hands, mouth and face, and looks very messy in front of a house, but I still love them.
No matter how you dislike the mulberry staining, kids just love them because they are small, soft, easily picked and taste sweet. There are many Chinese kids on our street that I meet with stained faces that smile to me, and I know where they have been, what they have done and why they are smiling. The stain eventually comes off the next day, after washing with soap and water.
Black mulberry fruit, Toronto, Canada, are messy to pick but delicious. Photo 1 by Don Tai
One year we made mulberry sorbet, which tasted great and was eaten quickly, so it did not last very long. Usually the berries are eaten raw faster than we can think about how to prepare them. They also cannot keep very long as they spoil quickly. I am sure we could make mulberry jam or compote, but the fruit just does not last long enough to not be eaten raw.
Black mulberry fruit, Toronto, Canada, are messy to pick but delicious. Macro of fruit. Photo 2 by Don Tai
Black mulberry fruit, Toronto, Canada, are messy to pick but delicious. Macro of fruit. Photo 3 by Don Tai
Black mulberry fruit, Toronto, Canada, are messy to pick but delicious. Photo 4 by Don Tai
Black mulberry fruit, Toronto, Canada, are messy to pick but delicious. Photo 5 by Don Tai
