Produce Briefs...
Orange Honeydew Melon
Oval-to-round and a delicious cross between a cantaloupe and a honeydew, the very fleshy juicy orangish-yellow pulp of the orange honeydew melon is encased in a hard very yellow matching rind.
Sharlyn Melon
The Sharlyn melon has a cracked skin with tan and yellow-orange coloring. Superficially resembling an elongated Cantaloupe, the Sharlyn does not possess the sweet unctuous flavor of Cantaloupes, rather a more restrained balance of sweetness
Seasons/Availability
Mulberries have a brief summer season typically found at local farmers markets.
Current Facts
The mulberry is prolific in China due to the silk industry and the voracious appetite of the silk worm for the leaves of the mulberry tree. China is the largest producer of mulberries in the world.
Description/Taste
Mulberries have the immediate appearance of an elongated plump blackberry or a dark loganberry. Their similarities are simply skin deep. Ripe black mulberries are fragrant and literally, sticky sweet, their coloring so deep and texture so fragile and syrupy in nature that it stains to the touch. Mulberries, though containing some seeds, have a melting quality in the mouth. They ripen exceedingly fast and should therefor be eaten almost immediately if not dried, cooked or frozen.
Applications
Mulberries are used in ice cream, sorbet, jams, jellies, beverages, and pies. Reduce with red wine as a sauce for red meat, or use as an ingredient in a stuffing mixture for game birds. Gently stir into muffin and cake batters, sprinkle on pancakes before they're flipped, or cook down into a sweet sauce for cheesecake or pound cake. Layer into parfaits and trifles, or simply eat out of hand. Mulberries are highly perishable, so use immediately upon purchase.
Geography/History
The earliest documentation of the black mulberry records them as native to China. The mulberry tree was cultivated from wild trees in direct correlation with the desire to create silk from the silk worm. Silkworms thrive on the leaves of the mulberry tree, the more leaves they eat, the more silk they produce. The Silk Trade was synonomous with the trading and importing/exporting the mulberry tree for its vital value within the food chain of the production of silk. Though silkworms, birds and other wild animals have been eating mulberry fruit for centuries, it eventually would also become a commercial crop grown for the production of food for livestock and humans. The mulberry is an aggregate fruit, a member of the bramble berry family, thorny plants of the genus Rubus. There are over 150 different species of mulberries that produce red, white, pink and near black fruits. Mulberry trees are wind-pollinated, thus many species are cross-pollinated, representing genes from multiple species. Today mulberries still grow in China as well as throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, Northern Africa and within limited regions of the United States.
Recipe Ideas
Recipes that include Mulberry. One
is easiest, three is harder.Recently Spotted
People have spotted Mulberry using the Specialty Produce app for iPhone and Android.
Produce Spotting allows you to share your produce discoveries with your neighbors and the world! Is your market carrying green dragon apples? Is a chef doing things with shaved fennel that are out of this world? Pinpoint your location annonymously through the Specialty Produce App and let others know about unique flavors that are around them.
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Fresh Mart Near Shanghai, Shanghai, China About 7 days ago Spotter's comments : Fresh mulberries are available . Santa Monica Farmers Market Near Santa Monica, California, United States About 24 days ago Spotter's comments : Coleman farm, " first of the season". ???? | GL Japan Plaza Near Shanghai, Shanghai, China About 29 days ago Spotter's comments : Fresh mulberries today in fresh produce section |
