Mulberry, the Folk Holy Fruit: Ripening Season, Harvest Months, and the Best Time of Day to Eat It
You often see vendors selling mulberries on the street, clusters of dark red and black, sweet and juicy, extremely tempting. Don't underestimate it: over 2,000 years ago, it was a tonic reserved for Chinese emperors! Due to its special growing environment, the mulberry has the characteristic of growing naturally without any pollution, so it has also earned the title of “folk holy fruit”. But no matter what fruit it is, eating it in season is the most nutritious. Many people don't know what season mulberries ripen in, and are afraid of buying out-of-season mulberries. So when do mulberries ripen? Around which month do they hit the market? What time of day is best to eat them?
Mulberries generally ripen and are harvested from April to June each year; remove impurities, dry in the sun or steam briefly before drying in the sun for consumption, and they can also be used to make wine. Ripe mulberries are oily and moist, with a pleasant sweet-and-sour taste; those that are large, thick-fleshed, purple-red in color and high in sugar are considered the best. Mulberries are green when they first ripen, and after ripening become fleshy, black-purple or red, with small seeds; the flowering period is from March to May, and the fruiting period is from May to June. The exact ripening time varies from place to place, earlier in the south and slightly later in the north.
Because they do not store or transport well, mulberries come to market seasonally, appearing in April, May and June; there are many specific places of origin. In ancient times, wherever silk was produced, many people made a living by planting mulberries and raising silkworms, and where there are mulberries there are mulberry fruits. Nowadays, in many places mulberries are a source of economic income, greatly energizing the market and enriching its variety.
What time of day is better for eating mulberries?
Doctors recommend eating them best after a meal, and dried mulberries are best. Mulberries can treat neurasthenia, but at the same time their medicinal nature is sweet and cold; eating too many easily causes cloying stagnation that obstructs the spleen and can easily affect appetite. So when eating dried mulberries, not only should you not be greedy, you should also eat them after a meal. Because mulberries contain a large amount of dietary fiber, eating them can promote intestinal peristalsis, so patients with constipation can take them to relieve constipation. Mulberries come in black and white; traditional Chinese medicine holds that black enters the kidney and white enters the lung, so for patients with kidney deficiency and sore waist and legs, black mulberries are recommended, while for patients with lung qi deficiency who cough often, white mulberries are suitable.
How to Make Mulberry By-Products
1. Mulberry juice: 200 grams of fresh mulberries, wash, mash into a paste, squeeze the juice through gauze, and take it with warm boiled water
2. Mulberry wine: 150 grams of fresh mulberries, 150 milliliters of low-proof liquor. Wash the fresh mulberries, mash and squeeze out the juice, pour the juice into the liquor, stir well and drink
3. Mulberry paste: 1000 grams of fresh mulberries, 300 grams of honey; blend the mulberries into juice, simmer into a thin paste, add the honey and simmer together until thick, and take after it cools.
4. Mulberry vinegar: 800 grams of fresh mulberries, 1000 milliliters of brown rice vinegar or aged vinegar. Put the mulberries and the vinegar in, seal the jar mouth tightly, let it sit in a cool place for 3 to 4 months, then dilute with cool boiled water by 8 to 10 times or more, and drink after meals.