Food Encyclopedia

mulberry

There are three principal varieties of the mulberry—black, red and white. The black (really purplish-black) variety is commonly found in Europe, the red in the eastern and southern United States and the white in Asia. Mulberries look somewhat like blackberries in size and shape. When fully ripe, their flavor is sweet-sour but somewhat bland. Unripe berries are inedibly sour. Mulberries are not commercially grown in the United States but grow wild from Massachusetts to the Gulf states and as far west as Nebraska. They can be eaten raw or used for jams, jellies, desserts and mulberry wine.