Mulberry blackberries

From a botanical point of view, mulberry blackberries are not even distant relatives of blackberries, but from the point of view of nutritional and beneficial properties they are quite similar, from the point of view the white variety is sweet but not very tasty, the black is tastier. In Asia, where they come from, the white variety was dried and used as a sweetener.

More of Mulberry properties and benefits

From a nutritional point of view, vitamin C stands out among vitamins and iron among mineral salts . On iron, however, it must be said that it is not very bioavailable and does not replace that of animal origin. At least in the fresh version being a fleshy fruit and therefore made up mostly of water (88%) they are not very caloric. They have antioxidant properties as they are rich in anthocyanins.

Nutritional values ​​of mulberry berries

Vitamin C is certainly the most important nutrient in mulberry blackberries, 100 grams contain 36.4 mg equal to 44% of the recommended daily allowance. Iron is also contained in an important way, 1.85 mg represent 14% of the daily ration but as anticipated in the previous paragraph it is in a poorly bioavailable form. As regards the caloric intake, 100 grams of mulberry blackberries provide 43 kilocalories which absolutely qualifies them as low in calories , while when compared with other meaty fruits they are enough,

History and cultivation

Mulberries are widespread in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, North Africa in natural forests and crops, but they have also been imported to America (those that give white fruit) because Beyond the fruits they are imposing trees highly appreciated for their aesthetic qualities. In some American cities it has been forbidden to plant new ones due to the health danger they would represent for those with asthma problems due to the large amount of pollen they produce, in reality it is only the male trees that produce so much pollen which is then transported from the wind. As far as cultivation is concerned, the mulberry is a tree that can be grown from a seed and would be recommended for the final result, because it generates more beautiful and healthier plants. But growing a plant from a seed requires up to 10 for it to bear fruit, so in agriculture it is preferred to use the cutting technique, that is to cut branches (in this case of substantial size) and through the right care to ensure that from part cut roots arise. In the case of the mulberry, the plant takes root quite quickly.

Dried mulberry blackberries in the diet

Given the vitamin C intake and the antioxidant content and given the caloric intake not too high, mulberry berries can be eaten safely to supplement vitamin C and for beneficial effects of antioxidants. The only possible contraindication could be for allergic subjects, mulberry blackberries have a cross effect with wall allergy. Cross allergies are cases in which pollen allergies cause problems even with some foods, they are not very serious problems, itching and small inflammations, but they are annoying.
It does not necessarily happen that someone who is allergic to grasses and parietaria writes to you and has never had such manifestations while eating everything. But it should have been written since the allergy to the parietaria is so common and the window in which the pollens are present lasts several months.

Plant and fruit

Mulberry refers to all the plants of the genus Morus, composed of different species of deciduous trees. As mentioned above, blackberries and mulberries from a botanical point of view are not even distant relatives, they belong to two different families, in fact the genus Morus belongs to the moraceae family while the blackberries belong to the rosaceae family. Even the fruits, although they seem similar from a botanical point of view, are different, the blackberry is an aggregate fruit, while the mulberry blackberry is a multiple fruit. Speaking of mulberry species, there are three main ones: morus alba, morus rubra and morus nigra. That is, white, red and black mulberry. In Italy and Europe black and white are found, red is common in North America. The mulberry (another difference with the thorny brambles that produce blackberries) has no visible flowers, the flower is a white filament that comes out of the fruit and when it falls it leaves the characteristic black dots. As for the size, the white mulberryif left to grow freely it can reach 18-20 meters and become secular in terms of longevity.

Dried Mulberry Blackberries in the kitchen

Mulberry blackberries are consumed as fruit alone, but for some time they have also been used for many preparations, such as jams, they can also be fermented to make a drink alcoholic, but in Italy it is not easy to find. A very famous and easy to make preparation is typical of Sicily, the mulberry granita, we have chosen that recipe.

MORE DI MORE DI MORE DI MORE DI MORE DI MELSO SLUSH

Ingredients

• 350/400 gr of mulberry blackberries
• 250 gr of Sugar
• 1 liter of water
• Juice of one lemon
• 3 g neutral for ice cream (optional, the neutral for ice cream is used to give a more creamy consistency, but the recipe can also do without it)

Preparation

1) Wash the mulberries and drain them

2) Blend the mulberries with a mixer.

3) Sift the juice to remove the seeds (this step can be optional, if the seeds are not many depending on your taste they could add a note of crunch, maybe you can decide to filter only a part of it).

4) Boil sugar and water in a saucepan, stirring to dissolve the sugar well.

5) Switch off and let the sugar syrup cool.

6) Add the mulberry puree to the syrup

7) Add the lemon juice

8) Add the neutral if you have decided to use it

The final steps change depending on whether you own an ice cream maker or not

With the ice cream maker:

9) Pour everything into the basket and operate it for about an hour or until the mulberry granita has thickened

10) Transfer everything to a container and store in the freezer.

Without ice cream maker:

9) Pour everything into a steel container and put it in the freezer

10) About every hour you have to mix the granita with a spoon until you get a soft consistency.

Recipe source: blog.giallozafferano.it/maniamore/