Do you remember your childhood?...
Mulberry fruits seem to have been forgotten lately, replaced by the other sweets of nature in the summer season - cranberries, cherries, plums, as well as by the exotic fruits that are available in an ever-increasing variety in stores. But mulberries remain the fruits of childhood, of the time when the bravest of the group climbed the high branches where the ripest and sweetest fruits are, plucked for themselves, but did not forget to fill handfuls for their friends as well.🙂
Mulberries ripen from mid-June to early July. The small fruits look like fat caterpillars. They have small seeds and a short, stiff stalk.
Interestingly, most mulberries are grown in China. In the beginning, they were used only for the leaves, which are food for the silkworm. A little later, the health and taste benefits of fruits were also appreciated. The Romans used the unripe fruit of the black mulberry to stop bleeding from wounds. Ripe fruits were mixed with honey, myrrh and saffron, and used the mixture as a remedy for sore throats and stomach aches.
It is a proven fact that if people with heart problems eat 300 g of mulberries per day for 1 month, their heart significantly improves its work. The healing properties of the unique mulberry are also written about in traditional Chinese medicine, where they are considered to protect the liver, strengthen cartilage, normalize blood pressure and act as a diuretic. White (Morus alba), black (Morus nigra) and red (Morus rubra) mulberries are grown in Bulgaria.
The difference between them is the color of their fruits, as well as the period in which they ripen. The white one is at its juiciest and sweetest from May to July, and the black one from June to August. White mulberries are high in sugar. In folk medicine, it is most often used for diabetes. The healing effect comes from the leaves of the tree. A handful of chopped leaves are steamed in half a liter of water and left to stand for 10 minutes. It is drunk 1 tsp half an hour before the main meal.
Red mulberries are full of antioxidants. They are most suitable against inflammation of the gums. Vitamins with antioxidant action - A, C and E, help to renew cells. The rare species of shandudia is a black mulberry that ripens from the end of June to the end of August. Its fruits are juicy, with an astringent taste. It is extremely useful for canker sores in the mouth. Jam (without sugar) is made from the fruits, and syrup can also be prepared for chutney. There are a few trees of this kind in our area - Osogovo Mountain, Bulgaria.
100 g of raw mulberries contain 44% of the daily value for vitamin C. It is best to eat them in the morning on an empty stomach and freshly picked as they are also very fragile fruits that can not last more than 2-3 days in a fridge after you pick them. If you haven't tried them yet- by all means you have to as they are amazing additions to a healthy daily diet.
Shared with joy
A. A
Stob, Bulgaria