Just thought I would write a quick post so I don't forget how. I note that in my older, statinized, stage; I have lost some short term memory.
When I check to see if the blog is getting any action, one thing stands out.
I must keep writing about mulberries. Right now a part of the world is getting to eat mulberries. So they are trying to find more about the fruit, berries.
Are they making a comeback in areas that are economically suffering? Partly so.
Is it because some of us are getting older and thinking back? Partly.
Is it because the seasons are different in different parts of the world? Partly.
Maybe I will take a little time to do a little more research on the prolific berry producer. I have some recipes that are old using mulberries to replace blackberries.
That makes sense.
I do know that mulberry trees can sprout up all over the place when you allow one tree in the area. Not all the neighbors are thrilled either. The berries can leave a nice mess. The birds and wild critters that eat the berries leave a nice mess. Farmers around here like clean pastures and fence lines. Mulberry trees here can be about as prolific as the cedar or even lilacs in the fence rows. I do often wonder why we don't try to cultivate the mulberry tree as an orchard tree. Or maybe the scientific community can figure out a way to control the rapid spread of the tree.
(I also wonder though why the fence rows are getting cleaned out again. Trees were planted in fence rows to prevent soil loss during the dust bowl days.)
Of course, like many things scientific, you may not want them messing with another part of nature. Their record is not always that great. Fertilizer and weed control run-off into water supplies anyone?
But that could be another blog post yet.
Getting back to mulberries, it would be interesting research to investigate their food value. After a quick search, I found many things from natural food sites as well as much from Japan and India. The leaves are used too for the silkworm.
Here is a short, quick, list of the nutrients in a sort-of order for high count.
The sites normally list them as eaten raw.
Vitamin C
Vitamin K
Iron
minerals besides iron;
Riboflavin, Potassium, Magnesium
There is even a little protein. (maybe that is from the "worms" with which my dad scared us.)
However remember most of the calories come from sugars.
So there you are: the mulberry is good for you unless you have to watch your sugars.
PS. Don't ask me why sometimes I get paragraphs where I don't want them when writing these posts but they appear.
