Ohhhh I just had Mulberry Pie...Mmmmm!

[chickymama25]

I recently identified the tree in my yard as a Mulberry tree. Here I was getting irritated with the purple poo the birds left on my car. That's ok, cause I can eat the berries too! Yipee, FREE fruit! I am going bonkers picking loads of berries to make pie, freeze, and make some jam.

So, my point is to take a peek at your big backyard and find some hidden treasure! Mulberries are ripe at this time of the year (at least in upstate NY!)

Here is a recipe that is delicious. My family was raving about it (I was nice and shared, reluctantly...)
It was a bit juicy, I think next time I will add 3 1/2 Tb. cornstarch.

MULBERRY PIE

Pastry for 2 crust pie
4 c. fresh mulberries
1/4 c. water
1 c. sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tbsp. butter

Line 9 inch pie plate with pastry. Mix sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon. Mix lightly through mulberries and water. Pour berries into pastry lined pie plate. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust which has slits cut in it. Bake until crust is nicely browned and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Serve slightly warm, not hot. Temperature: 425 degree (hot oven). Time: bake 35 to 45 minutes. Serves 8.

 

[BearSwampChick]

Sounds delicious! Where are the pics?

 

[whitecra]

I have one in my yard but the birds eat them all. My son ate a few this year. I need to keep this recipe and try to get some next year.
Chris

 

[chickymama25]

Oops, we ate it ALL up. I will take pics with the next pie, which should be coming later this week. I just picked and froze them for a winter snow day pie...
Yeah, the birds have a hay day with these berries, but I figured that they have had free picking for the last few decades off that tree, so it my turn.

I feed the birds in the winter time anyway...

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
We had a mulberry tree at the old house before we bought the place where we are living now. We finally went back to the old place and found a small mulberry sapling and dug it up and put it in a pot and kept in on the patio for a year. My son cleared a place and planted it last weekend; so far it's seems to be doing well.

I'm not really worried about it; mulberry trees grow like weeds; I'm sure it will do fine. It usually doesn't take very long for them to start bearing fruit. So hopefully we will have mulberry jam in a couple of years.

 

[chickymama25]

Hey Betty, when you made jam, you processed the berries like any other fruit?

I am on the fence whether I want to make freezer jam or can the jam (I read the canned jam loses consistancy after about 6 months and I am thinking Christmas gifts)?

I haven't gotten a windfall harvest off the tree yet, but it seems to be steadily producing about 5-6 cups every other day. So, I made some pies on Sunday and froze a bag today. I don't like to keep the berries waiting as they are very perishable.

I was also wondering how the tree reproduces? I haven't noticed any seeds in the berries. DH just suggested that we should sprout (or buy) another one because ours is extremely large and has quite a bit of dead branches. We don't know how old it is or how long they live. It would be my luck that I finally find salvation through mulberries and the tree would up and die.

 

[BettyR]

Quote:
I only make a small amount of mulberry jam - 3 or 4 pint jars - because I’m the only one that will eat it.

I cook my berries (about 2 quarts) with a little water and the juice of half a lemon until the berries juice out good and the bubbles start to get bigger and thicker. Then I pour it into my jelly cone and strain the juice and smash the berries through the little holes to get as much of the pulp as I can and discard the seeds.

I then use the juice to make my jam with Sure Jell. You are supposed to use juice to make jelly but I like mine on the soft side so I use the jam recipe instead of the jelly.

My family likes blackberry jam; they say that the mulberries don’t have any flavor. My son uses the leaves of the mulberry tree to raise silk worms. He sells the worms to a local pet shop and also feeds them to his lizard.


Quote:
If you want to give it as Christmas gifts just freeze your berries and make the jam closer to Christmas time.

Quote:
As far as I can tell they reproduce by birds eating the berries and pooping the seeds out with a convenient dollop of fertilizer. We got a seedling out of an old boat that was parked near a mulberry tree. The old boat was full of rotten leaf litter and trees where sprouting in it. So we kept a look out for a mulberry seedling and found one.

 

[WisconsinChick]

Hey, If any of you find another mulberry seedling, i am willing to trade or buy it from you.

 

[Sebrightmom]

chickymama25 ,
I just wanted to let you know that I used your recipe. It turned out wonderful. I have atleast 4 mulberry trees. I had no clue what to do with the mulberries. Thank you so much for the recipe.

 

[chickymama25]

Quote:
Unfortunately, right now I don't have any seedlings. I am going to try to throw a few berries in a bucket o' dirt and see what comes of it. I'll let ya know if I get any sprouts!