June 21, 2016 - Radio Kitchen - Mulberries with Gwen Kokes
We are in prime time for berries here in Maryland. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, are all here or in the pipeline. But there is one other berry that does well in Maryland that I have absolutely no cooking experience with, and that is the mulberry. So we invited Gwen Kokes to school us on this big juicy berry.
Gwen is with the Baltimore Orchard Project, part of Civic Works, a neighborhood development effort. Her mission is to let Baltimoreans know that there is food for the taking, literally hanging from trees. Mulberry trees (not bushes) were introduced in an effort to build up a silk industry (silk worms love mulberry leaves) but it never really got going. The trees remained behind, and have thrived.
The original berries were white, but dark blue/black berries appeared, which crossed with the white ones to make pink ones. All three are entirely edible, and June-July is prime season. Gwen recommends putting a metal hook shape on the end of a long pole, spreading a clean blanket on the ground, and shaking the branches to detach the berries.
Essentially, anything you can do with a blackberry you can do with a mulberry. They also freeze up to one year, so you don't have to gobble down your harvest all at once. Here are a couple great recipes to try.
Black Mulberry Crumble
INGREDIENTS
For crumble:
- 14 tbsp butter (3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons, cut into cubes and frozen)
- 4 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 tsp vanilla sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
For fruit filling:
- 4 cups mulberries (fresh or frozen black)
- 1/2 cup sugar
PREPARATION:
- Preheat oven to 375 F.
- In a saucepan, place black mulberries and sugar. Cook on high heat until it reaches a dense consistency, like jam, and remove from heat.
- For the crumble, mix all the ingredients into a bowl.
- Then rub into the mixture using your fingertips to make a light breadcrumb texture.
- Do not overwork it or the crumble will become heavy.
- Sprinkle 2/3 of the crumble mixture evenly over a baking sheet.
- Spread the black mulberry fruit filling on top and the remaining crumble dough on top of black mulberries.
- Bake in at 375 preheated oven until the top is golden brown.
Mulberry BBQ Sauce
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 8 oz. can tomato paste
- 1.4 cup pureed mulberries
- 1 heaping tbsp chili powder (Chipotle, preferable)
- 2 tbsp. honey
- pinch of cayenne pepper
PREPARATION:
- Place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for half and hour or until it is reduced by half.
- Be sure to stir occasionally to keep sauce from burning or clumping.
- Serve on chicken or pork BBQ, or paint on vegetables..
- Can be stored in the fridge for up to a month.
