Mulberries!

Have you ever eaten a mulberry? They are a kind of a 'wild fruit' that you cannot buy in the shops. If you are a little older, you probably ate them when you were a child but nowadays it is very difficult to find a tree.

I heard that mulberry trees were especially numerous in Ibaraki because this was a silk producing area. Why mulberries + silk? Well, mulberry leaves are what silk worms eat :)

The fruit are a very, very dark wine red. So dark they are almost black. (Sorry, it is difficult to take a good photo.) There were two kinds: small and very big ones.

For several years I've been asking everyone if they know where I can find a mulberry tree, but it seems most trees were cut down. BUT ..... Y-san brought me a box of mulberries today! I was so happy!

I ate a lot as they are (fresh), and the remainder I made into simple jam. I didn't simmer them for too long, so they still are quite big.

They taste a little like blueberries but are more sour and 'sharp'. Some people in Europe even make mulberry wine with them.

I love eating mulberries but now I have a big problem - the nails and skin on my fingers of my left hand are PURPLE! (From pulling out the stems before I cooked them.)