The leaves, fruits and stems of mulberry trees been used for over 5,000 years. Varieties include wild, white, black and red mulberries. They grow around the world. The edible berries are both delicious and nutritious, and the leaves can be eaten as a vegetable or brewed into tea.

Mulberries are in season from late May through July. We can see it is mulberry season from the purple stains on the sidewalks. Mulberry trees grow wild throughout the United States and sometimes considered a nuisance. The best things in life are often free, and mulberries are useful for several reasons. They are rich in vitamins and minerals including vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin K and iron. They are also an excellent source of dietary fiber, riboflavin, phosphorus, magnesium and potassium. Finally, mulberries contain resveratrol an antioxidant highly publicized for it is anti-aging benefits and for weight loss. Harvesting mulberries can be done quickly and easily.

Mulberries begin to ripen late May through July. Immature mulberries are white. In most species of mulberries, the fruit turns red, purple, appearing almost dark when fully ripe. Mulberries not picked by hand. Mulberries are most easily to harvest from the tree using a tarp and branch hook.

White Mulberry
The leaves of the white mulberry tree, native to China, used to make tea. Mulberry tea able to stop the absorption of sugars, which makes it valuable for diabetics, mulberry leaf found to lower glucose levels subjects with Type 2 diabetes. Antioxidants in the tea help build the immune system and reduce harmful cholesterol.

Nutrients
Mulberry leaves and stem contain high levels of magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and calcium.

 

Healing
Mulberry tea typically used to relieve constipation, coughs, colds, and anemia, it found that the anthocyanins available in mulberries inhibited lung carcinoma cells. Anthocyanins have potential value for cancer therapy, according to the study.

 

Weight Loss
Mulberry tea helps to cleanse fluids and toxins out of the body. It considered a diuretic. Also, it helps with weight loss because of its ability to prevent the absorption of sugars.

 

Green Mulberry Tea
Mulberry tea often blended with green tea. Green tea contains many antioxidants that help with normal cell growth.

 

The Facts
Dried mulberries are fruit of the mulberry tree (Morus ruba). The tree is native to the southern and eastern areas of the United States, even can collect and dry red mulberries easily if living in an area where the tree grows in the wild or cultivated because no other plants look like it and have inedible or poisonous fruits.

 

Types
While the red mulberry is the most common dry type in the United States, other varieties are just as edible. The white mulberry (Morus alba) grows in some areas of the country with hot climates. White mulberries commercially grown and dried in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries where they are native. Despite their name, red mulberries tend to be a dark purple or may even look black when ripe, but become a dark red when dried.

 

Health Benefits
The reddish-purple color of dried mulberries caused by a chemical group known as anthocyanins, anthocyanins provide antioxidant effects in the bodies, eating dried mulberries as a snack could help prevent health damage from stress and protect the cardiovascular system, offer fiber and healthy levels of sugar when compared to processed snacks.

 

As an Ingredient
Like other dried berries, dried mulberries make a strong addition to many dishes. Mulberry muffins or quick breads rehydrate the dried fruits as the dish bakes, leaving plump and tasty mulberries mixed into the final product. Trail mix usually involves a variety of nuts and dried fruits, such as mulberries. Tart and sweet, these dried fruits, make an excellent alternative for the less-sweet dried cranberries or less tart raisins commonly used in trail mix.

How to Make Mulberry Extract
If have access to a mulberry tree, having the best opportunity to make a healthy, herbal extract. Mulberry leaves used to make mulberry extract. The Chinese also used the roots, bark, fruit and sap for medicinal purposes. Potential health benefits that mulberry extract believed to have on the body include lowering blood pressure, reducing glucose levels, cleansing arteries and inhibiting internal.

Place the mulberry leaves in a sealable glass jar.
Cover the mulberry leaves with vodka. Use about three times more vodka than leaves if using fresh leaves. Use about five times more vodka than leaves if using dried leaves, to account for absorption.

Cover the opening, with plastic wrap and turn on the jar’s lid. The plastic wrap will prevent oxides from the metal lid from contaminating the extract. Allow the leaves to soak in the vodka for 5 weeks, giving the jar an occasional shake to redistribute the leaves. The alcohol in the vodka will pull out the useful properties from the leaves.

Pour the extract through cheesecloth to remove the leaves. Wring the leaves in the cheesecloth to squeeze out any remaining liquid. Transfer the extract into tincture jars with droppers. Place a label on the jars identifying the extract and indicating an expiration date of 4 years in the future.

 

How to Dry Mulberries
Mulberries come in different sizes, colors and shapes. Dry mulberries can make candies, pies and desserts, using the same general dehydration process as for other fruits and vegetables. Dehydration Extracts moisture from the fruit or vegetable and makes the finished product smaller, harder and easier to store for later use.

Prepare mulberries by washing them in cool water. Drain and then put them on commercial dehydrator trays. Drizzle lightly with lemon juice or citric acid to prevent browning during dehydration. Set the dehydrator on 130 to 140 degrees F, with the dehydrator fan on. Keep the mulberries in the dehydrator until they appear brittle and wrinkled. This will usually take between six and 16 hours, but the time will depend on the quantity of mulberries and their moisture content. Keep an eye on the mulberries, turn every few hours and check periodically for dryness.

Remove mulberries to check them. Tap on one of them gently with a metal spoon. If the mulberry cracks or resists the spoon, it dried sufficiently. If the mulberry gives way to the pressure, will need to go back into the dehydrator. Replace them in the dehydrator if they are not yet finished and continue drying until the perfect equilibrium reached. Place mulberries in an airtight container once they have finished dehydrating. Plastic containers with lids or glass jars work best. Store the mulberries in a dry, cool and dark place.