Dried mulberries are not as colorful as fresh mulberries, but are easy to carry. Because fresh berries are too soft and juicy to transport over longer distances. Before drying, mulberries are available in three basic color variations, white,red, and black. It is said that both the black mulberry native to South West Africa (Morus nigra), as well as the red mulberry native to eastern parts of North Africa have a much stronger flavor than the white mulberry.
Culinary uses:
The fruit of the white mulberry – an East Asian species extensively naturalized in urban regions of eastern North America – has a different flavor, sometimes characterized as refreshing and a little tart, with a bit of gumminess to it and a hint of vanilla. In North America, the white mulberry is considered an invasive exotic and has taken over extensive tracts from native plant species, including the red mulberry.
The ripe fruit is edible and is widely used in pies, tarts, wines, cordials, and herbal teas. The fruit of the black mulberry (native to southwest Asia) and the red mulberry (native to eastern North America) have the strongest flavor, which has been likened to 'fireworks in the mouth'.
The fruit and leaves are sold in various forms as nutritional supplements. The mature plant contains significant amounts of resveratrol, particularly in stem bark. Unripe fruit and green parts of the plant have a white sap that may be toxic, stimulating, or mildly hallucinogenic.
Nutritional information:
In a 100 g (3.5-oz) serving, raw mulberries provide 180 kJ (43 kcal), 44% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C, and 14% of the DV for iron. Other nutrients are in insignificant quantity.1
Pigments:
Mulberry fruit color derives from anthocyanins, which are under basic research for mechanisms of various diseases. Anthocyanins are responsible for the attractive colors of fresh plant foods, including orange, red, purple, black, and blue. These colors are water-soluble and easily extractable, yielding natural food colorants. Due to a growing demand for natural food colorants, their significance in the food industry is increasing. Anthocyanin content depends on climate and area of cultivation, and is particularly high in sunny climates.
General information:
From Wikipedia: Morus, a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae, comprises 10–16 species of deciduous trees commonly known as mulberries, growing wild and under cultivation in many temperate world regions.
The closely related genus Broussonetia is also commonly known as mulberry, notably the paper mulberry, Broussonetia papyrifera. Mulberries are fast-growing when young, but soon become slow-growing and rarely exceed 10–15 metres (30–50 ft) tall. The leaves are alternately arranged, simple and often lobed and serrated on the margin. Lobes are more common on juvenile shoots than on mature trees.
The trees can be monoecious or dioecious. The mulberry fruit is a multiple fruit, approximately 2–3 cm (3⁄4–1 1⁄4 in) long. Immature fruits are white, green, or pale yellow. In most species the fruits turn pink and then red while ripening, then dark purple or black, and have a sweet flavor when fully ripe. The fruits of the white-fruited cultivar are white when ripe; the fruit of this cultivar is also sweet, but has a very bland flavor compared with darker varieties.1
Silk industry:
Mulberry leaves, particularly those of the white mulberry, are ecologically important as the sole food source of the silkworm (Bombyx mori, named after the mulberry genus Morus), the cocoon of which is used to make silk. The wild silk moth also eats mulberry. Other Lepidoptera larvae—which include the common emerald, lime hawk-moth, sycamore moth,, and fall webworm—also eat the plant.1
Literature / Sources:
- Wikipedia. Morus (plant) [Internet]. Version dated May 24, 2018 [Quoted May 29, 2018] Available from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morus_(plant)
Nutrient tables
The complete nutritional information, coverage of the daily requirement and comparison values with other ingredients can be found in the following nutrient tables.
Nutritional Information
|
per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
---|---|---|
Energy | 352 kcal 1'473 kJ | 17.6% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2000kcal |
Fat/Lipids | 2.6 g | 3.7% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 70g |
Saturated Fats | 1.0 g | 5.3% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 20g |
Carbohydrates (inc.dietary fiber) | 76 g | 28.3% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 270g |
Sugars | 54 g | 60.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 90g |
Fiber | 11 g | 45.2% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 25g |
Protein/Albumin | 9.6 g | 19.2% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 50g |
Cooking Salt (Na:68.0 mg) | 173 mg | 7.2% Recommended daily allowance according to the GDA: 2.4g |
Essential micronutrients with the highest proportions | per 100g | 2000 kcal | |
---|---|---|---|
Sodium, Na | 68 mg | 9.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
Detailed micronutrients and daily requirement coverage per 100g
Explanations of nutrient tables in general
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
Essential macroelements (macronutrients) | per 100g |
2000 kcal The numbers show the percent of the recommended daily value for a person who consumes 2000 cal per day. This number is for one serving of the recipe. A person normally eats multiple times a day and consumes additional nutrients. You can get all of the nutrients you need over a longer period of time and in this way ensure a healthy balance. |
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Sodium, Na | 68 mg | 9.0% Recommended daily allowance according to the EU: LMIV-2011: 800 mg |
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