{"id":1345,"date":"2014-06-14T06:29:52","date_gmt":"2014-06-14T10:29:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/?p=1345"},"modified":"2015-05-04T11:24:00","modified_gmt":"2015-05-04T15:24:00","slug":"mulberry-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/mulberry-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Mulberry Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

I love living in Virginia at this time of year.\u00a0 Growing up in south Texas, just about the only food items that grew “wild” were pecans and cactus, and contrary to the imaginings of Hollywood, prickly pear aren’t all that common in San Antonio. (I also don’t think they’re particularity tasty.)\u00a0 Around here, in addition to pecans and other nut trees, we also have a large number of wild berry bushes.\u00a0 Blackberry and mulberry are seem to be the most common.\u00a0 The park near our house has a plethora of mulberry bushes and this time of year, they are literally dripping from the trees.\u00a0 They grow so well that since we’ve let the back 10 feet of our backyard go “wild” we’ve had four mulberry trees take root.\u00a0 (A blackberry bush seems to have set up shop in my front garden, though the fruit has yet to ripen.)\u00a0 \"Mullberries\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When we take our daily walk to the park, the children dash ahead, to be the first to reach the bushes, and eagerly begin shoving fistfuls into their mouths.\u00a0 They come home stained purple and smiling.\u00a0 It’s never easy to tell what is going to create lasting memories.\u00a0 I suspect that those things are somewhat random, but these feel<\/em> like the things that childhood memories are made of.<\/p>\n

Once a critical mass of berries have built up on the branches, I head out the park, old sheet in hand.\u00a0 After spreading it out on the ground, we gleefully shake the branches and gather up what falls.\u00a0 If I’ve timed it just right, we get enough for a pie.\u00a0 This year I was a little off, so I made syrup instead.<\/p>\n

\"syrupprep\"<\/a>This is a pretty forgiving recipe.\u00a0 We had picked about two cups of mulberries.\u00a0 You need to wash them off and pick out anything that might have fallen off the tree with the berries.\u00a0 When I make a pie I go to the rather considerable effort to pull all the stems off the berries, but for syrup that is not necessary.\u00a0 Add half as much sugar as berries, in this case 1 cup.\u00a0 I prefer raw sugar for this, it has a bit more complex flavor that complements that tartness of the berries.\u00a0 I added water equal to the amount of berries.\u00a0 I think that next time I’d do slightly less and reduce the boiling time.<\/p>\n

\"boilingsyrup\"<\/a>Next step: Boil!\u00a0 and boil and boil and boil, until it starts to thicken and the sugar begins to caramelize.\u00a0 The volume should reduce by a third to a half, depending on how much water you put in.<\/p>\n

\"syrupstrain\"<\/a>This is my set up for straining the berries and stems out of the syrup.<\/p>\n

\"pancakes\"<\/a>Serve and enjoy! (Seen here over my sweet potato pancakes.)\u00a0 It will keep for quite some time in the fridge.\u00a0 I can’t say exactly how long, it’s never gone uneaten that long.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I love living in Virginia at this time of year.\u00a0 Growing up in south Texas, just about the only food items that grew “wild” were pecans and cactus, and contrary to the imaginings of Hollywood, prickly pear aren’t all that common in San Antonio. (I also don’t think they’re particularity tasty.)\u00a0 Around here, in addition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":1346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cooking","category-gardening"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Mullberries.jpg?fit=900%2C633&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Julie Stubbs","author_link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/author\/exhalia\/"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Mullberries.jpg?fit=900%2C633&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2gp05-lH","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2007,"url":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/flying-squirrels\/","url_meta":{"origin":1345,"position":0},"title":"Flying Squirrels","author":"Julie Stubbs","date":"February 18, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"As the temperatures drop and the leaves turn I get an almost overwhelming urge to nest. 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In order to facilitate this my creativity jumps in to overdrive and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "crochet"","block_context":{"text":"crochet","link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/category\/fibers\/crochet\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0306-e1708313236828.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0306-e1708313236828.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0306-e1708313236828.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0306-e1708313236828.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/IMG_0306-e1708313236828.jpeg?fit=1200%2C901&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":288,"url":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/repurposed-christmas-tree\/","url_meta":{"origin":1345,"position":1},"title":"Repurposed Christmas Tree","author":"admin","date":"January 1, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"I am always a little bit distressed when it comes time to take down the tree. Here is this beautiful tree that we picked out with loving care, (Actually, I usually leave it to my daughter who has a wonderful eye for symmetry and the correct size for our house),\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "gardening"","block_context":{"text":"gardening","link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/category\/gardening\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1631,"url":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/winingas\/","url_meta":{"origin":1345,"position":2},"title":"Winingas","author":"Julie Stubbs","date":"January 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Using the lessons from my test piece, I decided to move forward with a more challenging project, and weave a pair of winingas. Winingas are a piece of clothing common to men's attire in the early medieval Norse and Anglo-Saxon cultures. They appear again as puttees in British military garb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fibers"","block_context":{"text":"Fibers","link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/category\/fibers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/EBC6A96B-0520-470A-9235-4BE94663C825.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":278,"url":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/isnt-borage-an-annual-and-other-lessons-from-a-first-year-garden\/","url_meta":{"origin":1345,"position":3},"title":"“Isn’t borage an annual?” and other lessons from a first year garden","author":"admin","date":"December 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"It's two days before Christmas, and I have officially brought in my last handful of tomatoes from my garden.\u00a0 I've been waiting to post that for almost two months, but mild weather and a crop of strong producers has kept me in tomatoes.\u00a0 Many of the ones I brought in\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 6 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 6 comments","link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/isnt-borage-an-annual-and-other-lessons-from-a-first-year-garden\/#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/borage.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/borage.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/borage.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":828,"url":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/828\/","url_meta":{"origin":1345,"position":4},"title":"It’s that time again…","author":"admin","date":"April 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"It's spring break here, and for me that means that my children and my husband are both home for an entire week.\u00a0 That's a really good thing for my garden, but first, unfinished business!\u00a0 Last summer we received from a Freecycler, a porch swing.\u00a0 The fabric was the worse for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "gardening"","block_context":{"text":"gardening","link":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/category\/gardening\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/20120402-185108.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/20120402-185108.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/20120402-185108.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/20120402-185108.jpg?fit=896%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1477,"url":"https:\/\/exhaliastudios.com\/squirrel\/a-different-kind-of-historical-recipe\/","url_meta":{"origin":1345,"position":5},"title":"A Different Kind of Historical Recipe","author":"Julie Stubbs","date":"February 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Those of you who follow me will know that I occasionally write about medieval foods, the preparation of which is one of my hobbies.\u00a0 Today I'm posting about a different kind of history, a personal one. 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