Mulberries

Jackfruit - Common

Jackfruit is probably native to the Indian subcontinent and was carried to the Malay peninsula in ancient times. It has been cultivated for between 3000 and 6000 years. Today it is grown in almost all humid tropical lowland regions worldwide. A few are grown in Florida but not commercially. A variety grown in west central Mexico is different from the main Southeast Asian variety and is smaller, sweeter and less starchy with a somewhat different fruit cocktail-like flavor, but most shipped here from Mexico today are the Southeast Asian type.

Jackfruit is not only the largest of the mulberries, it's the largest tree fruit in the world. How big they get varies by authority, but 80 pounds and 3 feet long is a pretty safe number. Those sold in North America generally run between 15 and 25 pounds. The photo specimen was about 18 inches long, weighed 21 pounds and was grown in Mexico.

Except for the pointy outer rind, the entire fruit is edible in various ways. Immature fruits, including inner rind, rags and seeds are used in curries, The pulpy orange arils surrounding the seeds of mature fruit are similar to a blend of banana and pineapple, and simply used as fruit. The seeds are boiled briefly and then roasted as a snack or sliced and used in curries. Details and Cooking.

Jackfruit, "Raw"

This is an unripe jackfruit, but called "Raw Jackfruit" in most Indian recipes. Many recipes, however, just call for "Jackfruit", but if it's cooked like a vegetable you can presume unripe is what is meant. Whole unripe fruit is not common in North America, but frozen is fairly available, particularly in the Philippine markets. The photo specimen, purchased at an Indian market in Los Angeles, was 6-3/4 inches long, 5-1/4 inches diameter and weighed 2 pounds 10 ounces.   Details and Cooking.

Cempedak

Native from Malaysia to New Guinea and now grown in Queensland, Australia, this Jackfruit is more highly thought of in Vietnam than is the common jackfruit, and sells at a significantly higher price. It is much smaller and the fruit arils are softer than the almost leathery arils of the big jackfruit, "rag" is not so much in the way and the aroma and taste are a little more suggestive of Durian. In Malaysia it's a popular item of street food - the arils (pulpy surround of the seed) being dipped in batter and deep fried.   Photo by EquatorialSky contributed to the public domain.

Baby Jackfruit

This is not actually a Jackfruit, it's a Gourd. See Gac.

Marang

This fruit is native to Borneo and some islands of the Philippines. It is relatively small, 6 to 8 inches diameter, and considered structurally midway between a jackfruit and a seeded breadfruit. Like the breadfruit marang fruits grow from branches rather than the trunk.

Internally it is much like a jackfruit but the fleshy arils are white rather than orange and about the size of a grape, around 5/8 inch. There is very little rag. They turn from green to greenish yellow when ripe and can be picked not quite ripe and allowed to ripen off the tree.

Many consider this fruit superior to both jackfruit and chempedak. To open, the fruit is cut around the circumference and twisted apart. It must then be eaten within two or three hours because the fruit quickly oxidizes and looses flavor. The seeds can be roasted same as the jackfruit but are smaller.   Photo from City of Dipolog. Permission requested.

American Mulberry

This tree is native to the eastern half of North America from within Canada to Florida. It produces fruit that is medium to dark red ripening to very dark red, purple or nearly black. The fruit, up to 3/4 inch long, is edible and in some varieties is sweet and tasty enough to compete with the Black (Persian) Mulberry. This mulberry is not exploited commercially but is enjoyed by any who have access to a tree. The tree is, however, endangered due to hybridization with the inferior Chinese White Mulberry which has spread just about everywhere.   Photo © i0001.

Black Mulberry

The Persian mulberry, when ripe, is dark, sweet and juicy - a truly spectacular fruit and in great demand. If the fancy chefs on the West Side knew I had a tree they'd be watching for times when I'm not at home. These berries are fairly large, up to 1-1/2 inches long and 3/4 inch diameter. They are highly seasonal, my tree bearing ripe fruit from mid July to mid August.

Unfortunately they are a severe harvesting and shipping problem. When ripe they are extremely delicate and highly perishable - and rather sour when not ripe. When I go out to gather them I find many unripe ones fall off the tree if you look at them hard, and some completely ripe ones have so strong a grip they can't be picked without completely destroying them - there's no consistency.

Chinese White Mulberry

This tree originated in northern China, where its leaves are used to feed silkworms. It has been carried to various parts of the world, wherever someone thought they could set up a silk industry. They were brought to North America long ago for such a scheme, but the industry was never established here - even then labor costs were too high here.

This tree is extremely effective at reproduction and now grows just about everywhere in North America. The "volunteer" seedling I found in my back yard canopied most of the yard in just a couple of years, despite overhanging toxic blue gum eucalyptus. The berries are small, moderately sweet and with a light but pleasant flavor. They're not commercially viable, but I used to enjoy them as a child on the East Coast and still like them. For a couple years I got almost none from my huge tree because a flock of tiny brown birds knew exactly when to swoop in and wiped them out. Lately they've came through weeks too early and I'm now getting plenty, The photo specimens are accompanied by our ubiquitous red kidney bean for scale and a typical Persian mulberry for comparison.

White Mulberry, Dried

These are whiter and sweeter than the Chinese White Mulberry shown above. Dried they run about 65 count to the ounce and are similar in flavor to white raisins but drier.

Dried white mulberries are used in the cuisines of Persia, the Stans and Turkey. One use is to pop one after a sip of tea to sweeten the mouth. I understand they are also included in some chickpea recipes. They can be used similarly to raisins in baked goods and Western chefs sometimes use them in sauces and toppings.

Dried white mulberries can be found packed in plastic bags and tubs in markets serving Turkish, Armenian and Iranian communities.

Long Mulberry

I have found little about this mulberry except that several sites in Taiwan and China are selling cuttings. Reportedly a nursery here in Southern California sells trees, attributing them to Afghanistan / Pakistan. In June 2013 I purchased the photo specimense at a big farmer's market in Pasadena, California. They were 2-3/4 inches long and 1/2 inch in diameter.

The price for a tiny basket was so high my mind immediately erased it from memory to prevent distress. The flavor was just as highly disappointing - faint flavor, faint sweetness. Berries from the huge (volunteer) Chinese mulberry tree taking over my back yard are far and away better. Until I encounter better long mulberries, I'm declaring them to be of decorative value only.