about this wonderful berry. Agree, the mulberry looks great in the photo!
This plant is ubiquitous in the southern regions and the central zone of the CIS and the Russian
Federation. Its fruits are used for food, and the foliage is fed to silkworms, whose
cocoons are used to obtain natural silk threads.
Mulberry is often called mulberry, just like the tree - mulberry or mulberry. It is a deciduous
plant of the Mulberry family with a thousand-year history, which unites more than seventeen
species. Its beneficial properties have been known to mankind for a long time, and today
mulberry is used in both traditional and folk medicine, as well as in cooking.
In China and the countries of Central Asia, mulberries are dried for future use and fed
to elderly parents in order to prolong their life. It is known that in Central Asia this
plant is called the king-berry or the king-tree for its medicinal properties.
In the North, this plant is unfamiliar - it is a southern inhabitant. Mulberry grows well
in Bulgaria, Russia, Azerbaijan, Romania, Ukraine, Armenia and other countries of North
America, Asia and Africa. It is believed that the black mulberry was
distributed throughout the world from Southwest Asia, and the white one from China.
It is not for nothing that China is considered the true homeland of the mulberry tree. Because
it was in China that they learned how to breed silkworms in order to get from them the coveted
silk thread, once priceless. Therefore, among the most popular species
is the white mulberry, since the larvae of the silkworm feed on its foliage, the pupae
of which are used to produce natural silk. Under Ivan the Terrible in Russia, they already
knew about mulberry, at that time a silk-weaving manufactory was created, in which they made
very delicate fabric for the royal court. In turn, Peter I forbade cutting mulberries
on the territory of the state, since they were considered very valuable. Dense, resilient
and heavy mulberry wood is also very valuable; in Central Asia it is used for the manufacture
of various crafts, musical instruments and barrels.
It is believed that white mulberry came to us from China, and the homeland of black is
Western and South Asia, Iran and Afghanistan. It is curious that mulberry grows in North
America, the fruits of which are inedible, but the wood is very valuable, red in color.
Mulberry trees are very beautiful, especially young ones - they are beautiful in the garden
and in nature. Have you noticed that the mulberries in the
photo are shaped like blackberries? They are very useful and are used as a natural antiseptic.
People ate these fruits even before the events described in the Bible.
Mulberry prefers to grow in warm and fairly humid climates, but it feels quite normal
in temperate, subtropical and tropical. A slight frost is not critical for her, but
the best of all the tree gives a harvest exactly when it is warm and in the sun. Mulberry lives
for a very long time - from 150 to 400 years, for which it was called a long-liver.
So in Israel, tourists like to show the mulberry, under which Christ sat with his disciples.
Local scientists set out to find out the exact age of her using carbon analysis and found
that she was more than 2,000 years old. The mulberry tree grows vigorously in youth,
then much more slowly. The usual, average height of an old tree is 10-12 meters, but
many grow to 15-16. There are specimens at 30 meters, although very rarely.
The most popular among gardeners are 2 types of mulberry - black and white, while they
differ in the color of the bark, not the fruit. In a white mulberry tree, the bark on the
branches is painted in a light color (cream, pale yellow or white), while the branches
of the black mulberry tree are covered with a darker bark.
White mulberry is famous for the tenderness and sweetness of the fruit, its leaves are
also more juicy - that is why the silkworm preferred it. Shedding plants are not so large,
jagged along the edge. The mulberry tree easily takes root on different types of soils. Bears
fruit in the fifth year of life, and the grafted tree begins to bear fruit earlier.
Mulberry yields are generally very high. One tree can produce more than 200 kg of berries,
provided that during the period of their growth and ripening it was in favorable climatic
conditions. The first fruits begin to ripen in mid-July. The basic ripening period is
in late July and early August. Moderately large berries reach a length of
about 2.5 centimeters and look like a microscopic bunch of grapes. They are soft and delicate,
so it is practically impossible to transport them. That is why in the South they prefer
to dry mulberries in order to harvest them for the winter. Dried fruits of honey taste
are obtained. You should carefully monitor the ripening
time of the berries, because unripe mulberries are hard and tasteless, in general, inedible.
Ripe fruits fall off rapidly, so harvesting whole and unharmed is not so easy, a significant
part of it can be lost. Mulberry berries also differ in their taste.
So, some varieties taste very sweet, others - with an admixture of sourness. But they
all have one thing in common - a pleasant, light aroma. The mulberry itself is juicy,
tasty, and can be eaten raw or thermally processed. Fresh fruits plucked from a branch bring the
greatest benefits. Those that you have collected will lose the lion's share of their beneficial
properties in three days. So if you want to do the “silk therapy” that heals for a
lot, head south at harvest time. Mulberry is the most valuable berry. Its ripe
berries contain resveratrol, a plant antioxidant. This substance protects the plant from various
bacteria, parasites and fungi. Mulberry berries are 20% sugar. It contains vitamins such as
B1, B2, C, PP, as well as natural sugars, iron and potassium. There are minerals, citric
and malic acid. Quite unexpectedly, mulberry fruits hold the
record for calcium content. Even compared to natural cow's milk! Even mulberry leaf
tea will be loaded with calcium in a healing consistency. Therefore, it makes sense to
harvest the leaves of the plant. Like any other berry, mulberry has a fairly
low calorie content - about 52 kcal per 100 g. Of these, 13.6 g are carbohydrates and
0.7 g are proteins, mulberries do not contain fat. Due to its low calorie content, mulberry
can be consumed by people who care about their figure.
Given the rich composition, mulberry berries are recommended for pregnant women to prevent
fetal development disorders. Also, the benefits of mulberry for the body are processes such
as: • activation of hematopoiesis;
• acceleration of metabolism; • lowering blood cholesterol levels.
In medicine, this plant was first used by the Persian medieval scientist, philosopher
and doctor Abu Ali ibn Sina - Avicenna. In the East, since ancient times, they have treated
anemia, weakness, and infirmity with mulberry, they have advised this plant to long-livers.
All parts of the tree are suitable for healing - and the bark, and fruits, and roots, and
leaves. Mulberry is an amazing natural antiseptic that can be used as a diuretic, anti-inflammatory,
diaphoretic, expectorant and astringent. Mulberry juice has antiseptic and bactericidal
properties, so they rinse the throat and oral cavity with periodontal disease, throat diseases
and stomatitis. Decoctions from the roots and bark of mulberry have an antipyretic effect.
In white and black seedlings, the amount of valuable components is almost identical, but
the berries differ in their properties: white - fortify, black - act as a laxative.
Eastern doctors said that mulberry can restore or, at least, improve vision. And modern scientists
add many more useful properties to this, this Improving the digestive process in general
and combating indigestion. Reduced pressure.
Promotes weight loss. Fight osteoporosis, prevent it.
The use of berries in food helps in the treatment of impotence and prostatitis, to relieve menopause
and uterine bleeding. Thus, the beneficial properties of mulberries can be enumerated
endlessly. Mulberry is not an allergen and has no strict contraindications, except for
a rare individual intolerance.
Mulberry is widely used in cooking. Various desserts and other healthy dishes are prepared
from it. To make mulberry jam, you need to take 1.5 kg of sugar and 2 g of citric acid
per 1 kg of berries. Sort the berries, cut off the stalks, rinse, put in a saucepan,
sprinkle with sugar and leave for 8 hours. After that, keep on low heat until the sugar
dissolves. Then turn up the heat, skimming off the foam while boiling. When the jam boils
well, remove from heat and cool slightly. Then add citric acid, stir and bring to a
boil again. Having cooled completely, put the jam in clean and dry containers. If you
need to make blanks for the winter, you need to sterilize the jars and spread the jam while
still hot, making sure the lids are tight, and cork.
Compote turns out to be very tasty from
this tender berry. A three-liter jar requires: • A pound of mulberry;
• A pound of sugar; • Five gr. citric acid;
• Water - according to the residual principle, as much as you like.
The sorted out, washed and dried berries should be poured into a pre-sterilized jar - it will
take up a third of the entire free space. Pour boiling water over everything and leave
for a quarter of an hour, covering with a lid. Then drain the water from the jar into
a saucepan and stir the sugar in it, cook for five minutes over low heat. Then add citric
acid and "return" the resulting syrup to the jar, to the berries. Now roll it up, turn
it upside down with an iron lid and put it to cool.
Mulberries are planted in open soil, as a rule, in spring time in April before sap flow
begins, or in autumn in September and October, but you need to be in time before the rainy
season. Many gardeners prefer planting in the fall,
since it is believed that if a tree survives the winter months, then it is destined to
live for many years. The mulberry tree prefers well-lit areas with
reliable protection from the cold wind. Mulberries should not be planted on swampy, sandy and
saline soil, and the groundwater on the site must lie at a depth of at least 150 cm.Plants
with only male flowers cannot bear fruit on their own, however, it is possible to find
out the floor of the seedling only after he will be 4 or 5 years old.
In this regard, it is recommended to buy three-year-old seedlings for the personal economy, which
gave the first offspring. Mulberries are easy to make smoothies, a delicious
dietary drink that many will love. There are a lot of recipes for making this dessert drink,
but each of them is based on the same principle: mulberry berries can be diluted with other
berries, add milk, kefir or another drink and turn everything into a homogeneous mass
using a blender. The most delicious is the mulberry smoothie
according to the following recipe: for 100 g of berries, take half a ripe banana, 200
ml of kefir or yogurt and 1 tsp. honey. Mix everything with a hand blender and consume
fresh. Various desserts are also prepared from mulberries.
Frozen berries are ground in a blender and added to various fruit salads.
In conclusion, it must be said that mulberry is a really rich plant. It
is generous and nutritious, it heals and beautifies the garden. Its value in the East has always
been extolled, and we are only joining this knowledge. It is especially important to grow
such a tree today precisely because no one can bring you these delicate, fragile berries
from vacation. That's all. If you liked this video, please,
like and subscribe to the channel. Good luck and see you soon.