Strolling around the market, you may find fresh mulberries for sale. Some vendors sell products like mulberry juice and mulberry jam. Customers are attracted by this little treasure, which comes into season in the springtime.
With its sweet-sour flavor, one just cannot resist it. Moreover, mulberries are honored as “the best health fruit of the 21st century” owing to their high nutrition, anti-aging, and anti-cancer properties. The mulberry season is short and those who love mulberries should seize the time to indulge themselves in their amazing taste.
Connoisseurs suggest that it’s best to eat “fresh mulberries” or make them into fresh juice to prevent the loss of nutrients. Some even turn them into mulberry jam for cooking. These are all good ways to enjoy mulberries.
How to retain freshness? Drain and seal the berries in zipper bags and then put them in the freezer
Select mulberries with dark-purple skins when you buy them. The darker, the sweeter.
Select mulberries with dark-purple skins when you buy them. The darker, the sweeter. If the skin is slightly green or pink, it will taste very sour because it is still unripe. In terms of appearance, select the plump ones with dry skin and fresh-green stems.
Rinse the skin with clean water for 1-2 minutes to remove any dust and sticky things attached. Then soak them in saline water for about 5 minutes. Finally, rinse them again with clean water and they will be ready for the table.
Avoid piling mulberries up because they are delicate and hard to preserve. Leaving them at room temperature for 1-2 days means they will start to rot and become sweaty. Therefore, finish them soon after washing.
If you cannot finish eating them, put them in the fridge and finish them within two days. Or you can seal them in zipper bags and then put them in the freezer after washing and draining. This way, they can be preserved for half a year. If you add sugar and make them into jam, it can be sealed and preserved for a year.
Seven benefits of mulberries
Mulberries are not only an edible fruit, but they are also a good type of herbal medicine. Chinese medicine considers they have a sweet and sour flavor and can nourish organs like the heart, liver, and kidney, and they are good for the brain. They enrich the blood, help produce saliva to quench thirst, and can gently improve bowel movements.
Mulberries are prescribed to patients who are anemic and feeling dizzy, or are suffering from ringing in the ears, palpitations, insomnia, or experiencing sore-weakness in their waist and knees; they can help alleviate other symptoms like precocious silver hair, thirst, and dry hard stools. Eating mulberries frequently can improve immunity, postpone senility, and they are good for beauty and wellness.
1. Nourish the heart and kidneys
The shape of a mulberry bears a resemblance to a kidney, and so people in ancient China believed the two had some mystical connection. Therefore, mulberries were used to treat some illnesses relating to the kidneys. According to the Chinese theory of “Five Elements (metal, wood, water, fire, and earth),” the kidneys correspond to “water,” and the heart corresponds to “fire.”
Ancient Chinese people believed that the inner human body has its correspondence to the outside world and is based on the theory of the Five Elements. Mulberry can alleviate the “abnormal state of water and fire,” and so it is why Chinese medicine believes that mulberry can nourish the heart and kidney.
2. Lower the cholesterol
Most of the fiber in the mulberry is insoluble yet it contains 25 percent of soluble fiber that is in the form of pectin. Soluble fiber can absorb water and helps lower cholesterol in the blood. In addition, the proanthocyanins in mulberries can prevent LDL cholesterol from oxidation, lowering the risk of cardiac disease. Meaning that mulberries are beneficial for those who suffer from cardiovascular diseases.
3. Improve eyesight and quench thirst
Mulberries are rich in vitamin A, beta-carotene, and anthocyanidin and so they are beneficial for alleviating dry eyes, deteriorating eyesight, eye fatigue, and dizziness. If you feel weak and thirsty or have bad breath, mulberries help generate saliva to ease these discomforts.
4. Treat chronic disease of the digestive tract
Mulberries are sticky and juicy and can stimulate gastric secretion, improving digestion, absorption, and peristalsis, alleviating abdominal distension, and helping bowel movements. They are recommended for those who suffer from indigestion, anorexia, and gassy stomach after meals.
5. Enrich blood and nourish hair
Dark purple mulberries can nourish hair and help it grow. They are particularly good for young people who have precocious silver hair or frequent hair loss.
Moreover, the color of mulberries is like blood and they contain rich iron, which means they can enrich the blood and are good for easing anemia, pale complexion, dizziness, palpitations, and insomnia. For women who are anemic, pregnant, suffer from post-partum, having their menstrual period, suffering from chronic diseases, or after a critical operation, mulberries are a great option.
6. Enhance body immunity
Mulberries can stimulate lymphocyte transformation, which raises the concentration of immunoglobulin by increasing the number and quality of cells. This enhances the activity of phagocytic cells to promote immune activity, achieving the effect of improving disease resistance. They are therefore beneficial for cancer patients.
7. Calm the nerves
Those who suffer from anxiety and insomnia, feel insecure, and are easily frightened can have some mulberries before going to sleep. In fact, other parts of the plant have different values. The leaves are the main food source of the silkworm.
The leaves taste bitter-sweet and are one of the ingredients of Chinese herbal tea. It can help lower blood pressure, blood fat, and blood sugar. It can also relieve inflammation, stop bleeding, and benefit the liver, lungs, and eyesight.
Overall, mulberries are commonly seen and easy to acquire. They are recommended for those who have cold hands and feet in winter and elderly people who suffer from poor sleep or have cardiovascular diseases.
