Mulberry season is once again upon us in SE Ohio. I love find food outside in the woods, be it mushrooms, fruit, or nuts. Plucking food off a tree or bush instead of opening a package or seeing a huge mountain on a grocery shelf gives the food a reality. For all you can tell from the grocery store, food is synthesized in a lab or strip mined somewhere. There is also the pleasure of identifying edible plants from inedible ones. The reward is the food.
Below is a picture of a small mulberry tree (alas with no fruit). They have very characteristic leaves, resembling mittens. It is pretty easy to find a producing mulberry tree. Look for the enormous purple stain under it. I see them over sidewalks and bike paths a lot. They are great raw, but make good pies as well. Trees are pretty variable. In full sun, the berries tend to dry out and in full shade, you don't find many berries. The perfect berry is sweet, soft, and tangy. They are basically tree-raspberries. The white mulberry is used to grow silk worms, but the red mulberry is for eating.
Below is a picture of the actual berries:
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