Mulberries and a wild snow pea alternative

This past weekend I took two good long walks. The first was along the Hackensack River, on a nice flat trail at Mill Creek Park in Secaucus NJ, and a second walk in Little Ferry, NJ in Losen Slote Park. Amy and Alec were away for the weekend, so please excuse my feeble attempts at photography.

Mill Creek did not have too much to offer that day, but is a great walk if you enjoy birdwatching. I did find these mulberries pictured here though. Mulberry trees in our area come in two varieties. Red mulberry, and white mulberry. The tree known as red mulberry is not quite as common in our area. The white mulberry is native to Asia, and was brought here in a failed attempt to produce domestic silk. Silkworms feed and spin on mulberry leaves. It has grown like a weed here, as many suburban homeowners have learned. Fortunately the berries are quite good.

Mulberry trees have leaves with an oval or lobed shape, sometimes with both shapes on the same tree. Small elongated fuzzy flowers in early spring are replaced with what looks like an elongated blackberry in late spring. The berries are just ripening now in this area. Now, a word of caution. White mulberries will sometimes be white, pink, red or almost black when ripe, but all of them are still referred to as white mulberries. This can be confusing and should be considered when harvesting because unripe mulberries will make you quite ill, but are not known to be deadly. It is because of this that I usually stick to the darker variety. A good way to be sure though is to harvest them by laying a sheet on the ground under the tree and giving a good shake. Only the ripe berries should fall.
These treats should be washed and used right away. They have very low acid content so they will not keep more than a day or two in the fridge. This is why you don't see mulberries as a commercial crop. They can be used pretty much like any other berry, but you might want to add some lemon juice to bring the flavor out because of the low acid. Pancakes and muffins are excellent, or you can soften them up a bit quickly in the microwave, add some lemon juice, and get a great topping for ice cream, or a mix-in for yogurt. I haven't tried to dry them yet, but I have read that they make a good snack as dried fruit. I'm heading upstate this weekend, and have a rather large mulberry tree in the back yard, so I might try to dry some to test this out.

Losen Slote Park started off interesting, but I was disappointed to find out that the two plants I focused on have been labeled as hazardous or at least questionable by the FDA. These are Sassafras, and Mayapple. This is why research is so important when foraging. There are some people that claim that both of these plants are still safe, but with so many other choices, I prefer to not take chances.

Fortunately I found one of my favorites there instead. On my way out of the park I saw a thick medium sized tree that was covered with what looked like snow peas. It was a redbud. Redbud trees are planted as ornamentals but also grow wild through the eastern woods. The flowers are edible, and add great color to salad, or you could use them as a colorful edible garnish. This time of year though, the pods are what we're after. They will look just like snow peas but will be growing on a tree with alternate, heart-shaped leaves. Don't confuse with locust beans. Locust will have many tiny compound leaves and usually larger, tougher pods. Cook and use the redbud pods just like snow peas. I like to toss them in some butter and olive oil with salt and pepper, or use in a stir fry as the last ingredient before serving.

Remember not to harvest near traffic, or any other places that may have been affected by toxins. Always do your research. If you're not positive about what you harvested, then don't eat it, and as always, don't over-pick. See you on the trail!

Neil Goldstein