{"id":2502,"date":"2019-09-08T08:10:30","date_gmt":"2019-09-08T08:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/?p=2502"},"modified":"2019-12-01T20:33:36","modified_gmt":"2019-12-01T20:33:36","slug":"undiscovered-fruits-of-calabria-mulberry-blackberry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/undiscovered-fruits-of-calabria-mulberry-blackberry\/","title":{"rendered":"Undiscovered Fruits of Calabria: Mulberry Blackberry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

8.9.2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Calabria summer is the season of blackberries (in dialect “a mura<\/em>\u201d) of mulberry, white or black, which ripen copiously on the beautiful trees of Morus Nigra<\/em> and Morus Alba<\/em> trees, scattered in the countryside of Calabria, this Mediterranean region full of colors and perfumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Morus Nigra<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Calabria \u2018a mura<\/em><\/strong>, from the Latin morus<\/em>, is the fruit of a high tree, they\nare the blackberries par excellence, and shall not to be confused with \u2018a\nmura \u2018i ruvetta<\/em><\/strong> (blackberry of bramble). The first type is almost a\nrarity but with a little effort it can be found in local markets or in private\nhomes to enjoy something truly ancient and precious for the health of adults\nand children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rich in calcium, iron, zinc, vitamins\nB2, C and K for a triple antioxidant action, mulberry blackberries in ancient\ntimes were considered true medicine for their diuretic, laxative, healing\nproperties for the respiratory diseases and as an antianemic and hypoglycemic\nagent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MYTH AND HISTORY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mulberry tree was already known by the Greeks<\/em><\/strong>, for whom it was a plant consecrated to the god Pan<\/em> and symbolized intelligence and passion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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…see the hat of Pan, full of blackberry<\/em><\/strong>…<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to the legend told by Ovid<\/em><\/strong> in Metamorphoses<\/em>, the love drama of Tisbe<\/em> and Piramo<\/em> was consumed at the foot of a mulberry tree. Counteracted by their relatives, the young men met secretly but Tisbe one day was believed dead by Piramo, who killed himself on the news and Tisbe in turn died of grief (certainly Shakespeare<\/em> was inspired by this tale for his tragedy, Romeo and Juliet<\/em>!!). From that day, the fruits of the mulberry were colored red at the behest of the Gods, as a sign of mercy and compassion toward the unfortunate lovers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ovid, Metam.,<\/em><\/strong> <\/em>Pyramus and Thisbe<\/em><\/strong>, <\/em>\u201cLove, Myths and Other Stories\u201d \u2013 XXXI <\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Also the Romans<\/em><\/strong> loved mulberries,\nto be consumed fresh or in the form of a drink, the vinum moratum. Pliny the\nElder called mulberry the sapientissima\narborum<\/em>, the wisest of the trees, because it is the last one who patiently\nawaits that the winter is really over to make grow the foliage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The history of silk is also linked to the mulberry tree, which the Romans bought in China<\/strong> and loved very much, but of which they did not know the secrets of the production, namely that the precious yarn was produced by the silkworms that fed on mulberry leaves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The beauty of Silk<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It was not until 551 AD that the great secret is revealed to the emperor Justinian<\/em><\/strong> by two monks of San Basilio<\/em>, missionaries in India who, coming as far as China, told how the silk was produced, also bringing with them, it seems, secretly the first breeding caterpillars and the white mulberry <\/strong>seeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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White Mulberry – Morus Alba<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Constantinople to Italy the step was short and from then on also the morus alba, sustenance of silkworms, became widespread, and its production in the centuries until the nineteenth century had a great role in the economy of Calabria, especially in the area of San Floro<\/strong> and Settingiano<\/strong> (both near Catanzaro).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The picturesque village of S. Floro<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Then, on the trail of the splendid\npast of the sapientissima arborum<\/em>,\nlet’s get the precious and sweet fruits to consume them fresh or, to enjoy them\nlonger, we prepare a delicious and beneficial blackberry syrup, according to an\nancient Calabrian recipe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECIPE FOR BLACKBERRY SYRUP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

-2 kg of large and juicy mulberry\nblackberries<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Sugar (equal to the weight of the\njuice)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Lemon peel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ingredients for Blackberry Syrup or Jam<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Preparation<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Wash the blackberries under\nrunning water, dab them with a cloth and let them dry in the air for a few\nhours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Put them in a bowl, mash them\nfirst with a fork and then blend them with the mixer, an action that was once\ndone by passing the blackberries with “u\ncrivu<\/em>“, that is, through a sieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Filter the blackberries now by helping yourself with a very narrow mesh strainer, crushing the mixture and leaving it for a long time to extract as much juice as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Juice<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

– Now weigh the liquid, put it in a\nsaucepan with the sugar of the same weight as the mulberry juice and a nice\nstrip of lemon peel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Bring to a boil and cook over low\nheat, stirring for 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Let cool, remove the rind and pour\ninto previously sterilized airtight bottles or jars that you can keep in a\nfridge or, for a longer shelf life, boil tightly for another half hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mode of use <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can use the mulberry syrup to\ngarnish cakes, fruit salads and ice creams, to prepare an excellent summer\ndrink by extending two fingers per glass with water and finally, put the same\ndrink in the freezer to freeze it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the latter case, gently rubbing the freezed juice it, repeating the operation several times, you will get a delicious Calabrian mulberry blackberry granita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Blackberry Granita<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

8.9.2019 In Calabria summer is the season of blackberries (in dialect “a mura\u201d) of mulberry, white or black, which ripen copiously on the beautiful trees of Morus Nigra and Morus Alba trees, scattered in the countryside of Calabria, this Mediterranean region full of colors and perfumes. In Calabria \u2018a mura, from the Latin morus, is … Continue reading Undiscovered Fruits of Calabria: Mulberry Blackberry<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,6],"tags":[13,15,16,19,20,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,91,29,30,34,38],"class_list":["post-2502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-calabria","category-cuisine","category-fruits","tag-authentic","tag-calabria","tag-calabrian","tag-culture","tag-delicious","tag-export","tag-food","tag-foody","tag-fruit","tag-fruits","tag-gastronomy","tag-healthy","tag-italiantaste","tag-italy","tag-mediterranean","tag-superfood","tag-yummy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2502"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2519,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502\/revisions\/2519"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smaf-ltd.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}