The bountiful, but short, mulberry season

Every April and May, my father would lay a tarp underneath the large mulberry tree in our backyard. My brother and I would climb the trunk and shake its branches, sending dark mulberries raining down. Back at the house, my mother would bake the mulberries into a pie, paying no mind to the tiny green stems that were so hard to pluck from the fragile fruit. “It’s just roughage. It’ll cook down,” she’d say as we watched her stir it with sugar on the stove before pouring into a piecrust.

We never ventured much further than pie, as mulberries don’t keep for long. But I’ve since found other recipes that utilize this overlooked and robust-flavored fruit—like mulberry muffins or sorbet. You can also use it to make a summery granita, pureeing them in a blender (they are similar to a blackberry, but without the seeds), mixing with lemon juice and simple syrup and freezing. Of course, you’ll need access to a mulberry tree, as they are mostly absent from stores and markets, but if you get your hands on a batch, a good recipe for mulberry granita can be found here. —Benjamin Leger