North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Martha L. Davis" <martha_davis@earthlink.net>]

The fruit on M. nigra is supposed to be more flavorful than the other two 
species or their hybrids.  The few I have tasted have a better acid/sugar 
balance than most other mulberries it is certainly at least somewhat better  
flavor than the best hybrids. ( Mostly when I have tasted them it has been 
with lots of other hungry NAFEXers and therefor hard to catch ones at the 
correct stage of ripeness.  However, it is NOT recommended for North Carolina 
or  other humid areas.  I think they die. The flavor recommendations are 
somewhat unclear.  AJ Bullard who is the North Carolina mulberry expert likes 
Silk Hope.  He also says which mulberry tastes best is strongly influenced by 
climate and then there is of course personal preference. I liked the flavor 
of Illinois everbearing as grown in Illinois, the flavor of Oscar & Noir de 
Spain as grown in Oregon, but not Pakistan as grown in Oregon, and I liked 
Kaester as grown in the Santa Clara area of California.  Kaester and Noir de 
Spain are M. nigra the others are complex crosses. I am in New Mexico so I am 
really just passing on what AJ Bullard said at the NAFEX meeting in August. I 
don't have AJ's email.  I talked with him more on one of the van rides. He 
seemed to think that I should try M. nigra because of less humidity even with 
my zone of 5.  He thought they died due to fungal diseases more than from 
cold. he DID
NOT recommend M. nigra at all for the humid east. Another thing that he said 
was that how good a particular variety of mulberry would be had a lot to do 
with the climate it grew in.  So that one should try many different ones 
unless you have opportunities to taste nearby.  He liked Silk Hope in his 
area. I think it must be fairly sweet or he wouldn't keep talking about sour 
cherry mulberry pie. You might like to try Oscar.  It is not susposed to be 
M. nigra, but rather a complex cross which may or may not have any M nigra 
involved.  The taste is sure reminescent of them.  Really good, and I think 
it is substantially better than Illinois everbearing and I like that.  I 
tasted
it at Lucille Whitman's.

Martha