Mulberries Delivery or Pickup

Sweet, tart, and juicy, mulberries are delicious additions to your fruit shopping. Technically not a berry, mulberries are an aggregate of tiny fruit clusters wrapped around a central core. While mulberries look similar to blackberries, they're in a completely different botanical family. Blackberries are members of the Rosaceae family, which shares fruits such as peaches, cherries, apples, and pears. Mulberries are in the Moraceae family that include fruits like figs.

You can find several species of mulberries in the wild, while commercial varieties include Morus Ruba, the Red or American mulberry, Morus Alba, white mulberry, and Morus Nigra or black mulberry. Because of the mulberry's delicate skin and flesh, mulberries are not grown commercially, and you'll generally find them in farmers' markets or specialty produce stores. Mulberries grow on large evergreen trees in temperate climates, and the trees can reach heights of 30-80 feet. Mulberries are generally dark purple in color, and they have a very sweet, syrupy flavor.

If you want mulberries for your dinner or breakfast, to eat raw, or to cook into a pie, enjoy the convenience of having the mulberries delivered to you when you order through Instacart. Once you create an account with Instacart, you can then browse the website to find mulberries nearby. Place your order, and an Instacart shopper will find fresh mulberries and deliver them to you within the same day. You can also download the Instacart app to your smartphone and place your order for mulberries right from your mobile device!

Mulberry trees originated in China and expanded into Europe via the famous trade route, the Silk Road. In the early 1700s, mulberries were introduced to colonial America when General Oglethorpe imported mulberry trees to the colony of Georgia. Today, you can find mulberries cultivated throughout China, the Eastern Mediterranean region, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and in certain regions throughout the United States.

Mulberries make wonderful shade trees; however, the dark purple mulberry fruit can drop onto patios, cars, or house windows, staining the places where they drop. In addition, birds flock to mulberry trees to feast on the luscious, sweet fruit, and can leave droppings around the yard. If you want to have a mulberry tree on your property, plant the tree where the mulberries or birds won't be a nuisance.

Mulberries are extremely fragile, and the fruit bruises easily. Once the fruit bruises, the flesh breaks down, the juice leaks out, and the potential for mold sets in. When looking for ideal cartons or packages of fresh mulberries, look for fruit that still has the stem attached, are free from bruises, and with no moldy parts. When you smell the mulberries, they should have a fragrant scent similar to fresh blackberries, raspberries, or ripe cherries.

When you bring fresh mulberries home, they're best eaten fresh as they have a very short shelf life. Once you've had your fill of fresh mulberries, you can freeze them in plastic bags to add to smoothies in the future. Mulberries make delicious jam, jelly, or marmalades that you preserve via canning—store canned mulberry jam in a cool, dark environment. When you buy dried packaged mulberries to munch on as a snack, the packages can keep for several months.