“Mulberries bring a high-value, unique and delicious fruit to our orchard in the spring,” says owner Rebecca Courchesne. Frog Hollow sells at local farmers markets and to limited wholesale customers and community-supported agriculture, or CSA, members who receive fruit by subscription. It also supplies local restaurants with fresh mulberries in season and frozen berries in the off-season. “Like cherries, mulberries are a highly anticipated crop by consumers,” Courchesne says. “They are the first to go in most cases and usually sell out in the first hour at farmers markets. I would emphatically say they are a very popular fruit, fresh or frozen.” More than tasty Flavor isn’t the only draw for mulberries, described as “the king of fruits” in a Persian proverb. They are considered a superfood due to healthy punches of fiber, vitamin C, iron and calcium, for example. “As a fruit independently, mulberry is really a nutritional powerhouse,” Sadana says. Historically, however, mulberries haven’t been too common in California agriculture. Godhwani points to partly a lack of awareness, the long lead time to a meaningful harvest, the complexity in choosing a variety and the delicacy of the crop. “They are the most fragile of berries,” he says, noting the typical after-harvest shelf life of less than a week. “Those are significant challenges for farmers to overcome.” Habitera embraced the challenge. Both Sadana, who works in finance, and Godhwani have vivid memories of eating mulberries while growing up in India. As a boy in Delhi, Godhwani threw rocks at his neighbor’s tree to harvest the fruit. “I couldn’t forget that taste when I moved to the United States,” he says. “I missed them.” Godhwani built a career in sales and technology but always thought farming was in his future. “Ever since I was a kid in Delhi, my dad would take me to the local version of the farmers market called ‘subzi mandi,’ and I fell in love with that,” he says. In the U.S., he and his father continued that tradition—sometimes visiting four or more stores and farmers markets to find just the right piece of produce. Eventually, Godhwani decided to plant a Himalayan mulberry tree in his backyard. “I just happened to hit the jackpot because the tree turned out to be remarkable,” he says. He added a few more and, as that “mother tree” and others matured,
Bay Area restaurateur Anthony Roost believes part of his job is introducing new flavors and foods to his customers. So when mulberries began to debut at area farms, he started looking for ways to use them in entrees, cocktails, desserts and more. “It’s an easy-on-the-palate flavor,” says Roost, who partners with his wife, Alyssa, in two wine bars and the Attraversiamo restaurant in Brentwood. “Not a lot of people know about them, and they are great to work with.” As this unique fruit grows in fresh availability—and popularity—in California, many chefs, bakers and dessert makers are adding mulberries to their seasonal menu. Brentwood-area growers like Habitera Farms and Frog Hollow Farm help supply foodies and the greater food community, and Habitera also offers mulberry recipes on its website. Ketki Dandekar, co-founder of Pints of Joy in Sunnyvale, says the shop tends to lean on Indian flavors in its artisanal offerings but also whips up more familiar ice creams like chocolate. She says many customers are looking for those traditional Indian flavors while others want to try something new. Mulberries fit both categories. Dandekar, who was introduced to mulberries growing up in India, found that “it’s such a rare fruit here that a lot of the people didn’t know what the actual fruit tasted like.” So last season, working with Habitera Farms, the shop offered samples and sales of the actual fruit along with mulberry ice cream. The cross-promotion worked, as both the fruit and ice creams were “very popular,” she says. Roost’s customers were treated to such seasonal offerings as a mulberry panna cotta and a skirt steak over lentils with mulberry sauce. The Mulberry Smash, the “cocktail of the month” in season, was a hit, he says. “People loved it.” Mulberries find a home on seasonal menus
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