Mulberry molasses from the tree to the kitchen

BİNGÖL

The production of highly nutritious mulberry molasses has begun for the villagers of Aktoprak who wake up early each morning in Turkey’s eastern province of Bingöl to gather mulberries.

To make the sweet nectar, villagers stretch large cloths under mulberry trees to prevent their fruit from hitting the ground when they fall off the branch. The berries are then washed and boiled in large boilers on wood fires and are left to cool on trays.

Some 30 kilograms of molasses (66 pounds) can be produced from 150 kilograms (331 pounds) of mulberries, villager Nihat Dursun told Anadolu Agency on July 17.

“The molasses are best when the mulberries are boiled within half an hour after harvest without waiting, or else it will turn sour,” Dursun said.

“Mulberry molasses are beneficial for stomach and intestinal diseases and also cure anemia,” he added.

Villagers boil the mulberries for an hour at least. After draining, they put it under the sun for drying.

But if the mulberries are boiled for too long, all the health benefits could be lost, according to remarks by the locals.

“For high-quality molasses, the boiling time is a crucial factor,” said Hüsna Dursun.

When it reaches a certain degree of thickness, which locals recognize from their experience of many years, they put it on trays for sun drying. It is ready for the table after the second draining.

Application to the patent institute

The provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry is working to make mulberry molasses a symbol of the province.

The molasses are produced under completely natural conditions, and the resulting product is examined extensively, Provincial Director of Agriculture and Forestry Burhan Bahadır said.

Bahadır underlined that provincial officials would then apply to the Turkish Patent Institute for the registration of the mulberry molasses as an official geographical indication, adding that this would increase the value of the molasses products and have a positive impact on the economy for the region and the country.