Ever stood in a park, looked at a tree dripping with dark, juicy berries, and wondered if you were about to eat a blackberry or a mulberry? You aren't alone. It happens to almost everyone. Honestly, at a quick glance, they look like twins. But they couldn't be more different if they tried. One grows on a thorny bush that tries to trip you every time you walk by, while the other hangs from the branches of a towering tree that can live for over a hundred years.
People get them confused because they’re both "aggregate fruits." Basically, they’re made of tiny little juice-filled beads called drupelets. But the blackberry fruit and mulberry have totally different life stories, flavors, and ways they interact with your kitchen.
If you've ever stained your fingers purple while foraging, you know the stakes. Blackberries are the gritty, tart rebels of the hedgerow. Mulberries are the soft, honey-sweet gifts from the sky. Let’s get into the weeds—literally—on why these two fruits are the most common case of mistaken identity in the foraging world.
The fundamental difference is where they hang out
The easiest way to tell them apart is to look at where your feet are. Are you standing in a thicket of thorns? You’re likely looking at a blackberry. Are you looking up into a canopy of leaves? That’s a mulberry.
Blackberries belong to the Rubus genus. They are essentially brambles. They love to grow in messy, arching canes that crawl over fences and colonize abandoned lots. If the plant has sharp prickles that catch on your jeans, it’s a blackberry. Mulberries, on the other hand, come from the Morus genus. These are deciduous trees. In many suburban neighborhoods, you’ll see the sidewalk stained a deep, dark ink because a mulberry tree is dropping its haul.
There’s also the "core" issue. When you pick a blackberry, the center of the fruit—the torus—stays inside the berry. It’s that white, slightly tough middle you chew on. When you pick a mulberry, it’s different. The stem often comes away with the fruit, or the fruit remains hollow. The mulberry is much more fragile. If you squeeze a mulberry even a little bit, it turns into a puddle of juice. Blackberries have a bit more structural integrity, thanks to that internal core.
Why the shape actually matters
If you look closely, really closely, the shapes are dead giveaways. Blackberries are usually round or slightly oblong, but they feel "tight." The drupelets are packed together like a bunch of tiny grapes. Mulberries look more like a stretched-out blackberry. They’re long. Sometimes they’re an inch or two in length, looking almost like a fuzzy caterpillar made of fruit.
Flavor profiles: Tart vs. Honey
Blackberries are famous for that "zing." They have a complex acid-to-sugar ratio. When they are perfectly ripe—and I mean "fall off the vine into your hand" ripe—they are sweet, but they always have that underlying earthy tartness. They have big, crunchy seeds. Some people hate the seeds. Others think they add a nice texture to a cobbler.
🔗 Read more: The Recipe With Boiled Eggs That Actually Makes Breakfast Interesting Again
Mulberries are a different beast. They lack almost all acidity. This makes them taste incredibly sweet, almost like honey or mild syrup. Because they don't have that acid kick, some people find them a bit "flat" compared to a blackberry, but kids usually love them because they’re just pure sugar. The seeds in a mulberry are so tiny you barely notice them. It’s a much smoother eating experience, though significantly messier.
- Blackberry: Bold, tart, earthy, crunchy seeds, firm structure.
- Mulberry: Sweet, mild, honey-like, tiny seeds, very soft and fragile.
The nutritional heavyweights
Both of these berries are basically nature's multivitamins. They are loaded with anthocyanins. Those are the pigments that give them that deep purple-black color. Anthocyanins are heavy-duty antioxidants.
According to various nutritional studies, blackberries are particularly high in Vitamin C and Vitamin K. One cup of blackberries gives you about half of your daily recommended Vitamin C. They are also packed with fiber because of those seeds. If you’re looking to improve your gut health, blackberries are the winner here.
Mulberries are no slouch, though. They are one of the few fruits that are actually a decent source of iron. This is pretty rare for a berry. They also contain resveratrol—the same compound people drink red wine for—which is linked to heart health. If you’re dealing with a mulberry tree in your yard, you’re basically sitting on a gold mine of free superfoods.
The "Invasive" reputation
In many parts of North America, the Himalayan Blackberry (Rubus armeniacus) is considered a massive pest. It grows incredibly fast. It can take over a garden in a single season. Its thorns are brutal. Gardeners spend thousands of dollars every year trying to eradicate it, often unsuccessfully.
Mulberries have a complicated reputation too. The White Mulberry (Morus alba) was brought over from Asia in an attempt to start a silk industry in the U.S. (silkworms only eat mulberry leaves). The silk industry failed, but the trees stayed. They hybridize with the native Red Mulberry (Morus rubra), and because they grow so fast and birds poop the seeds everywhere, they are often seen as "weed trees."
But honestly? Calling them weeds is a bit harsh. They provide massive amounts of food for local wildlife. If you see a mulberry tree in June, it’s usually vibrating with birds. Robins, cedar waxwings, and squirrels will bypass every other food source to get to those berries.
💡 You might also like: Finding the Right Words: Quotes About Sons That Actually Mean Something
How to use them without ruining your kitchen
If you’re cooking with blackberry fruit and mulberry, you have to treat them differently. Blackberries hold up well to heat. You can toss them into a pie or a muffin, and they’ll keep their shape mostly intact. They release a lot of pectin, which helps jam set naturally.
Mulberries are so watery that they tend to disintegrate. If you’re making a mulberry pie, you usually need to add a thickening agent like cornstarch or arrowroot powder, or mix them with a firmer fruit like apples. Most people prefer mulberries raw, tossed on yogurt, or turned into a thin syrup for pancakes.
A pro tip for the stains: If you get mulberry juice on your hands, don't use soap right away. Use the juice of an unripe (green) mulberry or a lemon. The acid helps break down the pigment. It sounds like an old wives' tale, but it actually works.
What about the leaves?
Here is something most people ignore: you can use the leaves too. Blackberry leaves have been used in traditional medicine for centuries as a tea to help with digestive issues. They are high in tannins. Mulberry leaves are also edible when cooked (usually steamed or stuffed like grape leaves) and are being studied for their ability to help regulate blood sugar levels.
Finding them in the wild
Foraging is a great way to get these fruits for free, but you have to be smart.
For blackberries, look for sunny edges of forests or along hiking trails. They need sun to sweeten up. If you find them in deep shade, the berries will be small and sour. Wear long sleeves. I cannot emphasize this enough. Blackberry thorns are curved like cat claws; they are designed to grab you and not let go.
For mulberries, look at the ground. If you see a sidewalk that looks like a crime scene of purple splotches, look up. You’ve found your tree. The best way to harvest them isn't picking them one by one. Lay a clean bedsheet on the grass and shake the branches. The ripe ones will rain down. It’s much faster and saves your back.
📖 Related: Williams Sonoma Deer Park IL: What Most People Get Wrong About This Kitchen Icon
The White Mulberry confusion
Just to make things more confusing, not all mulberries are purple. The White Mulberry can produce fruit that stays white or light green even when ripe. These are incredibly sweet—almost cloyingly so—but they lack the complexity of the darker varieties. If you see a tree with berries that look like white blackberries, you've found a Morus alba. They are perfectly edible, though some people find the flavor a bit one-dimensional.
Safety first
Before you go shoving handfuls of berries into your mouth, make sure you know what you’re looking at. While there aren't many "deadly" lookalikes for blackberries or mulberries in North America, you should always be 100% sure.
The main thing to watch out for is where the plants are growing. Avoid picking berries next to busy highways where they might be coated in exhaust fumes. Also, be wary of power line easements or railroad tracks, as these areas are frequently sprayed with heavy-duty herbicides. If the leaves look yellow and shriveled but the berries are ripe, stay away—it might have been sprayed recently.
Which one is actually better?
There is no "better" berry. It’s all about what you want.
If you want a bold, tart fruit that makes the world's best jam and stands up to baking, the blackberry is your winner. It's the classic summer staple. It feels rugged and wild.
If you want a snack that feels like candy growing on a tree, or if you want to attract every bird in a five-mile radius to your yard, go with the mulberry. It’s a softer, gentler fruit that reminds you of childhood summers and purple-stained feet.
Next Steps for Your Berry Harvest:
- Check your local park maps: Use apps like FallingFruit.org to find public mulberry trees in your city.
- Freeze your haul: Both berries freeze beautifully. Lay them out on a baking sheet in a single layer before bagging them so they don't turn into one giant frozen brick.
- Prune your blackberries: If you have them in your yard, remember that blackberries fruit on "floricanes" (second-year wood). Cut back the canes that finished fruiting this year to make room for next year’s crop.
- Test for ripeness: A blackberry is only truly ripe when it loses its shiny gloss and turns slightly matte. If it’s shiny, it’s going to be sour. If it’s dull, it’s ready.