Turkish Sun-Dried White Mulberries (Dut Kurusu) – No Sugar Added

In the Elazığ–Malatya corridor of Eastern Anatolia, mulberry trees grow fast and fruit heavily each summer. The harvest window for white mulberries (beyaz dut) is narrow — roughly July through August — and the traditional method of drying them has not changed: freshly picked fruit is spread under the hot Anatolian sun and left to slowly dehydrate, with no added sugar, no sulfur, and no preservatives. The result is a pale, cream-coloured fruit that tastes like a cross between a dried fig and a raisin: honey-like and gently sweet, without the tartness of black or red mulberry varieties.

White mulberries reached Anatolia along the Silk Road — the same trade route that brought silkworms west from China, since silkworms feed almost exclusively on mulberry leaves. Today Anatolia is home to one of the largest concentrations of white mulberry trees in the world, and the dried fruit (known in Turkish as dut kurusu) has long been a staple of the Eastern Anatolian pantry, carried through winter months and eaten as a standalone snack or stirred into porridge and yogurt.

Taste and texture: Soft-chewy with a gentle crunch from the tiny seeds. The sweetness is mild and natural — closer to honey than to refined sugar — which makes these mulberries easy to add without tipping a dish toward cloying. They work wherever you would reach for raisins: morning oatmeal, granola, trail mix, yogurt parfaits, muffins, and quick breads. Because they carry no added sugar, they can substitute for raisins in baked goods and naturally reduce the need for extra sweetener.

In Turkish kitchen tradition: Dried white mulberries are one starting point for pekmez (mulberry molasses), a thick syrup traditionally stirred into tahini and spread on bread as a breakfast staple in Anatolian households. The dried fruit itself is also ground to a powder — called dut unu — and used to make halva and sweetmeats, a practice that predates the widespread availability of refined sugar.

Available sizes: 100 g · 250 g · 500 g · 1 kg.

Storage: Keep in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Seal the bag after each use.