How to Collect Mulberry Tree Sap

The mulberry tree, or Moraceae, is a family of 40 genera and 1,000 species of trees that bear two marked similarities: their circular stipule scar and their milky sap. This milky sap is latex and used in many applications including making cheese. Latex contains enzymes that break down proteins including those found in your skin. For some people it is an irritant, and they need to handle it cautiously. The fig tree is the most common tree of the Moraceae family for collecting edible sap.

Cotton gauze
Knife
Resealable plastic bag

Instructions

- 1
  Collect a leaf from a healthy fig tree in the early morning during the spring or summer. You will notice the white sap oozing from the cut.
- 2
  Dab the tree and the leaf with a sterile square of cotton gauze. Cut the same leaf again, farther up the stem, and dab the sap again. Continue cutting and dabbing until no more sap flows from the leaf or tree. Use more leaves if you need more sap.
- 3
  Dry the gauze, and keep it in a resealable plastic bag until you are ready to use the sap. Soak the gauze in milk to dissolve the latex and use as rennet for making cheese. It takes only 4 drops of this sap to coagulate a gallon of milk.

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