The citrus season on Crete is slowly coming to an end. Now it’s time for despola (loquat) and mulberries. The only previous encounter we had with mulberries happened in Vang Vieng in Laos. There, they were one of the tourist attractions, a humble one, overshadowed by tubing on the river with buckets of booze and drugs to boot. When you’re done stuffing them fresh into your mouth, try making a mulberry shake with what’s left. It’s dead easy, if only you have a mulberry tree, a ladder and a container. We also had several female assistants, making sure that no fruit got wasted in the process.

If you survived the first step, proceed to the kitchen and put the fruit together with the tiny stems into a blender. Add yoghurt, lemon juice and honey or sugar. The shake is best with an addition of some sour fruit.

The best part is sitting on the porch with a glass of fresh shake in your purple-stained hands. Enjoy!