River Cottage Foraging for food - Sloes

Date Published:

07/09/2007

Sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn tree and are a great fruit to pick in the autumn. One of the last fruits to remain on the trees before winter, they allow the forager plenty of opportunity to harvest.

What to look for

The blackthorn (named for its thorny dark skin and bark) is covered in white flowers in early spring. It's great if you can identify it at this stage so that you can be ready to keep an eye on the ripening fruit in the autumn! It is often the first tree to flower, and can grow up to 12 feet tall. Its fruit, the sloe, looks like a small damson. The dark purple berries have a similar dusty complexion.

Where to look

The blackthorn is found throughout Britain in hedges, parkland, woods, verges and scrubland. City dwellers are not precluded from enjoying the sloe forage!

When to go

After the first frost! The Sloe berry is not a pleasant tasting fruit, as it is very bitter indeed. After the first frost the fruit is ripe and its bitterness reduces slightly. The fruit is generally good for picking between September and early November, but harvest time is weather dependant.

Top tips

Gloves! Whilst the fruit can be picked without too much prickling, the gloves will help avoid 'foragers finger'.

Storage

Pick over the fruit and discard any that have holes in (they are being eaten from within!) or that are past their best - they get a bit wrinkly. They do really well frozen and will last a few months.

Recipe ideas

Recipes for Sloe gin or vodka ask for each sloe to be pricked with a pin. Frankly this is an unnecessary labour. A night in the freezer has the same effect, splitting the skin.

Sloe gin or vodka is a wonderful Christmas drink and it could be argued that any other use of the mighty sloe is a sin. Even if you don't like gin, it is worth making as it tastes more like a liqueur, as you can make it as sweet as you like.

For every pound of fruit add 8oz of sugar and a pint or so of gin or vodka (don't worry too much about the proportions as you can add more sugar or spirit later). Leave it until Christmas, shaking the bottle every couple of days.

After a few months (the longer the better, although it tends never lasts long enough to test this theory!) strain off the sloes and bottle the gin. The sloes can be stoned and made into wonderful liquor chocolates.

Sloes also make a lovely tart jelly to go with game or with your Christmas dinner as an alternative to cranberry. They can also be used in autumn pudding or jam, but do need quite a bit of sugar due to their bitterness.

Words: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.