Foraging Sloes for Sloe Gin

Sloe Gin is one of my favourite drinks and making it is well worth the effort. Sloes, or drupes, used to be ripe to pick later in the year but I've found they come out earlier these days. We used to pick them in October or November, mad that I'm now doing it in August.

We are looking for Prunus Spinosa, or blackthorn as it is more commonly known. Farmers used to mark the corners of their land with Blackthorn so head to the country lanes and down to the edge of farmland.

The drupe is violet coloured and has a waxy finish that RBS off in your fingers. Another way to test them is to bite them but I wouldn't recommend this as they are ridiculously sharp and dry your mouth out!

We freeze our sloes so they burst when they defrost, this saves time having to prick them!

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