On a go sloe, with sloes!

Catsrus2306

Hello money savers

After noticing some rather purple berries on my dog I initially thought they were blueberries but now been told sloes as they often grow near fields! I was wondering if anybody has any sloe gin recipes or any tips of what to do with them?


I would ideally like to make sloe gin as a gift for that dreaded C word!


Thanks in advance!!! X

wallbash

I think you are too early for sloes, I would not even be looking for them for weeks yet. Also , did think a frost would help the taste.

Ectophile

My "recipe" is a bit approximate.

One bottle of gin or vodka. I go for a relatively cheap one that's not low in alcohol.
Enough ripe sloes to roughly fill 1/3 of the bottle.
The same quantity (by volume) of sugar.

Rinse and dry the sloes. Stab each with a pin a couple of times. Drop the sloes and sugar into a clean bottle. Top up with the gin or vodka.

Gently tip the bottle every few weeks to keep it mixed up. Leave it at least 3 months before drinking.

The result of that recipe is very sugary - it's like alcoholic cough mixture. Most people would use less sugar.

pinkparrott

I've got a blackthorn (sloe berry) hedge near me & I' be just noticed the first few berries starting to appear , but I've always been told to leave it until the first frost ,
Once picked you should stab all over with a folk , but I've found if you freeze them , this also breaks the skin & saves a messy job , I just stick them in s big bottle , with about the same amount of sugar & fill up with the cheapest gin or even vodka I can find , then lay it down somewhere cool ,& dark ,
Shake once a week for a few weeks then leave to mull for at least 6 months or a year if you can
I usually give in to temptation ,& drink mine after about 7 months in the summer , but I,'very occasionally lasted longer & its better /stronger

Elsewhere

Divide a bottle of gin between two bottles. Wash the sloes and pat dry on a teatowel.

Take a heaped tablespoon of sloes, prick each 3 or 4 times with a pin and pop them in a bottle, then pour in a rounded tablespoon of granulated sugar. Repeat until bottle is full. (Some people add a single clove to the bottle as well, but I'm not keen). Screw the top back tightly.

Shake the bottle every day for 3 - 4 days until the sugar has dissolved, then leave for about 6 months in a cool darkish place.

Repeat with the other half-full bottle, if you haven't already drunk it while performing the tedious task of pricking the sloes.

Sloe gin keeps fairly well once opened, but if you think you are going to take months to get though it I recommend sieving out the sloes as the liqueur can get a little bitter once the air gets to it.

I tried the method using frozen sloes rather than fresh, pricked ones. I didn't like it as much - for me it turned out sweeter and not as clear as the traditional method.

Catsrus2306

Thank you all! Very kind, some of my sloes that I found are very purple and squishy so hoping that these will be ok. Thanks for clearing it up about which gin to use, some website suggested an expensive one which I thought was a bit odd! I will let you know how I get on. Does anyone also know any other recipes for sloe stuff? X

REEN

You can make sloe jelly, but I came across this way of using the sloes again (and again!). Sounds delicious!
http://www.permaculture.co.uk/readers-solutions/what-can-i-do-leftover-sloe-berries-sloe-gin-sloe-port-and-sloe-chocolate

kerri_gt

Things do seem to be coming along early this year - we've got tons of blackberries near us, dogwood berries are also looking very dark, apples starting to fall from the trees and some very red looking rosehips. We are in the SE but I guess some of this warm and wet weather may have brought things on slightly earlier than usual.

Did hear about the first frost thing before though.

Ectophile

Round here (South of England), the first frost is often so late that the sloes are already manky and shrivelled. So I ignore that rule, and just pick them before that happens.

I normally filter my sloe gin before long-term storage. Once that's done, it keeps for ages.

Gloomendoom

My wife picked a load at the weekend. They seem to be ready early this year. They are already soaking in a bottle of Tesco value gin.

Catsrus2306

Ok thanks ! Im in Hampshire and they seem to good to wait for frost!