What can you do with sloe berries?

Primrose

You can also eat elderberries which are little clusters of black berries hanging from trees. They are best mixed with blackberries and turned into jam, or stewed together with a little sugar to make a fruit compote, which can be stirred into porridge, or used to liven up milk puddings. However, do beware when cooking blackberries and elderberries. Their purple juice can quickly stain your clothes and worktops if you leave them unprotected. If you Google "photograph of elderberries" you will probably be able to get a photo of what they look like.

donna73

we're going foraging today for blackberries, but we know there are some sloe berries there as well- what can we do with them ?(not sloe gin though please)

CountryWife_2

Hi Donna,
You can make sloe jellly which is a really good accompaniment to game.

bellsbells

snap - so am I this afternoon! I always make sloe jelly. You pick as many sloes as you can be bothered to, cook with a bit of water until nice and mushy then strain through a muslin cloth or tea towel over night. Then make jelly the way you would normally. I would recommend being generous with the sugar - sloes are very tart and need a lot of sugar!
Sloe jelly is always sharp and tart - I love it and like it on scones where the cream cuts through the sharpness perfectly. It also makes a wonderful condiment for cooked meats or as a substitute to plum sauce for duck. You can also add it to a gravy for something really special.
Happy sloe hunting!

bellsbells

Here is a useful site:

www.sloe.biz

If you go onto the forums there are recipes for jellies and other stuff, even sloe pudding!

moanymoany

They are also good in jam, with fruit that is low in pectin. I cooked 1lb of them with water and pushed them through a sieve. I then added them to my blackberries, raspberries and rhubarb. It set like a dream and tastes great.

donna73

bellsbells wrote: »

Here is a useful site:

www.sloe.biz

If you go onto the forums there are recipes for jellies and other stuff, even sloe pudding!

thanks for recommending this site- i've just had a quick look, and i'm now wishing i'd picked more sloes!- i thinks i'll be going back out for more soon:T

curlywurlygirly

Sloe gin.....just !!!!! them and put them in a bottle with cheap gin.

Leave for about a year....will make great Chrissie pressies for 2008!

moanymoany

Went out yesterday evening and got a couple of kilos. I'm going to freeze them and later make sloe jelly. The recipes say to !!!!! them before making the jelly, but when I made jam and used sloes for the pectin I simply stewed them and it was ok.

tiff

If you have frozen the sloes there is no need to !!!!! them.