Sloe Berries

The warm summer has meant the hedgerows have been overflowing with fruit for free, Crab Apples, Rose Hips, Brambles and of course Sloe Berries have all been plentiful in our local field edges. 

Many of the gardens, allotments and community gardens have fruit trees which have been laden with apples, plums and greengages - I doubt if enough people make use of this food for free preferring the convenience of supermarket  prepacked fruit. 

Part of the problem is that much of the fruit becomes ripe at the same time however there are scores of recipes for preserving fruit and enjoying produce throughout the winter - and few more delicious (or fortifying on a cold winters day)  than Sloe Gin

Sloe Berries have a variety of names in the different counties of southern England; Bullens, Heg Pegs, Slags, Snags, Winter Kecksies and Winter Pick are all local names for the fruit of the Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). 

These tart and berries are pretty unpleasant raw but can be made into a clear jelly as well as Sloe Gin. The recipe we use (handed down through generations) is a pound of sloes to a pound of sugar topped up with gin - the berries have to be pricked with a pin prior to bottling but freezing them will achieve the same result. (Many folk reckon that it is best to pick the berries after the first frosts to achieve a similar result). The bottle is then supposed to be agitated on a daily basis for the first few weeks however my father used to place the bottle in the boot of his car - a particularly efficient alternative!