Sloes

[ontheedge]

Was thinking of making Sloe gin, anyone know anywhere local where there's some for the picking. Thanks in anticipation

[Loz]

No, but if you can't find any, then you can buy them on eBay. I do it, and you get quite good ones.

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Belaire Park and Dawsons Park usually have some. Belaire at good picking height.

[Sue]

If you can't find any you can make damson gin, as I just did.

However I recommend you don't follow Nigel Slater's advice to freeze them and then bash them with a heavy object.

A mallet and a rolling pin made no impression whatsoever until they were half thawed, and they ended up as mush, so there was little point in freezing them in the first place.

It's the afternoon with a needle method next time :))

[Loz]

Works with sloes, though Sue.

[Sue]

Loz Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Works with sloes, though Sue.

He suggested it for damsons as well :(

[Seabag]

Oh god not another version on the #cassisthread

[sjw]

What does "the needle method" entail?

[Loz]

sjw Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What does "the needle method" entail?

A needle. And a sloe berry.

Actually a *lot* of sloe berries.

But only one needle per person.

[Robert Poste's Child]

Don't you have to wait till after the first frost before picking sloes? Or am I confusing them with sprouts? (Visions of sprout-flavoured gin, mmm...)

[Sue]

Isn't that medlars??

[Robert Poste's Child]

I asked google.

Apparently for sloes the advice used to be wait for a frost as that makes the skins start to burst open, but depends on the weather so now they just say pick when ripe. Maybe that's why you have to prick them?

For medlars it's leave on the tree unless there's a risk of frost, pick when unripe when they're too tart to be edible (bleurgh), then store for two to three weeks until they go brown and start to soften but aren't actually rotting (double bleurgh). Sounds like a lot of bother, doesn't it.

For sprouts it's pick after the first or second frost. I do love a sprout.