Sloe gin - under ripe sloes?

[pastaparadise]

I found a good sloe bush so thought I'd make sloe gin. Berries looked like they should from photos so picked half a kilo ish. But looking at recipes they stipulate that the berries should be ripe and squashy. The ones I picked are dusky blueish/ purple, but def not squashy. More like hard blueberries. Are these ripe enough to use? If so, do I need to adjust the recipe at all? Seems such a waste not to use them! Thanks

Put them in the freezer as sloes are best after the first frost.

I heard that ideally they need a frost on them to soften them up. I'd stick them in the freezer for a bit of artificial help. It'll help break down them down a little and make them feel squashier.

I've got some on the go - the berries were ripe but definitely not squashy when I picked them last week. I'm just shaking the bottle of gin I have them steeping in on daily basis and hopefully that will be enough - fingers crossed. I froze them as it was supposed to help but Sip Smith have a recipe online and they're very relaxed about the process so i decided to be too.

We always wash them, dry them then chuck in the freezer for a few days.

Cross post makes mine feel a bit pointless now!

*Sipsmith

They'll be fine - I too got some underripe ones this year, as there was a bush so full of them and easy to pick, but so obvious (overhanging a path in a park) that I thought they'd all be gone if I waited!

Stick them in the freezer and follow your normal recipie - if when you taste it after a few months it doesn't seem sweet enough, you can always add more sugar.

I made a whole batch of sloe gin a year or so ago with underripe sloes. I did add extra sugar to taste, but it wasn’t as “good” as that made with ripe sloes (I always freeze them before using, so it wasn’t that).

I was going to add a few blackberries or something to add to the sweetness, BUT I discovered a new use for it which meant it didn’t matter…. I always just used to have sloe gin neat, like a liqueur / sherry etc. But if you make a gin and tonic with sloe gin, it’s very forgiving of not-the-best sloe gin made with slightly underripe sloes, and it’s now one of my favourite ways of having sloe gin. I use normal tonic water, and add slices of orange and maybe a cinnamon stick or some dried hibiscus petals to be fancy. It’s really autumn/wintery and totally delicious.

Thanks all! Glad I don't need to give up on them. I'll freeze and see what they're like after. I've never made sloe gin before but it sounds quite forgiving so fingers crossed

I should add that I picked some last year and put them in the freezer. Only for dh to find them, think they were blueberries and add them to dcs smoothies. They complained bitterly about all the bits