Sloes? What to with these?

[seeyouinanotherlifewhenwearebothcats]

PlantNet tells me these are blackthorn fruit/sloes? If so what should I do with them? Any tips or ideas greatly appreciated!

Make sloe gin. Sloes are very bitter, but are excellent in gin

I cant see any thorns, are they really sour enough to turn your mouth inside out, or slightly sweet in which case they will be bullaces. They also look too big to be sloes.

Either way, you can wash, put into a container, pour vodka or gin over them, add some sugar, mash every day and by Christmas you'll have something nice to drink.

Sloe gin of course!

I’m not a massive gin drinker 🙈 but maybe I make up some gin for Christmas gifts. Thank you!

Sloe vodka is nice too if you don’t like gin.
Also you can make sloe cordial which is lovely as a mixer, poured over ice cream or added to salad dressing.
Sloes and some sugar macerated in balsamic vinegar is also fab.
Added to plum jam not so much.
They are absolutely prolific this year.

You can make a lovey sloe or bullace jelly with crab apples or cooking apples.

I recently cracked open my bottle of 10 year old sloe gin, it doesn't taste as gin-like as normal gin. If you've not tried it before, they used to sell it in Adnam's pubs.
Christmas is too soon though - make it now for next Christmas (or 9 Christmases after).

Thanks so much everyone, lots of great tips here!

I hate gin but love sloe gin although you can substitute vodka or even rum if you prefer.
Freeze the sloes and let defrost before adding to the booze. Helps with maximum flavour.

Sloe gin isn’t like gin, though! It’s a liqueur which you can make as sweet or dry as you like, dependent on the amount of sugar you put in. The recipe we use advises adding the sugar after the sloes have soaked in the gin, so you can taste as you add the sugar. We often end up having several bottles of differing levels of sweetness. Delicious and warming!

sloe and apple jelly. Second the gin. Freeze them overnight/prick them with a fork. Put them into a bottle with one third sugar, one third sloes and top up with gin. Some people add a drop or almond essence, but I don't. Turn upside down regularly until sugar dissolves and top up as necessary. Add a splash to G&T to make a festive drink, or to fizz. Once you finish the gin, mash up the sloes and destone them and put them into melted chocolate to make chocolate sloe bars - delicious!!

I make sloe gin every year, this year has been a bumper crop ,they look like grapes on a vine there are so many, and they're bigger than usual.
Mine are in the freezer , no need to prick the skins or add almond extract as some recipes say, and don't wait for the 1st frost to pick ,they will be way past it by then.
Just plenty of sugar and turn the jar every week or so ,start the gin from now / into October and it'll be good for Christmas.
Have a taste each week once you get it started and add more sugar as required, i find the more sugar you add the richer the colour and intensity of flavour and it becomes almost a liqueur texture.
There are no exact measures just add to taste.
It makes a fab Christmas gift and is always eagerly received .

Try sloe gin with Prosecco....fill about a third of a flute glass with sloe gin and top up with Prosecco to make a version of Kir Royale. This makes a lovely celebratory drink.

I agree - I don’t think they are sloes they look like bullace to me. They are too big. Make a jelly with them which if you cook is fantastic to serve with roast meats, stirred into sauces or serve with cheese at Christmas. Much more interesting than gin!

I read that if you roll them around firmly in the palm of your hands you'll make them far sweeter and nice to eat raw! Never tried though