Sloes

The other day there was a discussion about huckleberries and I mention sloes, so today for those who do not know what a sloe looks like or what you do with it, my blip shows some sloes. Sloe gin is traditionally drunk around Christmas time and goes well after the Christmas pudding or with the Christmas cake at teatime.

The sloe (Prunus spinosa) is a deciduous large shrub or small tree growing to five metres tall, with blackish bark and dense, stiff, spiny branches. The leaves are oval, between two and five centimetres long. The flowers have five creamy-white petals; they are produced shortly before the leaves in early spring, and are hermaphroditic and insect-pollinated. The fruit, called a "sloe", is a drupe ten to twelve millimetres in diameter, black with a purple-blue waxy bloom, ripening in autumn. They are traditionally harvested in the UK during October or November after the first frosts. Sloes are thin-fleshed, with a very strongly astringent flavour when fresh. They are often used to make sloe (or vodka) gin.

Ingredients
450g/1lb sloes
225g/8oz caster sugar
1 litre/1¾ pint gin

Preparation method
Prick the tough skin of the sloes all over with a clean needle and put in a large sterilised jar. Pour in the sugar and the gin, seal tightly and shake well.
Store in a cool, dark cupboard and shake every other day for a week. Then shake once a week for at least two months. Strain the sloe gin through muslin into a sterilised bottle.


The caterpillar I blipped the other day is a Ruby Tiger (Phragmatobia fuliginosa)