Last Winter I went foraging for sloes with my friend P so we could make some sloe gin. It turns out we picked so many sloes I had enough to also make some sloe vodka. Since November the sloes have been doing their thing in the vodka and gin and I’ve been eagerly anticipating the first taste! After opening the bottle and deciding the booze was ready to drink I started scouring the internet for ideas on what to do with the sloes. Options for reusing them included making port, chocolate, and my preferred option (mainly because I still have a billion jars to use!), was jam or jelly.
I followed this recipe, which was very straightforward, if a bit time consuming. Despite having what I thought was a huge amount of sloes, they vodka only made one jar, and the gin made a jar and 3/4. I think the problem was I click that making a jelly would be ‘bit free’ whereas a jam is more pulpy. After throwing away the apple and sloe mixture it did feel a bit of a waste, but the result was really tasty. I’ve brought a jar down to my parents and I’m really looking forward to trying it with them over Easter.
Next year I’ll be looking to go foraging again, and using the sloes to try and perhaps make a jam instead, although the tricky part is removing the sloe stones!
If you have any tips or recipes for things to do with leftover sloes, I’d love to know…
Stripes and Snapshots 
I have never used them in anything, but it looks like a lovely gift.
I’ve never tried sloes before although my boyfriend’s Nan makes sloe jam every year. I head out at the end of every Summer to pick blackberries and always intend to make something with them, but never get that far-always ending up sprinkling them on top of breakfast or eating them with yoghurt.