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Sloe Gin

Tue 24-Aug-10
9:40 pm

Blueline-cat

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Hi everybody, new to the forum but have been scouring the site over a number of years for recipes advice and ideas.

I spotted some sloes in the hedgerow outsied my allotment site.Is it too early to pick them or can i get in quick now before anyone else spots them?

Thanks smile

Tue 24-Aug-10
10:14 pm

brightspark

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Hi Katrine, and warm welcome to the forum.

I suppose the best time to pick them can depend on the weather, but normally September onwards.

Do they look ripe to you?

Those sort of fruits - plums, mirabelles, damsons, etc will come off easily if they're ready, but if difficult to pick then not yet is probably the answer!

brightsparklystuff

Women are like tea bags. . .

you never know how strong they are

until they're in hot water.

- Eleanor Roosevelt -

Tue 24-Aug-10
10:31 pm

Blueline-cat

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Thanks Val,

I'll have a go tomorrow and see how easily they come away.They certainly look ripe.They get plenty of sun where they are so perhaps thats why they are a bit early?

I should be studying for an exam for work but making some lovely booze for Christmas pressies seems much more appealing! cat

Tue 24-Aug-10
11:07 pm

KateUK

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Sloes are best picked after the first frosts, they are sweeter then and the flavour will be better.

Kateuk makes things at http://www.etsy.com/shop/finkstuff and sometimes she does this too http://www54paintings.blogspot.com/ and also this http://finkstuff.weebly.com/

Tue 24-Aug-10
11:12 pm

debih

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We picked ours last year during the first weekend of September - we picked them in Licolnshire and they were lovely. They were in a very sunny spot though.

We have loads around us and I am keeping my eye on them. Last year I was going to wait until after the first frost (as I had read that they are better then) but they were long dead by the time the frost came. Most of them had fallen off the tree and rotted so I am not risking it by waiting until the frosts this year. I keep giving them a little tug every time I walk past but they aren't ready yet.

Tue 24-Aug-10
11:32 pm

KateUK

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Are you sure they were sloes? Sloes are very blue, hard and sour as hell- lovely is not the word for the taste of a sloe!

Kateuk makes things at http://www.etsy.com/shop/finkstuff and sometimes she does this too http://www54paintings.blogspot.com/ and also this http://finkstuff.weebly.com/

Wed 25-Aug-10
9:56 am

johnmcc

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They do sound more like damsons. About 3 or 4 times the size of a sloe, and a sloe is not much bigger than an acorn. Damson gin's very nice too medicine

What's wrong with the politics of envy, anyway?

Wed 25-Aug-10
11:51 am

Toffeeapple

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I'm sure I picked sloes in August last year, you have to get in quickly before anyone else finds them, in this area.

I'll try that again!

Wed 25-Aug-10
11:52 am

Toffeeapple

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doh Where are my manners! Welcome Katrine! toffeeapple

I'll try that again!

Wed 25-Aug-10
12:31 pm

KateUK

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And Damsons are on trees, sloes on bushes. Damsons are gorgeous.

Kateuk makes things at http://www.etsy.com/shop/finkstuff and sometimes she does this too http://www54paintings.blogspot.com/ and also this http://finkstuff.weebly.com/

Wed 25-Aug-10
1:49 pm

debih

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No mine were definitely sloes " they were as bitter as hell. When I say "they were lovely" I meant once they were turned into sloe gin.

I had damsons from a friend and they were definitely two very different fruits.

Wed 25-Aug-10
2:58 pm

Danny

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Hi Katrine - what a lovely user name - Blueline-cat

I read your profile and delighted to see that you are getting "stuck in" early welldone

I must do a hunt for sloes around here at the weekend. My first reaction is that it seems a bit early for harvesting them. The idea of waiting for the first frost is a bit outdated because the weather patterns are so variable nowadays and somebody suggested that you can achieve the same effect by leaving them in the freezer overnight. But my memory is of harvesting sloes in October. Must double check with Fiona.

Never knowingly underfed

Wed 25-Aug-10
7:18 pm

shelley

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you can indeed place the sloes in a freezer overnight to release the sugars;here in Toulouse they are already ripe so i just pricked them all over

Wed 25-Aug-10
7:30 pm

johnmcc

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Last year I found two wild damson trees in hedgerow at the back of us - secret location! Huge amount of fruit and no-one wanted it . . . except me! I've still got five pounds in the freezer. Had to pick from the roofrack of my 4x4 though - couldn't get near on a ladder. now watching them jealously in case . . .

What's wrong with the politics of envy, anyway?

Thu 26-Aug-10
10:51 am

Toffeeapple

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