hi there

just looked up a french recipe and it works a little like fiona's blackberry and apple recipe:

Crab apple and Sloe Jam

1.    Pick a kg of sloes and place in the freezer

2.    Defrost them and then place them in a pan with between 500g and 1kg of crab apples

3.    Cover with apple juice and bring to the boil 

4.    Cook for 15 " 30 mins until the fruits begin to break down

(here the french gets complicated and talks about sitting it in a sieve covered with something heavy for 24hrs???) 

5.    So instead I would push it through a sieve or a mouli, discarding the skins and pips.

6.    Weigh the pulp ; add sugar to taste (at least 50% of weight up to a traditional equal weight )

(again the french recipe says add pectine, but there is loads in sloes so I dont think it is necessary)

7.    Cook until setting point is reached and place in sterilised jars

Not sure how this tastes but it looks delicious!