Gundog Training Forum

What are peoples views as to the best time to pick sloes to make the perfeft sloe gin?

ive come to the conclusion that whenever you see them is the best time to pick. I used to wait until we'd had a few frosty nights, but now i think it doesnt matter.
plus at my age, if i wait, i forget where i saw them!

Frosty nights are good but a freezer will do too!

Helene

I agree - when they are there and ripe then pick them.
Freeze them for at least a week before use - a few months and they will still be fine.
You will find that there is no need for pricking or any other preparation. Just put the frozen sloes into your container, add gin and sugar and shake the container every few days; don't worry if the sugar doesn't all dissolve straight away - after a few days it will.
I use exactly the same approach for other fruits (blackberries, damsons etc) and also why not try vodka or brandy instead of gin.
Cheers

If your using softer fruits like blackberries do you still freeze them? Thanks

It used to be said that they are at their best after the first frost, but nowadays the birds will have scoffed them before then! I pick them when they are ripe (softish) and either use them straight away or freeze them until I'm ready to use them. a bonus of freezing is that the juice comes out eaier

I was always told that when the sloes looked 'frosty' was the time to pick them ... they go from being really shiny to looking like the have had a coat of talc on them !!

If you shake them in the container as they come out of the freezer the skins will split anyway.

I generally freeze even the soft fruits before I add the other ingredients but I don't think it matters. You can either kill all the undesirable bugs on your blackberries by freezing them first or by immersing them in alcohol!

i'm quite pleased that i'm just finishing last years sloegin and vodka, i know how many to pick for this year now!