What can you do with sloes?

Question

Can you make jam and juice and the same things as with damsons or are they too bitter?

Answer 1

There are several things you can do with them. Hear are some reipes:

Apple-Berry Tart
Ingredients:

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shortening
2 tablespoons margarine
4 to 5 tablespoons ice water
1/3 cup fresh cleaned berrries ( your choice, good with wild berries like choke, sloe, blue, cran, currant etc)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
4 medium baking apples
Vanilla frozen yogurt (optional)

Directions:

Combine flour, 1 tablespoon sugar and salt in medium bowl. Cut in shortening and margarine with pastry blender or two knives until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Mix in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture comes together and forms soft dough. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Roll out dough on floured surface to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into 11-inch circle. (Reserve any leftover dough scraps for decorating top of tart.) Ease dough into 10-inch tart pan with removable bottom, leaving 1/4-inch dough above rim of pan. Prick bottom and sides of dough with tines of fork; bake 12 minutes or until dough begins to brown. Cool on wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.

Combine remaining 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon in large bowl; mix well. Reserve 1 teaspoon mixture. Add cornstarch to bowl; mix well. Peel, core and thinly slice apples, adding pieces to bowl as they are sliced; toss well. Add berries to apple mixture and toss well.

Arrange apple mixture attractively over dough. Sprinkle reserved 1 teaspoon sugar mixture evenly over top of tart. Place tart on baking sheet; bake 30 to 35 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Remove side of pan; place tart on serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature with frozen yogurt, if desired.

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Berry Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh or thawed frozen blue, currant, cran, choke or sloe berries
1-3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Apple Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg white
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup skim milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 12 (2-1/2-inch) muffin cups with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In small bowl, toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour.

3. In large bowl, combine remaining 1-3/4 cups flour, baking powder, lemon peel and salt.

4. In another small bowl, combine apple sauce, sugar, whole egg, egg white and oil.

5. Stir apple sauce mixture into flour mixture alternately with milk. Mix just until moistened. Fold in blueberry mixture.

6. Spoon evenly into prepared muffin cups.

7. Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Immediately remove from pan; cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Serve warm or cool completely.

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Berry Nut Bread

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh or frozen berries
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-1/2X4-1/2-inch loaf pan.

2. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg in large bowl. Stir in cranberries, raisins, pecans and orange peel. Mix eggs, milk, butter and vanilla in small bowl until combined; stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon into prepared pan.

3. Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Store tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.

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General fruit liqueur recipe:

1 lb. (450 g) berries or fruit
3 cups (710 ml) 80-proof vodka (or 1.5 cup pure grain alcohol + 1.5 cup water)
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1 1/4 cup (300 ml) granulated sugar

Rinse the fruit or berries. Fruit must be cut into small pieces. Place berries or fruit in a container, add vodka. Cap and store in a cool, dark place, stir once a week for 2 - 4 weeks. Strain through metal colander. Transfer the unsweetened liqueur to an ageing container (glass bottle or container with tight cap). To 3 cups (710) ml unsweetened liqueur add 1 1/4 cup (300 ml) granulated sugar. Let age for at least three months. Pour carefully the clear liqueur to a new bottle. Add more sugar if necessary.

The fruit used for liqueur making can be used as deserts: mix with sugar and use with ice-cream.

Storage of liqueurs
The flavor of almost all liqueurs improves during storage. Fruit and berry liqueurs should be stored for at least 6 months for maximum taste. Some lemon liqueurs (e.g. Limoncello) should not be stored for a long time.

Sugar content
Liqueurs should contain approximately 1 cup sugar per 3 cups finished liqueur (300-350 g sugar per liter). If your liqueur is too sweet, add a mixture of vodka and water (1:1).

Sweetness change during storage
Sugar is converted to glucose and fructose which are simple sugar types with less sweet flavor. Therefore sugar must sometimes be added to homemade liqueurs after storage for some months.

Alcohol content
The alcohol content should normally be 20-30% for fruit and berry liqueurs, except for citrus liqueurs which might have higher alcohol content. If your liqueur has too strong alcohol taste, add some water (or fruit juice) and sugar. If your liqueur has too low alcohol content, add vodka and sugar.

Liqueurs of fruit mixtures:
Don't mix more than two types of fruits or berries in liqueurs. You can make successful mixtures of bitter berries with mild ones, like blueberries and cranberries. If you mix more types you might end up with a sweet-sour drink with no interesting flavor.

Answer 2

You can make jam and jelly with them, and very good it is too. Jelly is the best because they have stones which are difficult to get rid of!

You can also make wine and sloe gin. Sloe gin is made by filling a jar with layers of sloes with the spaces filled with sugar and then topping up with alcohol (traditionally gin but, if you can get it, a high-alcohol content Polish Spirit or Export Vodka is better, in which case I usually throw in a handful of juniper berries and some flaked almonds as well). It will be ready by Christmas if made now. You strain off the ruby liquid and use the 'drunken' sloes in pies, as you would black cherries.

Answer 3

Sloe Chutney

Sloes
2 tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2 medium sized onions, sliced
1lb raisins
1 teaspoon of hot chilli powder
2 inch piece of fresh root ginger, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
12 cloves
juice and grated rind of 2 oranges
1lb of soft brown sugar
1 pint of organic white wine vinegar

Put the ingredients in a large cooking pot and stir, using a wooden spoon. Bring to the boil and stir occasionally. Reduce the heat so the mixture simmers, stir occasionally, for 3 hours or until it is thick. Ladel into clean, warm jars. Cover, label and leave in a cool place for a couple of months.


Sloe Jelly

2lb sloes, trimmed and washed
1 lb of cooking apples, cut into quarters
Juice of one lemon
sugar

Prick the sloes with a needle and put them in the pot with the apples. Just cover these with cold water and then add the lemon juice. Bring this lot to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for one hour or until the fruit is soft. Every so often, using a wooden spoon, bash the fruit into the pot.
Strain the pulp of the soles and apples in a jelly bag for at least 12 hours. Measure the amount of juice and return this to the pan.
Add 1 lb of sugar for every pint of pulp juice. disolve the sugar in the juice over a low heat. Then bring to the boil for the next ten minutes, without stiring. Test for the setting point by placing some of the mixture on a plate and running your finger along the mixture, when ready, it should form a skin and wrinkle.
Ladel into clean, hot, dry jars. You should get about 8lbs from this lot.

Answer 4

we make slow gin every year, it takes a while before you can drink it though, as it has to sit with the berries soaking in the gin for at least a year for it to be half decent. Hint: make sure you prick each berry with a needle so the juice flows more freely into the gin. I find sloes are too bitter to eat.

Answer 5

Sloe gin. It blows your head off but tastes great.

Answer 6

Jam, nice.

Answer 7

Not suitable for jam etc., usually used for flavouring (commonly gin)

Answer 8

I use them with blackberries and elderberries to make bramble jelly.

Answer 9

fig jam

Answer 10

Sloe gin!