philmayfield 6,089 Posted August 5, 2020 Report Share Posted August 5, 2020 Sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn. You can see the white flowers in the hedgerows in the Spring. It's quite common. The fruit is rather bitter for eating raw but is often bottled in gin. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beekay 5,094 Posted August 5, 2020 Report Share Posted August 5, 2020 Don't eat em Piano Man, buy a medium priced bottle of gin and put em in that. Makes for a lovely summer drink. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Pianoman 1,531 Posted August 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 I think that is what I am going to do. It seems a pity to waste them. Same goes for the blackberries growing nearby. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,089 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 There's an interesting app for your smartphone called Plantsnap which, by taking a picture, will identify a plant. It might be worth seeing if it can identify a sloe. Personally I doubt it will! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieM 9,497 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 I have a plant identifier app and have taken a photo of Pianoman’s photo ...... it’s definitely Blackthorn/Sloe. Go for it Pianoman, buy some cheap Vodka and make Sloe Gin. (At least I think that’s what you do, without googling it.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,435 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 2 hours ago, The Pianoman said: It seems a pity to waste them. Same goes for the blackberries growing nearby. There are so many blackberries growing wild around here, I could collect them on a full-time basis and use them on an industrial scale. And that's only those which are left after other people have already picked their own share. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,089 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 I think vodka might be better. Being unadulterated there would be nothing to clash with the flavour of the sloes. A lady made medlar gin from our tree last year. We had a sample bottle and it was very good for unblocking the sink Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beekay 5,094 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 Maybe this should be in ' Made my day,' but it's going on here. Just to say " Hooray ! I'm right for once !! When I was a ranger at Holme Pierrpont, we used to go blackberrying down at the nature reserve, adjacent to the start of the rowing course. Used to get the fruit by the bucket load and ' Er indoors used to make apple and blackberry pies for all site staff. That were in 1978. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jill Sparrow 10,267 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 Not looking like a good year for Medlars. Very few on my tree. Ditto hazelnuts. Medlar flowers are beautiful but the fruits aren't! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,089 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 We have very few medlars this year. The tree seems to be prolific every other year unlike our Bramleys which have massive crops annually. It’s a pity you can’t do much with them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jonab 1,644 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 Any quinces around now? I mean the real types, not those Japanese imposters which could double up as cannon balls. I remember my granny had a quince tree in her garden in Rempstone. She used to make a type of compôte with them. It wasn't very nice to eat - full of gritty bits. She also had a fig tree but I never saw any fruit on it. As kids we used to break twigs off and use the white sap as "tattoo ink" - as it dried it turned black and was extremely difficult to remove. Anyway, my housekeeper makes a sirop from blackberries (les mûres) by lightly bashing them to break the skins, adding an equal weight of sugar and leaving them to stand for a few weeks in a stone pot similar to a rumtopf (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumtopf ). She then pours off the juice and adds about one tenth of its weight of strong spirit or of vinegar. The vinegar version is her treatment for colds and winter ills. The alcohol one is to enjoy as a drink. There are her "secret" ingredients that she puts in to give hers a distinctive cachet. From looking at the dregs put into the compost heap, I think these are orange and lemon peel, coriander seeds and cinnamon. There is also a sureau (elderberry) version of this which I hate - the elderberries around here all seem to be of the tom cat pee type. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jill Sparrow 10,267 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 I have a quince tree and for a few years after I first moved here it produced a heavy crop. It hasn't produced anything for a long time now though. A friend made some quince wine but I wasn't keen! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,435 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 Following on from Malcolm's original post, I'm sure someone can identify these berries which grow in the hedge. They start as red but eventually turn black. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jill Sparrow 10,267 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 Some kind of bramble. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,089 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 If you download Plantsnap and take a photo it comes up with various options. It’s obviously a bramble and could possibly be the Stone Bramble, Rubus Saxatilis. Further delving is required. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LizzieM 9,497 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 I’ve just taken a photo of your photo CT, using my plant app. It’s European Dewberry (a species of Brambles) Also known as Blue Bramble, Dewberry Botanical name: Rubus caesius The app I’ve got is ‘Picture This’. £20 pa. But you can get free apps that do the same thing. Next .......... ! 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cliff Ton 10,435 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 Thanks for the replies. I've now looked at a lot of images of European Dewberry and in most of them the ED looks similar to a normal Blackberry. The local ones I photographed never have more than two or three of the black 'globes' and they don't grow as large or developed as this.... https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:European_Dewberry_-_Rubus_caesius_(42153065900).jpg. I reckon the ones I see are just weak and feeble versions which never fully develop. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
The Pianoman 1,531 Posted August 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 They sell Sloe Gin in Morrisons. £20 per bottle. https://groceries.morrisons.com/products/gordon-s-sloe-gin-119501011 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beekay 5,094 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 There's your answer then Pianoman, sell em to Morrisons. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
philmayfield 6,089 Posted August 6, 2020 Report Share Posted August 6, 2020 I don't suppose the sloe gin will be flying off the shelves! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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