Wild Food Guide — 'Y'

This is the description page for Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the wild foodstuff: Blackthorn.

The Blackthorn Prunus spinosa (also known as Sloe) is a large shrub belongin to the Rosaceae (rose) family and is a close relative of the damson and plum. It is a native of Europe, western Asia and north Africa whose common name is derived from its dark bark and skin, and from the thorns or spines that it bears. It is very noticeable in Spring, as from March to April the tree is covered in pure-white flowers that appear before the leaves. Indeed, it is often one of the countryside's first flowering trees. In Britain it is a common hedgerow plant as this spiny shrub is impassable to domestic animals.

The leaves are alternate and oval and can vary in colour from lime to dark green. The mature tare dark purple and resemble tiny plums and these are called sloes. they are very tart, too tart to be eaten raw. However, they are very useful fruit that make wonderful preserves and can be made into a clear jelly that goes well with game meats. However, if sloes are deeply frozen much of the tartness disappears and the resultant thawed sloes can be used for making tarts and desserts (a sloe and blackberry tart is an excellent winter treat). Sloes can also be preserved in vinegar, which results in a preserved fruit that's similar to Japanese umeboshi (pickled ume fruit) traditionally used in the nori-wrapped rice balls, onigiri.

However, the most common reason for picking sloes is to make sloe gin. It is said that the best time to pick sloes is just after the first frost of autumn as this softens or blets the skins, making them more permeable. However, by the first frost most sloes will have disappeared. It's better to pick them in mid September and either pick the skins immediately or place them in the freezer for a couple of weeks. Be careful when picking though as the thorns are very sharp.