Sloe Berry

Question: Does anyone know where Ursus Roter can be bought in Florida, or any other sloe berry vodka?

Answer: i have no idia! you should google it!!!! sorry i was not much help!

Question: Where can I order sloe berries? I want to make my own sloe gin and need a source for fresh sloe berries (blackthorn berries). They don't grow here at all (west coast). I've found a site that sells dried berries that I'll try if I can't find fresh, but I'd rather use fresh berries if I can. Anyone know of any online stores that sell them?

Answer: From my searches "if" you can get them fresh now then mother nature is playing a trick on us, harvesting is September thru October and as you may already be aware of here in the states you're going to need to be a good swimmer to get to the U.K. If you can wait that long for fresh, then my hats off to you, myself, I'd try the dried, but don't have high hopes, something might be lacking from the fresh. Good Luck

Question: Where can I get some sloe berries? I'd like to make some sloe gin for christmas pressies, and so I need some sloe berries! I need to get cracking fairly swiftly to give it time to mature. Does anyone know somewhere close to North London where I could pick some (and there are definitely some there) or where to buy online (there's some on ebay but they're more than £10 per lb (yikes!) which starts to make it very pricey for xmas pressies. Thank you!

Answer: Nice one. LMAO! Since time is an issue get them when & where you can. Ebay or wherever. The plant has berries in Spring so you won't be able to harvest now. Just use your ebay source. Better safe than sorry.

Question: Where can I purchase or pick sloe berries in the USA ? I am near Washington DC. Sloe berries are also called blackthorn berries...grow on bushes/small trees...very dense wood. Berries are round very dark black-blue...very tard...one usually waits after the first frost to pick 'em. It's an aquired taste :) I really miss'em

Answer: i just ordered plants for my yard at http://www.ediblelandscaping.com/ They are in Virginia. You could do a nice day trip to this nursery. They have great stuff. I ordered all kinds of berries and they arrived a couple of days ago in EXCELLENT shape.

Question: How many fruiting plants can you think of that end in 'berry'..? . . For example; Raspberry, Strawberry, Sloe-berry, Loganberry, Etc,....?

Answer: strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, boysenberry, dewberry, elderberry, loganberry, raspberry, Olallieberry, youngberry, Gooseberry, Seaberry, Mulberry, Marionberry, blueberry, Gojiberry, Meongseok Berries, Jul Berries, Seom Berries, Winter Berries, Gom Berries, Maekdo Berries, Jang Berries, Suri Berries, bilberry, huckleberry, cranberry, dingle berry, Acai Berry... .... and of course, Halle Berry, Chuck Berry, and Barry Gibb and Berry Manilow :-)

Question: Why is there such a lack of Sloe berries? Why are there no sloe berries this year in the south of County Down?

Answer: Sloe berries are not really in season until the first frosts of the winter occur so you will have to wait a while longer to go out and pick them. Be careful though if you pick them yourself as they have very nasty thorns on the bushes.

Question: Can you freeze Sloe berries? If you have a little too many Sloes, can you freeze the excess? and for how long? I am making Sloe Vodka for the first time - so any advice /and recipes gratefully received.

Answer: When you freeze anything that contains moisture---and every fruit and vegetable on Earth contains lots of moisture---the water within the cells freezes before anything else does, and the resultant ice crystals puncture/damage the cell walls. In other words, freezing raw berries (or fruit or vegetable of any type) will make it soggy when it thaws. The only way around this is by using the individual quick freezing method (IQF). This is what they do to successfully freeze the berries (strawberries, etc) you find in the freezer at the supermarket. Super-low temperatures are used, plus a convection fan further decreases the temperature of the air that comes in contact with the fruit. The result is fruit (whole or pieces) that loses very little of its integrity. Unfortunately, this process can't be duplicated in a home freezer. Since you're going to be distilling from the berries anyway, letting them become soft won't hurt your process. If you plan on sweetening the berries before you use them, add the sugar and freeze the berries that way. If you want to preserve as much juice inside the berries as possible, seal them inside a zip-top plastic bag (squeeze out as much air as possible), and freeze them that way.

Question: Is it too early to pick sloe berries as they seem early this year? Want to make sloe gin,but don't want to pick them too early nor too late that I miss them at their best!..

Answer: Here in Norfolk the sloes are just ripening now. Early or late it doesnt really matter, if they are soft enough when you chew one for the flesh to come off the stone then they are ready to make gin with. I usually make around six pints every year.

Question: Where can you get blackthorn (sloe) berries in California? Wikipedia has an article on making sloe gin, but I can't find any information on where one buys these berries. Thanks in advance for your help

Answer: If you are looking to find it wild you will not find it growing in most of California. The fruit is part of the prune family and it requires frost for it to bear fruit. You could try a grocery store or a specialty store (like whole foods). I do not think you will find the fruit online as there would be problems with shipping fruit to individuals.

Question: How do you make Sloe Gin? OK, I have a bottle of Gin, do I now just drank half, and top it up with the Sloe berries I've collected from Blackthorn bushes? Surely there's some more detail e.g. do I prick the berries to puncture the surface, how much sugar to add, any other flavour enhancing tips? How long to ferment?

Answer: Sloe Gin Recipe Pick your sloes from blackthorn hedges in October or November when they are most ripe - probably after the first frosts. Take a litre bottle of gin, and drink half a litre Cut or prick the sloes and drop into the half-empty bottle so that they displace the remaining gin to near the top. Add one wine goblet of sugar (approx 150g). All you have to do now is turn or agitate the bottle daily for a week, then weekly for a month or two ... by which time it will be ready to drink (but it is really best kept until the next winter). I got this from http://www.sloe.biz/

Question: Where to find sloe berries in NYC? Where can I find fresh sloe berries in the New York City area? (Or can I order them somewhere and have them shipped?)

Answer: Sloe berries here in UK are a self-picking enterprise. This year's local crop in the woods at the top of my lane are very poor - don't know why, because everything else is in glut, including my apples, which are now laying on the ground ready to be turned into cider. Yeah, I know, the following may not be much help, especially if you want to make your own sloe-gin in time for Christmas. eG Forums -> sloe ginFrom: New York, New York Member No.: 8505. The only real commercial sloe gin (which is to say, lightly sweetened gin infused with sloe berries) of which I ... http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=106139 sloe gin: Definition and Much More from Answers.comSloe gin is a red colored liqueur flavored with sloe berries, the fruit of the .... Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina ... http://www.answers.com/topic/sloe-gin Bartender Bulletin BoardsCity: New York State (Country): NY Date: Thursday, September 18, .... such as Sloe Gin made by steeping sloe berries in the gin and using less of the other ... http://www.bartender.com/cgi-bin/newgb.cgi?gin.cfg Blackthorn Wear a protective amulet with the Blackthorn ogham, sloe berries, or a blackthorn .... The Wisdom of Trees, by Jane Gifford, Sterling Publishing, New York, ... http://www.druidry.org/obod/trees/blackthorn.html My Notes: I'd very much like to know what our ancestors were doing with sloes here in UK. About 20 years ago someone found a large pit inside an Iron Age hill fort here in southern England. This pit was full of sloe berry stones. Don't tell me; we were eating sloe berry pie! Have you ever eaten a sloe berry? Don't even think of it! You need guts of iron.

Question: When do I pick sloe berries for my gin? Hi, I live in clacton on sea, essex. I want to make my own sloe gin but dont know when to pick the berries! they look as if they are ripe for picking now thanks

Answer: Pick them after the first frost in the autumn. Some prick each berry with a pin, I recommend mashing them to a pulp. Do you want edible sloes (prick with pin, and keep to eat after you drain the gin) or more flavor in your gin (mash, strain the gin after you're done, and toss the pulp). Put sloe berries in a jar, put in twice as much sugar as sloe berries, add your gin. Store in a dark cupboard for a couple of months, shake them whenever you think of it. Strain and enjoy. Good luck.

Question: What do sloe berries look like? i want to know colours, what colour when ripe ect.

Answer: a lot of these descriptions are right, but watch out for the 'bloom' on them, they are shiny and purple when unripe, developing a whitish bloom on them as they get ripe. They are always very hard unlike a plum which gets softer as it ripens, so it can be hard to tell when ripe. The are tiny, about the size of your smallest fingernail. The blackthorn has nasty spiky thorns, so your hands get stabbed when you are picking them, in my part of UK late October is when they ripen, just as early winter frosts start biting. When using, its a great idea to throw a bag full into the freezer for a couple of days, then defrost before preparing, this is to imitate the old wives tale that you shouldnt pick them before the first frosts, as this helps tenderise them. In my neighbourhood, you have to be sly to get out picking before all the other sloe lovers, and some years the birds get them first. The only thing you can do with them is make Sloe Gin, slow to make, fast to drink. You leave the sloes in the bottle, after drinking the sloe gin, some people make sloe sherry from the leftovers, that is a double whammy! PS if you can eat them raw, that is not a sloe, its a damson, slightly bigger than a sloe, but also quite bitter

Question: What can I do with sloe berries? I do not want to make wine from them as I havnt enough time on my hands.?

Answer: gin???

Question: What do sloe berries look like? I want to make sloe gin.?

Answer: Sloe Berries are derived from the Blackthorn Tree which is a deciduous tree with leaves that turn yellow in autumn, fall off in winter and leave behind a twisted black skeleton. Blackthorn Trees are found throughout the British Isles. Medicinally, Sloe Berries have been used since the Mesolithic and Iron Age periods (8000 - 2700 BC) and were part of the early man's diet. Sloe Berries are very tonic bitters that are astringent. They help to stimulate the metabolism, cleanse the blood, and act as a laxative and diuretic. They also help with indigestion, eczema, herpes, allergies, colds, catarrh, neurosis, weak heart, kidney stones, skin ailments, bladder infections and problems with the prostate gland.

Question: Is this sloe / blackthorn berries? (pic)? http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g222/Suzy-Lee_2006/DSC00085.jpg there's a plant growing out the front of our place, i think (and am hoping) its sloe, because i want to make sloe gin. so anyway, about the plant, its a bush, about 2/3 feet high, pretty leafey and theres alot of the berries on it. The berries are hard, not much flesh on them, and contain a large seed. I've tasted a few, and they don't have much flavour, just a general 'planty' bitterness. i can't find much thorns on the bush, as i thought blackthorn had thorns, so this is what makes me think its not sloe berries. Also, here in the southern hemisphere, i think its the right time for sloe to be fruiting. (...its pretty much the middle of winter.) so yeah, is this sloe? http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g222/Suzy-Lee_2006/DSC00085.jpg thanks.

Answer: indian hawthorn?

Question: red vodka made with sloe-berries? used to drink it neat,its not the strongest but gorgeous its a bit thicker than ordinary spirits, cant find it in britain can anybody help me? had it in Greece .One brand was "Urssus"

Answer: Go out and pick your own sloes, there are plenty about in the UK and they are ready now. The most common drink in the 40s was sloe gin, 3/4 a pint of gin, fill the rest of the bottle with sloes and mature, ready for Christmas.

Question: how to make sloe gin with dried sloe berrys?

Answer: Freeze the berries. Loosen them and mix them in jar with equal proportion of gin and sugar. Seal the jar. Shake it daily for a couple of month. Strain. Bottle. Enjoy!

Question: Can anyone tell me how to make sloe gin...? I`ve found some sloe berries growing down the canal .. lol

Answer: Pick the berries after the first hard frost of autumn. The traditional way of making it is to prick each berry with a pin, put in a jar, add twice as much sugar as berries, top with gin, store in a dark cupboard for a couple of months, shake whenever you think of it. With this you can save the berries to eat. I recommend bruising the berries to a pulp and straining and discarding the pulp when you are done for more intense flavor. Good luck and enjoy.

Question: i want to make sloe gin? i want to make my own sloe gin this year, in time for xmas. when do i pick the berries? do i just sling them into a bottle of gin and let them release the flavour that way? also, can i just eat the sloe berries from the tree raw, or is this not safe? is there anything else inventive i can do with sloes?

Answer: Sloe gin Makes 1 litre/1¾ pint Preparation time overnight Cooking time no cooking required Ingredients 450g/1lb sloes 225g/8oz caster sugar 1 litre/1¾ pint gin Method 1. Prick the tough skin of the sloes all over with a clean needle and put in a large sterilised jar. 2. Pour in the sugar and the gin, seal tightly and shake well. 3. Store in a cool, dark cupboard and shake every other day for a week. Then shake once a week for two months. 4. The sloe gin will now be a beautiful dark red and ready to drink, although it will still improve with keeping. 5. Variation: make blackberry brandy in the same way, substituting blackberries for the sloes and brandy for the gin. Blackberries do not need pricking.