Lately my foraging habits have taken a huge shift.  I’ve gone from having my eyes to the ground as I search for plants, wild herbs, flowers and of course, roots, to keeping head up as I hunt for berries.

The lovely thing about foraging, is that the seasons keep you on your toes, constantly providing new, exciting things to look for.  You would think that November wouldn’t have that much going on, as the cold snap makes its mark, but there are treasures in the trees and shrubs that can be used for medicinal purposes, for jams and jellies and (my favourite) for boozy treats.

And with boozy treats in mind, my eyes have been peeled for sloes. The bountiful fruit of the Blackthorn Tree (or shrub), sloes look remarkably similar to blueberries, but definitely aren’t the type of berries you want to add to your morning porridge. 

The flavour of a raw sloe berry is incredibly sharp and will quickly dry out your mouth. Plus, they contain a slight level of hydrogen cyanide, so although a berry or two won’t cause you much distress, higher doses can have toxic effects.

When prepared carefully, sloes have lots of fantastic health benefits that make them well worth dodging the prickly thorns as you forage.  In fact, every part of the Blackthorn tree comes with its own special job. 

The flowers can be made into a tea, which when gargled can help relieve a sore throat and when drank, can help purify and cleanse the blood.

The pulp of sloe berries can be used for a really effective face mask that aids skin elasticity and helps you look younger. A tea made with an infusion of Blackthorn bark adds vitality to your life, relieving fatigue and is believed to help calm nerves.

Each year, I use my foraged Sloes for homemade Sloe Gin. An infusion of the berries with bog-standard gin, this recipe takes about 6 months to infuse, but believe me, it’s definitely worth the wait!