Sloes are not just for gin. Although sloe gin is one of my favourite drinks and picking sloes and making it is a yearly ritual. Every time I pick sloes I do wonder who persevered and found ways of making these bitter tannic berries edible. And I am grateful.
Sloe syrup is a quick win, very easy to make and can be added to wine or champagne making a hedgerow Kir, or to cakes and to flavour ice cream.
It’s a great idea to identify the white blossom in spring, and make a note of where the trees are for harvest in autumn.
Table of Contents
Preserving Sloe Syrup
Update August 2020 – I’ve had several questions about preserving sloe syrup and I think (but haven’t tested) the best way would be to use a Campden tablet to stop and fermentation or mould growth.
You need to crush, dissolve the tablet and then add to each bottle. See my Elderflower Cordial post for full details of how to use Campden tablets.
Sloe Syrup - Harvesting the Blackthorn
Ingredients
Equal quantities of:
- 450 g sugar
- 1 L sloes
- 1 L water
Instructions
- Simply place all the ingredients into a saucepan and gently simmer for about 40 minutes until the sloes have burst and you have a beautiful deep purple syrup.
- Pass through a metal sieve and then strain again through a cheese cloth. Keep in the fridge and use within a week, or freeze.
Jude - A Trifle Rushed
It looks heavenly!
Helen
thank you Jude.
Urvashi
So lovely. I looooove sloes and this syrup sounds delightful
Helen
Make some! More recipes using the syrup coming soon!
Katie
What a wonderfully simple recipe! I love the bottle – that’d make a lovely gift :-) I’ve got some sloes in the freezer and reckon I might just have to do this one… just so I can make cocktails with it!!!!
Helen
Thanks Katie! More sloe recipes soon.
Deena Kakaya
Helen that’s just stunning. When food is that rich in colour, it becomes all the more alluring. I reckon your recipe would make for wonderful Christmas gifts. I’m looking forward to the ice cream now! X
Jen @ Blue Kitchen Bakes
Yum yum yum! Love sloe gin and adding a sloe syrup to champagne sounds amazing
Helen
It works quite well, although I think cava would be just as good!
Antonia
Who knew that sloes had another use besides gin?! Not sure if I will persuade the husband to part with any of his precious sloes but I can imagine this would be delicious.
Monica Shaw
I love that your sloe creations are made with sloes from the farm. Orchard Cottage in a bottle.
Helen
Love to know where stuff comes from….
anna @ annamayeveryday
I love sloe gin, so warming and delicious. I mix it with prosecco for my Christmas cocktail, a Sloe Vespa!!
Andrew Roberts
I increased the sugar to 1kg to improve the keeping quality and put the result in sterilised bottles. I’ll leave it for a couple of months to mature as the initial result is very tannic, which usually goes away after a while in storage.
Choclette
Lovely idea. If ever I manage to pick sloes I make gin, but this looks to be a good alternative and that’s a fantastic photo you’ve created Helen. Looks like a book cover.
Helen
Thank you Chocolette. I was delighted with the photo. Was away from home and had a very very well lit room with the table in just the perfect place.
James
I was surprised to find there are still some sloes today (Nov 2nd) here in Sussex, and so plump and juicy you could almost mistake them for damsons. I made your syrup. It’s pretty good, but I think it can be improved by a squeeze or two of lemon juice. But the main problem I’ve had is that it’s really quite tannic, and it coats your teeth and tongue. I don’t know if that’s due to the recipe, or maybe because the sloes are very late in the season. Maybe I’ll stick to sloe vodka in the future. Thank you anyway for sharing this recipe.
Helen
I made it very late in the season James, and it was tannic but not unpleasantly so. I’d certainly recommend that you try the ice cream recipe with it. That was delicious.
Janet
I usually make sloe jelly but love the idea of sloe syrup. How much water and sugar are required?
Helen
Equal weights of each Janet.
DKT
Why does it state ‘use within a week or freeze’? Surely the high sugar content acts as a preservative? Does it mean ‘use within a week of opening’? I want to make it as Christmas gifts but obviously need it to last without being frozen….
Helen
It can still ferment or go mouldy I’ve found, you could try adding Campden tablets, but I’ve not tested this.
Jan Sayward
Hi
If I wanted to keep the syrup longer could I use citric acid, if so what quantities to sugar please?
Helen
Hi Jan, I would use a Campden tablet to preserve. You need to crush it, then dissolve, and measure into each bottle. Full instructions for using Campden tablets are in my elderflower cordial post (https://fussfreeflavours.com/my-midsummer-nights-dream-elderflower-cordial/