What to forage in November - Sloes

Now is the perfect time to pick blackthorn/sloes for making into sloe gin. The frost will have softened the skin slightly, unfortunately they are still as lip puckeringly sour. Recipes vary from half the weight of sugar to sloes to a more reasonable couple of spoonfuls (remember its easier to make it sweeter than less so later on). Stab the fruit (in revenge perhaps) put in a wide necked bottle add sugar to taste and fill up with gin. The longer you leave it to infuse the better.

Remember to wear stout gloves as the thorns are strong enough to puncture tractor tyres, but the idea that a scratch from a blackthorn is more likely to become infected than other kinds of trees is a myth.

The leftover fruit from a empty bottle are delicious dipped in chocolate.