The sloe is a dusty fellow, not especially prepossessing to look at, but combined with gin and left to seep into sugar, it is transformed into a claret liquid that tastes sublime.
Gather them around the last week of September, when the fruit gives to a squeeze, but hasn't yet grown leathery. You'll need to spend a good twenty minutes on the forage to get 500g worth of them, sufficient to add to a litre of gin and 300g of caster sugar.
Wash, dry and freeze them overnight, to replicate the first frost, then divide the sloes, gin and sugar in half and place in two large kilner jars, storing in a cool dark place, giving them an occasional shake. Don't do as I did and try to bottle them straight away (narrow necks and fat sloes make for hard work) and resist the urge to sample it till Christmas. The more you forage, the more you can make and then give away as a perfect present...
GOODBYE BLACKBERRY LANE
For most of us, this is the gateway to foraging. The rewards are delicious and immediate, nearly every town or village has some likely looking brambles and even the most kitchen-shy amongst us will happily knock up a blackberry crumble.
There are recipes all across the web for ways with blackberries, so don't just crumble the little fellows - try making a cordial (delicious with prosecco), a fruit leather or fruit pastille, a jam, a jelly or just scatter a handful on top of a chocolate sponge, making an autumnal answer to summer's ubiquitous combination of strawberry and Victoria Sponge.
