Hi Val,
What a fantastic crop of sloes this year. As we have plenty of sloe gin I searched for other things to do with sloes and found the following recipe for sloe jelly. I've just made my second batch. It's quite sharp and has an intriguing hedgerow flavour.
1 kg sloes
500g apples
Juice of a lemon
450g sugar for each 600ml of juice
Knick the sloe skins and place in a pan with chopped apples (no need to peel or core). Add cold water to just cover, add the lemon juice. Bring to the boil and simmer for about an hour or until the fruit is tender.
Strain through a jelly bag or cloth (I use a baby muslin) overnight.
Measure the juice and return it to the pan. Add sugar depending on the amount of juice.
Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring to the boil. Boil briskly until setting point is reached. (104 - 107 C or 220 - 222 F) or put a spoon in the freezer, dip it in the jam, after a few minutes the surface of the jam should set and crinkle.
Put the jam into jars, cover, label and finally enjoy on toast, brioche or scones.
Happy jamming,
Jill
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