Harvest sloes »Valuable harvest tips

Ancestor of the plums

The fruits and foliage of the blackthorn look like miniature versions of the plum, which was bred by humans by crossing the sloe with cherry plums. In contrast to their big brothers, however, the small fruits taste very sour and leave an unpleasant furry feeling in the mouth when consumed raw.

Father Frost softens the taste

The aroma of the stone fruits becomes a little milder and more aromatic if you pick them after the first frost at the end of November to the beginning of December. The sub-zero temperatures make the cell walls of the sloe more permeable and the starch contained in the fruits is converted into sugar.

When is the sloe ripe?

The small fruits have reached optimum ripeness when the skin is deeply colored blue-black up to the base of the stem. If you don't want to wait until the first frost to harvest, now is the right time to pick the stone fruits. This ensures that the delicious little berries have not already been harvested by the birds and that you can hardly find any fruit left.

Spiked delicacy

Picking sloes can be a bit of a challenge. The blackthorn is well protected by the long, very sharp spines and the small drupes have to be picked individually from the branch. Wear sturdy gloves and a jacket when harvesting so that you do not injure yourself on the spines.

Collect the delicious fruits in an air-permeable basket and process them as quickly as possible. This way, the sloes don't get wrinkled or start to spoil. Wild fruits do not get along well with plastic bags - this also applies to wild fruits such as barberries or elder. Unless the recipe requires otherwise, remove the large core of the fruit before further processing, as it is Traces of hydrogen cyanide contains.

Tips & Tricks

Always pick wild sloes away from busy roads and sprayed fields. Do not “poach” in nature reserves. Harvesting the sloe is prohibited here, as the delicious fruits serve as valuable food for numerous bird species in the cold season.

SKb