Sloe jam

One part of the forest has a number of sloe bushes (wild plum), and had fruited very well. The fruit is sour and sweet with a mild astringent taste. Traditionally sloe is used to infuse Gin to make Sloe Gin.

 I picked a bag and mixed in 1/4 brown sugar and a big pinch of salt. It is not a juicy fruit, and does not need cooking to thicken it like making other jams. I leave it for a couple of days to extract the deep red colour from the skin, then scrap the mixture through a fine sieve to get the stones out.