Sloe

Prunus spinosa

fruit

Small drupes 6 to 15 mm across, purple-black with a bloom, of the blackthorn, a thorny hedgerow bush, very sharp; picked bletted, after the frosts. They provide anthocyanins and tannins.

Origin

Hedgerows of Europe

Season (United States)

October to November

Preparation

The stone is left, and its kernel is not crunched. Its tannins hold back plant iron: better away from an iron-rich meal than during it.

Molecules

AnthocyaninsWhat slows things down Tannins (iron brake)

Did you know?

It flavours Basque patxaran and other liqueurs; the bush is also called blackthorn, and its sloes are called plosses in southern Burgundy.