Natural form

Ripe sloe berries and wild plums clustered on thorny blackthorn branches in autumn.

Shows the fruit's distinctive blue-black color, waxy bloom, small size, and thorny wild habitat so readers can identify it at source.

Produce

Wild Plum (Sloe)

Small, sharply tart wild plums and sloes used for jams, jellies, sauces, and infusing sloe gin.

Wild plums, including the small blue-black sloe of the blackthorn, are tart, astringent fruits too sour to eat raw. They are cooked with sugar into jams, jellies, and sauces, and sloes are famously steeped in gin to make sloe gin after the first frost softens them. Their high acidity and tannin give preserves a deep color and bright, puckering flavor.

Wild plums and sloes are among the most intensely flavored of all foraged fruits—small, deeply colored drupes that grow on thorned hedgerow shrubs and wild trees across temperate regions. The sloe is the fruit of blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) in Europe; North American wild plums belong to several Prunus species, with P. americana being the most widely gathered. Raw, these fruits are startlingly tart and astringent—mouth-puckering enough that few eat them fresh off the tree. But cook them, and the transformation is dramatic: high pectin and tannin translate into extraordinary setting power and a rich, wine-like depth that few cultivated plums can match. The blackthorn's long, fierce thorns make identification straightforward in the wild, and the fruit clings on the tree well into late autumn, often harvested after frost has done its sweetening work. For the preserving cook, this is a gift: a fruit that requires little or no added pectin to set a jewel-colored jam, that seasons game like nothing else, and that makes the most distinctive gin infusion in the Western tradition.

Measured in: g
Storage: Fridge

Types & varieties

European Sloe (Prunus spinosa)

The classic sloe from blackthorn; very small, deeply colored, intensely flavored; the benchmark for sloe gin and preserves

Bullace

A variant of P. spinosa with slightly larger, rounder fruit; can be yellow, green, or damson-purple; noticeably sweeter when fully ripe

American Wild Plum (P. americana)

Larger than European sloes (2–3 cm); deep red to yellow flesh; less astringent; excellent for preserves, pies, and fresh eating when ripe

Flatwood Plum (P. umbellata)

Small, clingstone wild plum of the southeastern US; very tart even when ripe; prized by foragers for its intense flavor

Common uses

Sloe gin and sloe vodka infusions—the most iconic applicationJams and jellies with natural set; high pectin ensures firm results without commercial pectinGame sauces, classically paired with venison, duck, pheasant, and wild boarChutneys and savory compotes for cheese boards and cold meatsFruit syrups and cordialsBrandied or rum-topped preparations; sloes macerated in spirits keep indefinitelyMixed fruit pies and tarts; traditional with Bramley apple in British bakingGlazes for ham, gammon, and roasted pork

Tips & pitfalls

Freeze fruit overnight before processing—the cold breaks down cell walls, dramatically reducing astringency and making sugar adjustments easier
Harvest by spreading a tarp beneath the tree and shaking branches; blackthorn thorns make hand-picking painfully slow and often results in damaged fruit
Do not wait for overripe sloes—they should be fully colored but still firm; unlike many fruits, sloes do not continue to ripen significantly off the tree
For whole-fruit spirit infusions, prick each fruit several times with a needle rather than halving—halving extracts bitter tannins from the stone and skin, while pricking gives cleaner, more concentrated fruit results
When making preserves, simmer whole fruit with a splash of water until skins split, then strain through a jelly bag for clear results; resist the urge to push pulp through
Do not overcook jam—excessive heat darkens color and degrades flavor; work in small batches and test set frequently
The kernel inside the stone has a faint bitter-almond flavor and contains trace amygdalin; safe in small culinary quantities but should not be eaten in quantity or given to children

Nutrition

91kcal

Energy

381 kJ · per 100 g

Where the calories come from

Protein 2%Carbs 96%Fat 2%

Protein

0.4g

1% DV

Carbs

22g

8% DV

Fat

0.2g

0% DV

Fiber

21% DV

Sugars

10.6g

of which

Sodium

4mg

0% DV

Notable micronutrients

Vitamin A19% DV

Vitamin C11% DV

Vitamin K9% DV

Potassium8% DV

Vitamin B65% DV

Vitamin E4% DV

Source · USDA FoodData Central · Plums, wild (Northern Plains Indians)

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In the shops

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Good to know

Scientific name: Prunus spinosa (European sloe); Prunus americana (American wild plum)
Origin: Native to Europe, naturalized across temperate regions; North American species native to eastern and central US
Season: Late summer through late autumn; best after first frost (September–November)
Size: European sloes 1–2 cm diameter; American wild plums 2–3 cm, slightly larger
Color: Deep blue-purple to black with a distinctive dusty whitish bloom on the skin
Flavor raw: Sharp tartness and significant astringency; rarely eaten fresh; mouth-puckering
Flavor cooked: Sweetens considerably; develops rich, jammy, wine-like depth
Key characteristic: High pectin and tannin content; sets jams reliably without added pectin
Storage: Refrigerate fresh fruit up to 5 days; better frozen or processed immediately after harvest
Yield: Approximately 1 kg whole fruit yields 600–700 g pitted flesh

Substitutes

Damson plum — The closest cultivated substitute; slightly larger with similar tartness and high pectin; works in all applications, though flavor is marginally less intense
Blackthorn berry — Same fruit as sloe; the UK common name for Prunus spinosa fruit harvested from the blackthorn tree
Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas) — Small, tart, ruby-colored fruit with comparable texture and tartness; excellent jam fruit, though less astringent than true sloes

Pairs with

VenisonPork and hamBramley apple Dark chocolateGin and geneverStar anise and cinnamonAlmond and marzipanSoft ripened cheese

Also called

Sloe · Blackthorn Plum · Bullace · Wild Plum