Getting harpooned by the huge spikes of the Blackthorn tree is a small price to pay for the reward of a tub full of sloes.

The little black-blue fruits are similar in size and appearance to blueberries but, oh boy, they do not taste anything like them.

They are extremely bitter! So why bother with them then? Because add a bit of gin and sugar and wait a few months they are transformed into delicious sloe gin.

You will be very well received when you turn up with some at friends this Christmas.

The myth says do not pick sloes until after the first frost, but a quick squeeze tells me they are ripe early this year - frost or no frost!

Sloe Gin:

450g/1lb sloes; 225g/8oz caster sugar; 1 litre/1 3⁄4 pint gin

1. Flat freeze sloes to avoid having to prick the skin of each one individually which some recipes

call for, this allows the flavour to leak out while they are sitting in the gin.

2. Put into clean sterilised jar.

3. Pour in sugar and the gin, seal tightly and shake well.

4. Store in a cool place and shake about once a week for at least two months.

5. Strain through a muslin, and then if you want it really clear through a coffee filter as well into a clean sterilised bottle.

Why forage?

Foraging has increased in popularity, not so much out of necessity, as it may have been for our grandparents/parents who would have encountered war shortages, but more that we are much more aware of where our food comes from and we like to use what is local, organic and seasonal. And of course it's free.

Using these together with conventional food ingredients can only enhance our diets.

Of course there are many other lovely things available for us to gather and use from the hedgerows;

Damsons, the plum’s little sister, who’s name originated some 2000 years ago from the Plum of Damascus from where it came. Growing on a thornless bush so much less painful to pick, they are rich in vitamin C and so versatile as they can be used for jams, jelly, crumbles and cobblers or of course, damson brandy.