How to make Sloe Cordial
Sloe Cordial is a non-alcoholic cordial that is easy to make with foraged sloe berries. It is not too sweet and makes a great gift for Christmas or at any time of year.
Why should I make Sloe Cordial?
Sloe Cordial is a non-alcoholic alternative to Sloe Gin and it is much more versatile. Sloe Gin is a popular alcoholic drink to make with sloes and the one that most people know about. The method to make Sloe Gin is similar to this Hedgerow Vodka recipe.
The big advantage with Sloe Cordial is that you can mix it with water or soft drinks or add alcohol if you wish. It’s a great way for everyone to enjoy a sloe drink.
What are Sloes?
Sloes are the fruit of the Blackthorn. The blackthorn is a small thorny native tree that has white flowers in spring followed by oval back fruits. Blackthorn has fierce spines and was a popular hedging plant but most hedges in Scotland are now hawthorn. I guard the one stretch of old blackthorn hedge on our farm which provides me with sloes each year.
Sloes are quite difficult to see on the hedge and I often find that there are more there than it seems. Use a pair of tough gardening gloves to pick the sloes to avoid being jabbed by the thorns! The raw sloe fruits are very sour and have a large stone compared to the size of the fruit.
When do I pick sloes for Sloe Cordial?
Sloes are usually ripe from the end of September. The sloes should be firm, not soft and dark purple in colour with a white bloom Sloes become sweeter and the skins softer after the first frost. If you can’t wait, then create your own frost by freezing the whole sloes. It’s a great way to store them and you can use them straight from frozen or let them defrost, depending on what you are making.
What kind of sugar do I use to make Sloe Cordial?
I use ordinary white granulated sugar to make the cordial. Do not use brown sugar as this will change the taste of the cordial.
Why add lemon juice?
Although the sloes are sharp-tasting, the lemon juice provides a fresh taste and adds to the flavour of the cordial. It also helps to reduce the growth of bacteria, however, if you sterilise your bottles that shouldn’t be a problem.
Can I use the sloes from my sloe gin to make sloe cordial?
I do not recommend using sloes from sloe gin to make cordial. The flavour from the sloes has already been infused into the gin and there will not be enough flavour for the cordial.
If you do try this, please be aware that even after you boil it, the cordial will retain some alcohol and should not be served to children or anyone driving.
What does Sloe Cordial taste like?
It’s quite hard to describe the taste, but the cordial tastes a little bit like blackberries and a little bit like plums or damsons. Despite the sugar in the cordial, it does not taste overly sweet. This makes it a great alternative drink for adults.
Sloe Cordial will also taste a little different depending on what you use to mix with it.
How much Sloe Cordial will I make with this recipe?
This recipe makes approximately 750ml of Sloe Cordial. This will vary slightly depending on the sloes you use and the cooking time.
How do I sterilise the glass bottles?
I sterilise my glass bottles, jam jars, and metal lids by thoroughly washing and rinsing them. Put them, still wet, upside down or on their sides, onto a baking tray. I then put the tray with the glass in the oven at 120C just before I start to make the cordial. The water creates steam which helps to sterilise the jars. I take them out of the oven and fill them with the warm cordial, then seal the lids.
If you would like to know more about other methods of sterilising jars and bottles then Tin & Thyme has a comprehensive guide to sterilising jars and lids.
What kind of glass bottles can I use?
I use glass bottles that have a clip-on top with a rubber seal. I take the metal frame and stopper off and sterilse those in a jug with boiling water while the bottles sterilise in the oven, as described above.
If I don’t have that kind of bottle, I recycle cordial bottles I have bought with cordial in them from Belvoir or Bottle Green. Wash them thoroughly and sterilise as above.
How do I strain the sloes?
- Cover a sieve or colander with muslin, a jelly bag or a new, clean pair of tights.
- Place the covered sieve or colander over a bowl or wide jug.
- Use a ladle to move the sloe mixture and liquid into the muslin.
- Leave the mixture to drain through for several hours or overnight.
How do I calculate how much sugar to use?
Pour the strained liquid into a measuring jug and weigh out 80 grams of sugar for every 100 ml of liquid. This will ensure that you have the correct ratio of sugar to liquid.
How do I serve Sloe Cordial?
Serve the sloe cordial over lots of ice and slices of lime or lemon. In my photographs put a few sloes onto a cocktail stick just for fun. Don’t eat them raw as they are not nice to eat, alternatively, you could use blueberries as a garnish and you can certainly eat those. Pair it with non-alcoholic mixers such as:
- Water
- Sparkling (carbonated) Water
- Tonic Water
- Soda Water
- Lemonade (7 Up/Sprite)
Sloe Cordial is also excellent mixed with alcoholic drinks such as;
- Gin
- Vodka
- White Wine
- Prosecco
More Hedgerow Recipes
Sloe Cordial
Equipment
- large pan
- Lemon squeezer
- wooden spoon
- Potato masher
- measuring jug
- weighing scales
- Muslin or clean pair of tights
- Large bowl
- Glass bottles with lids
Ingredients
- 1 kg (4½ cups) Sloes
- 1 litre (4 cups) Water
- 1 (1) Lemon juice
- 600 grams (2¾ cups) Granulated Sugar (approximately) 80g per 100ml liquid
Instructions
- 1 kg Sloes, 1 Lemon, 1 litre WaterPut the Sloes, water and lemon juice in a large pan.
- Bring the sloes, water and lemon juice to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Break up the cooked sloes with a wooden spoon or potato masher, don’t bother about the stones as they will be sieved out later.
- Simmer for a further 10 minutes.
- Pour the mixture through a sieve. If you want your cordial to be clear you should line your sieve with muslin and don't push the pulp through.
- Measure the juice to calculate the amount of sugar required (80g per 100 ml)
- 600 grams Granulated Sugar (approximately)Clean the pan and pour the juice back in, add the sugar and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved.
- Bring to the boil and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Cool and bottle in sterilised bottles.
- Serve over ice with your choice of mixer.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was first published in November 2013.
Love the idea of Sloe cordial Janice. As a fan of sloe gin, this would be delicious I'm sure!
Lovely idea and recipe too Janice I shall look forward very much to Santa bringing me a bottle, cheers!
What a wonderful idea, gorgeous colour too! I'm sure we would guzzle lots of it down too x
Lovely gift idea. I'll give it a try.
What a lovely idea for a gift and such pretty bottles:-)
Your bottles look so pretty Janice and the colour of the sloe syrup is wonderful. Such a good idea to make this. Sadly I didn't get to pick any this year, so no sloe gin or even syrup for me.
This is a must have!!! I made the cordial last night from sloes picked and frozen last autumn, and from a kilo I had a little over one litre of gorgeously deep coloured very fruity and strong cordial.
Thank you Janice for sharing this receipe.
That's so good to hear steffi, enjoy
Must try this can you substitute honey for the sugar, and how long will the sloe cordial keep?
I'm not sure about with honey, but the batch I made was still good after a year, kept in a dark cupboard.
Think I might try this this autumn, have made Sloe gin but think I’d get more use from this
It is a really useful cordial.
Hi Fred,
I know it is a lot of sugar, but sloes are very bitter and the cordial should diluted 10 – 1. It didn’t taste over sweet to me when I made it. I’ve checked a few other recipes and for bitter hedgerow fruits, they often go for equal weight fruits to sugar e.g. 350g fruits, 350g sugar and a litre of water. I can’t guarantee this would work with the sloes, but it might be worth a try if you want to reduce the sugar.
When you follow this recipe correctly (sterilise bottles, etc.) how long is the shelf life of the product? Weeks? Months?
Hi Mel, the Sloe cordial will last up to a year, unopened in sterilised sealed bottles. Store them in a cool dark place. Janice
Hi, I’ve just made my first batch and it looks great. Could you please tell me how long I should leave it before trying any or is it ready straight away? Thank you so muxh for the recipe ?
Thanks, Rowena. You can use the cordial straight away. I hope you enjoy it.
Thank you
Great recipe, we made this in addition to sloe gin as the kids didn’t want to be left out…we all loved it with fizzy water and have just picked more for a second batch!
That’s great to hear, Natasha. I’m glad your kids enjoyed the cordial.
Thanks for the recipe. Only had 500g sloes so have put it into 1 bottle, just made. How long will it keep once used? Should I keep it in the fridge?
Looking forward to tasting!
Hi Jenny, once you’ve opened the bottle I would keep it in the fridge. It should last 2-3 weeks in the fridge. Enjoy!
Hi- have just made cordial using sloes left over after making gin! Had to decrease the sugar as felt would be too sweet. Would this be ok now to give to a six year old as I take it the gin off the sloes would have gone now with the boiling?
How long can the cordial be kept for?
Hi Kristie
I haven’t tried using sloe gin sloes to make the cordial, so can’t really comment on this alternative. I looked up burning off alcohol and found the following on BBC. trust me I’m a Doctor
“The boiling point of alcohol is just 78 degrees Celsius, so we tend to think that as we cook it, the alcohol evaporates, leaving us to enjoy the flavour of the drink without becoming tipsy. However, a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reported that a surprising amount of alcohol can still be found in our food after cooking.
The study found that adding alcohol to a hot liquid for a short time before serving, as you might with mussels in a white wine and garlic sauce, could leave as much as 85% of the alcohol in the finished dish. With flambéing, though it looks as though the alcohol is burning off, the study found that a surprising75% of it remained in the meal.
The least boozy cooking methods were found to be baking or simmering – the researchers found that doing either for 30 minutes left just over a third of the original alcohol behind, and that after 2 hours this was reduced to approximately 10%.”
Because of this information I would not recommend giving sloe cordial made with gin sloes to a child. I hope that helps.
In terms of the time the cordial will keep, if made according to the recipe and using sterilised and sealed bottles, the cordial will keep for up to 3 months unopened. After opening store in the fridge for one to two weeks.
Hi, I’m hoping to give this sloe cordial a try this year and was wondering if I could leave out the lemon or replace it with something else.. I suffer with migraines and one of my triggers is citrus so I try to avoid where I can. I was thinking maybe citric acid instead.
Thank you for your amazing recipes
Hi Janet
I haven’t tried making the cordial without lemon, but it’s not like jam where you need the lemon for pectin. The Sloe Cordial should be fine without the lemon.
as a gin hater, I always feel a bit left out in sloe season so this might be just the tonic. Except not with tonic because I don’t like that either!!!
You are my perfect audience then, and tonic is not compulsory!
I love sloe gin so this is on my list to make. Such a beautiful colour and I can’t wait to taste it.
Thank you, Cat. I hope you enjoy it.
ive never made sloe gin and not heard of sloe cordial before but it sounds like a great idea. Now I just need to find a sloe bush or two as I would love to make this.
Thanks, Jacqui. I think you would enjoy the cordial, it’s not too sweet and and really refreshing.
My syrup turned up quite astringent. It makes my mouth dry even when mixed with plenty of water. Any ideas what is the problem?
Sorry to hear that, Liz. It isn’t a super sweet syrup I can only suggest that you try mixing it with something like lemonade or try adding a few drops of vanilla extract which can soften the taste. It may be that the very warm summer has made the sloes this way. It’s really hard to know.
could you infuse cinnamon sticks or cloves to make this a more festive cordial? thinking it may be nice with bubbly over the festive season?
Hi John
Yes, I don’t see any reason why not. It’s not something I’ve tried so I can’t guarantee the results but it sounds like a good combination.