The Field Guideby Moss & MarrowThe Field Guideby Moss & Marrow
Also called sleedoornbessen, blackthorn.
In the Netherlands, sloes are in season October to December, at their best in October and November. Sloes are in season now, in November, and this is the peak.
Sloes ripen on the blackthorn in October and are best after the first frost, which softens them. Too sour to eat raw. In the Netherlands you may pick small amounts for your own use in most forests and along most paths, about a punnet's worth, and never dig up roots or bulbs. Nature reserves, dune areas and many Natuurmonumenten and Staatsbosbeheer sites forbid it, and the sign at the entrance is the rule that counts. Commercial picking is forbidden everywhere.
Small, dusty blue-black fruit on thorny bushes in hedges and dunes. Soft to the thumb after frost, or freeze them overnight to mimic it.
Vitamin C, tannins and anthocyanins.
To get the most: The tannins are the astringency; frost and steeping tame them, nothing else needs doing.
Content per NEVO, the Dutch food composition database. This describes what the food contains, not what it does for you.
Prick and steep in gin or genever with sugar for three months, or cook into a jelly.
Sloes are picked, not bought. The Field Guide lists producers, so it has no entries for a wild food; the page is here so the season and the rules are in one place. Elsewhere on the site, the map shows the farms and shops near you.
Dates read on 2026-10-12. If a window on this page is wrong, tell us with a source.
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A free list of what’s in season this month, then one slow email a month with seasonal tips and goodies.