Lacto-Fermented Apple Sauce

44 Replies

This is my daughters new favorite snack! I’ve been trying to give her more fermented and cultured foods over the last few months. This apple sauce recipe along with full fat yogurt seem to be her favorites.Photobucket

Lacto-Fermented Apple Sauce
Makes 1 quart
6 – 8 medium size apples
2 tablespoons whey or water kefir
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon real sea salt (optional)
raw honey or other natural sweetener to taste (optional)

Method
Core and slice apples. Process apples in food processor until it reaches desired consistency. Add whey, cinnamon, salt, and honey. Blend until smooth. Pour apple sauce into a clean quart size jar (or 2 pint size jars). Leave an inch of space from apple sauce to lid. If you don’t, you may have an explosion! Place in warm place for 3 days. Keep in refrigerator for up to 2 months.

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  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/06964580963048511157 Krista

    Great idea! I do have a question. My daughter is sensitive to dairy, it makes her wheeze. Can I replace whey with water kefir when doing fermentation?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/07349492504771581864 Tiffany – The Coconut Mama

    Krista- I believe you can. Let me know how it turns out!

  • http://www.thehealthyadvocate.com Brandon May

    I just “re-discovered” apple sauce this Thanksgiving, and this gives me a good excuse to make a version packed full of nutrition. So far I've made lacto-fermented ketchup. I love fermenting condiments, but never thought of this.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/06596602094024708943 Farmgirl Cyn

    Dang! Wish I'd have thought of this a few weeks ago when I had 2 bushels of apples! I have been on a fermenting binge, but had never thought of apples. Next year for sure!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/11109113147823332056 Aiming4Simple

    I have never lacto-fermented anything before. Do you think I could add cranberries to this?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/17528474773180610035 Nichol-Doula

    I'm curious, do you have to puree the apples? We like our applesauce chunky. Do you cook the apples? My recipe is to peel and core the apple and slow cook them with just enough water to cover in the crock pot along with 2 cinnamon sticks and honey.
    How could I adapt that to use the fementation?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/18263662955951219442 Rosalyn

    Actually you can use a little sea salt instead of whey. The “lacto” in lacto-fermentation refers not so much to the whey, but to the lactic acid that is produced by enzyme activity (which is why fermentation is good for you).

    I use salt instead of whey in my fermentation and it works great.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/07349492504771581864 Tiffany – The Coconut Mama

    @ Aiming4simple – Yes. I bet that would taste terrific!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/07349492504771581864 Tiffany – The Coconut Mama

    @ Faedemere – You cane use your favorite recipe. Just add the whey at the end and leave it out to ferment for a few days.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/07349492504771581864 Tiffany – The Coconut Mama

    @ Rosalyn – I tried this with salt and it turned out very salty. That is why I went with the whey. You can use whichever method you prefer =)

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/13474327720573682217 totiemotie

    Do you peel your apples first or leave the peel on??

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/07349492504771581864 Tiffany – The Coconut Mama

    @totiemotie – I left the peep on. I like easy =). You can peel yours if you prefer it that way.

  • Wendy

    Oh thank you for this! I am VERY new to the cultured veggie thing and having a difficult time getting my 4 and 6 yy girls to try them…excited to try this! Keep them coming!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/02512910704964512636 Menueys

    Faedemere – I don't think you can cook them and then have them ferment; the lacto bacteria would be dead, right? Or did you mean adapt your recipe to fermentation w/o cooking? Also, not sure about honey w/ lacto ferments?! want to try this but I've only done cabbage and carrots, lol!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/07349492504771581864 Tiffany – The Coconut Mama

    @ Menueys – You can actually ferment cooked food. I ferment my beans and other cooked foods (recipes from Nourishing Traditions). I did wonder if the honey would be okay, so I did some research and looked at other recipes. There's an apple butter recipe in nourishing traditions that calls for raw honey that is fermented. You could omit the honey, or add it after you've fermented the apple sauce if you prefer.

    I think this recipe is more beneficial raw, but it does not have to be raw.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/06964580963048511157 Krista

    Okay, I'm trying this recipe out now, substituting water kefir for the whey. I used about 1/2 cup of water kefir to 4 apples, since water kefir is more dilute than the dairy counterparts.

    The question I have is I'm using a 1/2 gallon jar to ferment, and the jar is only half full. Is it important to have *only* 1 inch headspace, or is it okay to have a lot more than that?

    I'm sure Nourishing Traditions answers this question, but I just requested it from my library and there's 17 people in front of me. Thanks!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/07349492504771581864 Tiffany – The Coconut Mama

    Krista – you just need at least an inch of space =)

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/06964580963048511157 Krista

    Tiffany, thanks for the quick reply. It's so nice knowing there's this great community for those new to fermentation. Thanks a ton for all the help. I'll let you know how it turns out with the water kefir.

  • anna

    how did the water kefir work?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/06964580963048511157 Krista

    It worked okay, but the water kefir just keeps eating the natural sugars so it turns “off” pretty quickly in my experience.

  • anna

    ah good to know then .. . .

  • Anonymous

    can this be done with cooked apples?

  • peggy

    i just made this using honey then fermenting i am wondering if it is supposed to turn brown on top?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/07349492504771581864 Tiffany – The Coconut Mama

    @ Peggy – Yes, it can turn brown on top. You can scoop off the top layer if you prefer.

  • Ruthann

    Can the fermented applesauce be put in the freezer? At what stage?

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  • KomBuChaCha

    Have you seen the ‘Apple Pie’ smoothie @ Cultures for Health? Combines applesauce w/ dairy kefir, bet your daughter would *love* it! (we sure do) Hubby has me add extra cinnamon, plus I add a frozen banana per person in the Vitamix when I whip it up… yum! http://tinyurl.com/3h4cs4j

  • http://divinehealthfromtheinsideout.com/ lydia

    Tiffany, I love you!! I have been wanting to do this very thing! I love the idea of using water kefir, how complimentary! Gonna try this soon!

  • http://www.howtopeelanonion.com Jennifer @ How to Peel an Onion

    I’m about to try this right now! Seems like just the thing to get my son into fermented foods. Thanks!

  • Elizabeth

    The honey doesn’t counteract the bacteria in the fermentation process? This sounds great, but I thought honey was a “no-no”.

  • The Coconut Mama

    The recipe for apple butter in Nourishing Traditions uses raw honey, so I assumed it would be okay in this recipe too! I haven’t had any trouble with it fermenting properly.

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  • Shaina

    We keep our thermostat at 60 during the winter, is this too cold for this to ferment? Should I put it in my dehydrator on a low setting? Thanks!

  • The Coconut Mama

    Yes, I would put it in your dehydrator. The temperature needs to be 70-75 degrees :) .

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  • http://simplicityofwellness.com Amy

    Help! I made the fermented apple sauce exactly as the recipe says but I’m not sure it worked. It tastes great. Just like apple sauce, not sure it fermented. The cover didn’t pop when I opened it, was it supposed to? As you might be able to tell this is the first time I’ve tried fermenting. Thank you for any help you can give me.

  • Kera

    I love, love, LOVE this recipe! I make it in four quart batches at a time. (need to feed five kids) and when I let it sit out long enough it forms one mass, like apple yogurt :) Super yummy! Thanks for posting!

  • MamaA

    Do you think you could make it in a vitamix instead? I don’t have a large food processor.

  • The Coconut Mama

    Yes, I think a vitamix would work great :)

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  • Erica M

    I’ve just made applesauce and used a small amount of chai spiced Kombucha as the only addition and it is great. Next I,m going to make a larger quantity so I can lacto ferment some.

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  • Faith Gauthier

    This looks wonderful for my little guy who is gluten free. Thanks for sharing.