I love making my own fermented foods – they are so easy and an easy way to ensure your gut keeps healthy. The Autumn is the perfect time to make up a batch of apple butter which is delicious served as a pudding with yogurt or used as a spread on breads. You can use eating or cooking apples but if you use cooking apples you may need to add some sweetener such as stevia, erythritol or xylitol. Apples are great for digestive health – rich in polyphenols shown to boost healthy bacteria plus soluble fibre thanks to the pectin the fruit contains. By adding a sachet of starter culture you can transform a healthy dish into a real superfood.
Overview
Difficulty – Easy
Time – 10 minutes preparation time, 50 minutes cooking time
Serves – 12
What’s good about it?
Adding a culture starter is a fabulous way to boost the beneficial bacteria in dishes. Apples also provide plenty of soluble fibre including pectin to support digestive health
- Peel and core the apples and place in a large pan
- Add the water and cinnamon. If you are using a sweetener add this at the same time.
- Cover the pan then bring to a gentle simmer. Cook stirring occasionally for 30 minutes until the apples are really soft
- Puree the apple in a blender or use a stick blender.
- Place the apple puree back in the pan and cook uncovered for a further 10minutes to thicken.
- Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature. Stir in the culture mixer.
- Place in a clean jar and cover loosely. Allow it to ferment for 2 days. It should taste slightly fizzy. Place in the fridge until needed. It will keep for at least 1 week.
Did you Know?
Instead of apples you could use other fruits – pears are particularly good and also rich in pectin. Plums and damsons would also work well.