Fermented Apples
Fermented apples work exactly like sauerkraut, only with fruit: lactic bacteria do the job, not vinegar. After two weeks the apple is dense and sweet-sour with a faint prickle. Tart, firm varieties hold up best — soft ones turn woolly.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 10 min
- Rest
- 336 h
- Total
- 336 h 35 min
- Servings
- 16
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 60 kcal
Ingredients
Makes: one 5 l jar
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
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Step 1: Sort the apples
Use only whole fruit with no bruises: one damaged apple spoils the whole jar. Wash them gently without rubbing the skin.
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Step 2: Make the starter
Whisk the rye flour into a glass of cold water, stir it into the rest of the boiled water with the salt and sugar, simmer for 5 minutes and cool completely.
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Step 3: Layer them
Put half the leaves at the bottom, then the apples stem-up, layering with leaves, and cover with the rest.
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Step 4: Pour and weigh down
Pour in the cold starter to cover the apples by 3–4 cm. Put a plate and a weight on top, as the apples float.
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Step 5: Ferment for two weeks
Keep 4 days at room temperature, skimming the foam, then move somewhere cool for 10 days.
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Step 6: Check
They are ready when the brine has soaked through to the core and the flesh tastes sweet-sour. Top up the liquid if it evaporates.
Tips & variations
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Tip
The rye flour is not decoration: it feeds the bacteria and gives the bready note this preserve is loved for.
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Swap
A crust of rye bread does a similar job, though fermentation takes a few days longer.
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Tip
Apples must stay under the brine. Anything that floats and dries out moulds quickly.
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Storage
They keep in a cellar or fridge until spring, growing sourer and deeper in flavour as they go.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 16 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 60 kcal | 960 kcal |
| Protein | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fat | 0 g | 0 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g | 240 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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