Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe (2024)

By Katie Kimball @ Kitchen Stewardship® / Published: 09/15/2015 / Updated: 09/27/2020

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Table Of Contents

  1. Picking the Best Apples for Apple Salsa

Want to use up all of those apples but sick of making applesauce? Fermenting apples is an easy place to try fermentation for the first time. A salsa apple ferment is a crowd pleaser.

This is a guest post from Jo at Nourishing Time. Ferments are an area I feel I’ve been lacking in here at KS so I’m glad to welcome her with this yummy recipe! Fermented foods are key to healing your gut as I said in yesterday’s post, 100 Steps to Healing Your Gut

Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe (1)

Apple salsa is super simple, so delicious and quite versatile! We love to eat it on its own, or thrown into a yummy grilled chicken salad. When fermented, it adds a host of beneficial bacteria and increases the nutrients naturally in the ingredients included.

The recipe below is for a very simple apple salsa, and you’re welcome to include additional ingredients that you think may go well. I sometimes like to add some chopped bell peppers, but it’s delicious as-is!

Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe (2)

Picking the Best Apples for Apple Salsa

Many apple varieties will work with this recipe. I personally prefer to use Gala, Fuji and/or Honeycrisp apples. The only real requirement is that you use very fresh, very crisp apples. Well, even that’s not completely necessary, but less crisp apples may lead to a mushier (but still edible) salsa. You can leave the skin on if you’d like.

This recipe will make you a quart. I like to make several quarts at a time because we devour it so quickly. We love it almost as much as pineapple salsa!

Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe (3)

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Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe (4)

Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa

5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.7 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Jo
  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 24 hours
  • Total Time: 24 hours 15 mins
  • Yield: 1 quart 1x
  • Category: Condiments
Print Recipe

Ingredients

UnitsScale

  • 23 large, crisp apples
  • 1/2 large red onion (or about 1/2 cup packed), finely chopped
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 1/2 inch fresh ginger (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp. allspice
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • Approximately 2 cups water

Instructions

  1. Start with a clean 1L (or quart) jar with a lid. I love Fido and mason jars most.
  2. Core and cube or chop apples into bite-sized pieces. Add to a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add finely chopped red onions.
  4. De-seed and slice jalapeno in 4 or more pieces and add to bowl.
  5. Add ginger (whole) to bottom of jar as you just want the flavor to infuse your salsa.
  6. Add your lemon juice and allspice to the mixing bowl and mix all your ingredients together.
  7. Pack your salsa mixture into the jar. Now is the time to add a weight if you’re using one–although it’s not essential, it can help apples stay under the brine and gain the best flavor.
  8. Mix salt (Use the code kitchenstewardship for 15% off of your first purchase) and water together, and pour over into packed jar. If there isn’t enough water to cover, add a little more. You want to only leave about an inch of space in the jar.
  9. Close jar tightly and let ferment for 24-48 hours at room temperature, then move to fridge. It should be a bit bubbly, and smell awesome!
  10. Enjoy chilled!

Notes

You can also use sourdough tortillas to make sourdough cinnamon chips by cutting tortilla into wedges, misting with coconut oil, and sprinkling with a cinnamon sugar mixture then baking for a few minutes until crispy. These are perfect for dipping in salsa!

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Katie’s notes: Fermented foods are SO important to a healthy diet. I’m big on probiotics and having a healthy gut, so I was pleased to add this recipe to KS. It’s a great way to get started with fermented foods without worrying about grains, SCOBYs or other “trickier” forms of bacteria.

Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe (5)

What’s YOUR favorite type of salsa?

Keep Your Gut Healthy

  • 100 Steps to Heal Your Gut
  • Why Do I Have Stomach Pains After Eating?
  • What Does It Mean to Heal My Gut?
  • Health Benefits of Yogurt

Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe (6)Jo is an attached mom to her smarty-pants son and a full-time student majoring in Public Health. She is fascinated with holistic healing and loves to read, cook and ferment anything she can get her hands on in her spare time. She blogs at Nourishing Time about natural ways of improving health through food and positivity. Like Nourishing Time on Facebook by clicking here.

Unless otherwise credited, photos are owned by the author or used with a license from Canva or Deposit Photos.

Category: Food Preservation, Real Food Recipes

Tags: appetizer, apples, condiments, fall, fermented foods, side dish, traditional foods

Easy Naturally Fermented Apple Salsa Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Does apple sauce ferment? ›

Yes, it is safe to eat it. In fact, fermented applesauce offers several potential health benefits, such as improved digestion and a boost to the immune system. However, it's important to note that the fermentation process can cause the texture and flavor of the applesauce to change.

How long does it take apple juice to ferment? ›

Ferment the juice in fermenters with airlocks, taking care to exclude air and insects. Fermentation will usually take three to six weeks, depending on temperature and yeast, and once it has ceased, immediately siphon the cider off the sediment into a clean fermenter.

What happens if you let apple juice ferment? ›

The result of fermented apple juice is cider, which requires the natural yeast in apples to be present for the fermentation process. Cider is simply fresh pressed apples but cider takes on different meanings depending on where you are in the world.

How long does it take for apple cider to turn into alcohol? ›

At room temperature and without added sugar, 4–5 days. If it's colder, or if you've added more sugar (to boost the alcohol), it could take weeks or even months. Generally, even refrigerated cider will begin fermenting noticeably within a week or two, unless it has preservatives in it to prevent microbial growth.

Do apples ferment naturally? ›

Any fruit can ferment naturally, apples included. With the right conditions, natural fermentation can happen, those conditions include the presence of bacteria and yeast. The fermentation usually starts when the fruits are smashed and the yeast and sugar from the fruit juice can react and ferment into alcohol.

Will apple cider naturally ferment? ›

It is possible to ferment apple cider completely naturally, with no added sulfites or commercial yeasts.

Will apple juice ferment without yeast? ›

Apple juice will ferment without adding anything to it, so many cider makers use this process. Others add sulphates to kill non yeast bacteria, or add commercial yeast that will dominate the natural yeasts and give a unified (some say less complex) flavour.

Can you ferment fruit without yeast? ›

Making alcohol from fruit without using yeast is possible, but it requires using wild, airborne yeasts that are naturally present in the environment. This process is called wild fermentation or spontaneous fermentation, which is the traditional method of making wine, beer, and other fermented beverages.

Is it OK to drink fermented apple juice? ›

Regardless, it's safe to drink, but may contain traces of alcohol. Fermented apple juice, also known as hard cider, is generally safe for most people to drink in moderation. However, it is important to note that some people may have adverse reactions to alcohol or specific ingredients in the cider.

What is fermented apple juice called? ›

Fermented apple juice is called “hard cider.” In Europe, all non-fermented apple juice is referred to as “juice”, and fermented apple juice is referred to as “cider.” Worldwide, cider varies in alcohol content from less than 3% alcohol by volume (ABV) as found in French cidre doux, to 8.5% ABV or above in traditional ...

Should I boil apple juice before fermenting? ›

As you are making hard cider you just need to juice the apples then add your choosen yeast to the juice. You don't need to boil or even wash them, but you can. Many traditional ciders are fermented with the yeasts and bacteria found on the skins of the apples with no additional yeasts added.

Can you drink apple cider once it starts to ferment? ›

Apple Cider may not taste as good after it begins to “turn”. It will become darker in color and start to froth. When those things start to occur, it just means the cider is undergoing fermentation. It will taste more sour like vinegar, but it's by no means harmful.

Can you ferment apple cider too long? ›

If a yeasty flavor is detected from cider, or even wine and beer, that is a result from the fermenting process of letting the cider, or wine or beer, sit on the yeast too long. As the yeast complete fermentation it starts to die off and settle on the bottom.

Can you add sugar to cider before fermentation? ›

Sugar to increase alcohol content – Any sugar added prior to fermentation is converted into alcohol during fermentation, creating a higher alcohol content of the final product. Common types of sugar used are frozen apple juice concentrate, honey, brown sugar, and dextrose.

Can applesauce ferment into alcohol? ›

Applesauce is fruity and sweet. By itself, it's probably too thick to properly ferment for wine, but water it down, add a bit more sugar to get it going, and some good wine yeast, and sure, you can make wine with it. No different than grinding up some apple pulp and fermenting that.

What does fermented applesauce taste like? ›

It was pretty yummy and yep, slightly tangy. I tried it again a few weeks later, and it about knocked me over with tang! I threw some raisins in it, because I love when they plump back up in applesauce. In 24 hours I had a delicious super tangy fermented applesauce!

Is fermented apple safe? ›

Regardless, it's safe to drink, but may contain traces of alcohol. Fermented apple juice, also known as hard cider, is generally safe for most people to drink in moderation. However, it is important to note that some people may have adverse reactions to alcohol or specific ingredients in the cider.

Can fermented apples make alcohol? ›

Cider (/ˈsaɪdər/ SY-dər) is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples.

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