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Fermenting fruit

By Grace Solkinson

November 18, 2024

This recipe is a great way to use up under-ripe or overly sour apples or plums. These hard fruits work perfectly in this recipe, and after fermentation you are left with something wonderfully unique that is equally at home on a charcuterie board, served with wild game, or as a tasty snack or light dessert.

Fermenting fruit is a great way to preserve nature’s bounty to enjoy for months later. Unlike canned fruit, which loses some of its nutrients due to heat at the time of canning, and loses additional nutrients over time; fermented fruits actually have MORE nutrients than their fresh counterparts, while making them easier to digest, and adding numerous health benefits.

Because of their sugary nature, fruits are a feast for microorganisms and yeasts and require a watchful eye on the fermentation process to be successful. Fruits can be lacto-fermented with whey or raw, unflavored kombucha as a starter. For longer storage, some fruits can be preserved in a high percentage of salt or a salt brine.

For these recipes, you will need a fermentation crock or jar(s) capable of holding 4 liters or about 1 gallon, but the recipe can be halved or multiplied. You will also need a fermentation airlock lid if using a jar, and a fermentation weight (or an appropriately sized, non-porous, boiled rock) heavy enough to hold the fruit down without crushing it.

Recipe

Enough apples or plums to fill a 1 gallon jar with a few inches of room at the top

25g (3.25 tbsp) of rye flour (even better is malted rye flour)
3g (2 tbsp) of sea salt

120ml (½ cup) of honey

Spring water (or dechlorinated water) to fill jar

Optional:
A few currant leaves, oak leaves or mint leaves for each jar Spices or herbs for flavor

Selecting Fruit

Selecting smaller harder fruits will yield the best results. If using apples, avoid Red Delicious (or other ‘mealy’ varieties), and store bought non-organic apples. Red Delicious will not ferment well due to their texture and sugar content and non-organic store bought apples have a wax coating on their skins that inhibits fermentation.
If using plums/prunes, softer, fully ripe fruits may become overly soft during ferment.

Do not mix apples and plums in the same jar – use a different jar for each if doing both.

Do not peel or cut the fruit.
In a saucepan, whisk together 6 cups of spring water, the rye flour and sea salt. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes, and then stir in the honey while the water is still warm enough to dissolve the honey but not too hot – you don’t want to kill off the enzymes in the honey which are useful to the fermentation process.
Cool the liquid to room temp. While cooling, add any desired herbs and/or spices to your clean jar(s). Traditionally, fresh mint, oak, and/or currant leaves were included. This adds tannins which gives the best texture, but which can be omitted if not readily available.

This recipe is lovely with your favorite whole warm spices added for additional flavor: cinnamon, cloves, all spice, star anise, cardamom, etc. It can also work well with herbs like sage or thyme, especially if you are planning to use them as an accompaniment to savory dishes.
Fill the jar(s) with freshly rinsed apples or plums, leaving several inches of room at the top of the jar. Place your fermentation weight on top of the fruit, you should still have at least 2-4cm (1in) of room above the fermentation weight.

Once the liquid mixture is cooled to room temperature, strain through clean muslin cloth, tea towel or coffee filter to remove large particles: it will be quite cloudy.

Fill the jar with the strained liquid and top with fresh spring water (or dechlorinated water) to completely cover the fruit and fermentation weight. Cover with an airlock fermentation lid and store in a cool place out of direct sunlight for 1-2 weeks.
After the 1-2 weeks: Change the fermentation lid for a regular lid and move to the refrigerator (or cold root cellar) for a slower secondary ferment for at least 30 days, or up to a year. The longer you allow them to do their secondary ferment, the better the flavor will be. You can sneak a few to test every few weeks until the flavor and texture is to your liking. Enjoy!