If you’re having a hard time finding probiotic and fermented foods that you and your family will love. You have to try my Probiotic Paleo Apple Butter.
Gala apples are slow cooked for four hours, pureed with cinnamon and cloves and allowed to simmer until thickened into apple butter bliss. The apple butter is fermented with culture starter for 2 days to make a sweet and delicious probiotic treat.
Enjoy Probiotic Paleo Apple Butter spread on toast, added to yogurt, oatmeal or whatever else your heart desires. It’s surprisingly sweet and has no added sugar. This method brings out the natural sweetness of the apples so you don’t need no stinkin’ sugar and it’s paleo diet approved.
Fermenting the apple butter gives it more flavor and makes it good for your gut. I made two apple butters. One that was fermented and one that wasn’t. I did a taste test with my mother in-law over the weekend and there was a significant difference in flavor. The fermented apple butter was packed with more flavor.
What makes it probiotic?
This recipe is considered cultured because we have to add a culture starter to ferment it. Because of the high sugar content we can’t use lacto-fermentation like I do with my fermented vegetable recipes. The culture starter I use often and highly recommend is Body Ecology’s Culture Starter.
The culture starter adds good bacteria to the apple butter, so while it’s fermenting on your counter for 1-3 days the good bacteria consume some of the sugar and multiply, making it rich in probiotics.
Health Benefits of Probiotic Foods
Some of the positive effects I have experienced eating probiotic/ fermented foods are clearer skin, better digestion and increased energy and maintaining my weight. Dr. Mercola explains the benefits of fermented foods as…
Fermented foods are chock-full of probiotics or good bacteria. A myriad of research has demonstrated how the ideal balance of good and bad bacteria in your gut forms the foundation for physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
- Eating fermented foods daily will strengthen your immune system, reduce bloating and control weight.
- Can heal a multitude of health issues including leaky gut, IBS, weight loss, lead to clearer skin and better immune system.
- 3 pounds of gala apples or other sweet apple (about 9-10 medium apples)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 packet of body ecology culture starter
- slow cooker
- mason jar
- Peel and core the apples and cut them into quarters.
- Place them in a slow cooker for 4 hours on high.
- After 4 hours the apples will be soft.
- Puree the apples using a blender or hand blender.
- Add them back to the slow cooker.
- Add the cinnamon and cloves to the pureed apples and mix until evenly distributed.
- Cook on high in the slow cooker for 1 more hour uncovered until thickened.
- Let cool to room temperature.
- Once apple butter has cooled to room temperature add 1 packet of culture starter to the apple butter and put it in a mason jar.
- Cover the mason jar loosely with a lid and sit on the counter for 2-3 days or until it's bubbly.
- Once air bubbles form in the apple butter it's ready to be refrigerated.
- Store in the refrigerator for several weeks.
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