This cinnamon apple chutney is perfectly spiced and full of gut-nourishing properties. It’s an easy lacto-ferment for beginners, but delicious enough that the most seasoned fermenter will love it!

This cinnamon apple chutney is perfectly spiced and full of gut-nourishing properties. It's an easy lacto-ferment for beginners, but delicious enough that the most seasoned fermenter will love it! #lactofermented #fermentedfood #traditionalfood #chutney #glutenfree #primal #cinnamon #apples #guthealth #gapsdiet

Fabulous Fermented Food.

Fermentation is good. When you preserve food by canning, a lot of enzymes and vitamins are lost. But when you preserve it through fermentation, it not only increases the vitamins and enzymes, it also adds beneficial organisms that help keep our insides happy and our digestive system working smoothly. 

When foods have been lacto-fermented, the minerals and vitamins released during the fermentation process begin to break down the large molecules of the foods makeup into smaller, more easily digestible ones. Therefore, eating a little bit of some fermented food per meal will help in your overall digestion and absorption of vitamins.
 
So bring on the chutney, sauerkraut, pickles, and sourdough….
 

Lacto what?

“Lacto” is short for a specific species of bacteria, Lactobacillus. It’s called lacto because it was first studied in milk ferments. There are different strains of lactobacillus bacteria are all over the place. They live on plants, especially low-growing ones, and they live in humans too. Lactobacillus can be found in gastrointestinal tracts, mouths, and other places on our bodies, as well as on animals. 

Okay… but why would you want to eat it? Lactobacillus helps convert sugar into lactic acid, which is a natural preservative that keeps the growth of harmful bacteria in your food at bay. 

And, in case you are wondering, lacto-fermented has nothing to do with lactose. Even still, some lacto-fermented recipes may call for whey (like this one does), so it would not be acceptable for someone who is lactose intolerant. Please note though, that even though whey contains lactose, it does not contain casein. So you casein-free-ers are free to consume it. 🙂

 

Lacto-fermented cinnamon apple chutney horizontal from raiasrecipes.com

Cinnamon Apple Chutney.

Recently, my friend gave me a copy of Wardeh Harmon’s book, “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fermenting Foods.” It’s full of amazingly delicious and nutritious recipes. If you’ve never heard of her book or website, Traditional Cooking School, you should check them out. This cinnamon apple chutney is my adaptation of the 5-spice apple chutney in her book. It’s a superbly delicious snack or side dish, though I usually eat it for breakfast.

Even though I use walnuts in this recipe, you can pretty much use any nut you want, and you could use either all raisins or all dried cranberries or whatever. Dried cherries are good, too! If you like your chutney sweeter, you can up the honey a little bit, too. I like this cinnamon apple chutney a bit tart, though. It’s fun that way! You can also use whatever kind of apples you want. I prefer gala or fuji apples.

If you are looking for more delicious ways to get fermented food into your body so it can help your gut, here are a few more of my favorite lacto-fermented goodies:

This cinnamon apple chutney is perfectly spiced and full of gut-nourishing properties. It's an easy lacto-ferment for beginners, but delicious enough that the most seasoned fermenter will love it! #lactofermented #fermentedfood #traditionalfood #chutney #glutenfree #primal #cinnamon #apples #guthealth #gapsdiet

In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!

Cinnamon Apple Chutney

Free of grain, gluten, eggs & refined sugar.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups diced apples (about 5 large apples)
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 3 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cloves
  • 1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup whey
  • 1 1/2 + cups filtered water

Instructions

Combine everything in a large bowl.

Pack into two quart-sized, wide-mouth canning jars, leaving at least 1 inch below the rim.

Add a little more water, if necessary, to submerge the chutney.

Cover tightly with lid and let stand at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Transfer to fridge.

Raias Recipes - https://raiasrecipes.com

Lacto-fermented cinnamon apple chutney horizontal from raiasrecipes.com