Fermentation is absolutely on trend the world over today. From Koji to Kombucha, people are letting good bacteria reinvent the food space. But even though it's new to our palate, it's one of the oldest techniques in the world and survives in many different forms. The Ancient Egyptians brewed beer, Asia made rice wines, the Native Americans made corn chicha, and in Eastern Europe, they made Kvass
In Russia, there’s a famous saying that goes, "Bad kvass is better than good water,” which is solid proof of their love for this unusual beverage. and more than anything it reflects the love that still exists for this fermented beverage. Made by the natural fermentation of wheat, rye or barley bread, Kvass is usually sweetened with fruit or berries and is served with the yeast still in it.
There are a few ways to make Kvass but by far the simplest is by half filling a jug with old bread, pouring in water and a sweet element such as raisins and just leaving it alone to do its thing. The more professional methods involve toasting the rye bread and filtering out the first flush before even adding the yeast culture. But no matter which route you take you’re led to a delicious, sweet and yeasty drink.
Kvass has innumerable health benefits but like with all fermented foods, the best place to start is the gut. Lactobacillus formed is incredibly beneficial for the gut but it also has a multitude of vitamins, amino acids and microelements that aid digestion, metabolism, and the cardiac and circulatory systems.
Ingredients:
- 3 L of water
- 9 slices of classic black, dark or rye bread
- 1 handful of raisins
- 4 cups of sugar
- 1.5 tbsp of active dry yeast
- 3 L Soda
Method:
Day 1:
- Fill a giant stock pot with water and bring it to a boil.
- While waiting, toast the bread slices twice on the darkest toaster setting. Darker bread makes darker kvass.
- When water starts to boil, remove the pot from heat. Add a handful of raisins and toasted bread to the pot, cover with the lid and let it stay overnight or at least 8 hours.
DAY 2:
- Carefully remove toasted bread and discard it.
- In a medium bowl, mix together 4 cups of sugar and 1.5 Tbsp of yeast, add them to the kvas mixture and stir.
- Cover with plastic wrap or lid and leave the mixture on the counter for another 6 hours, stirring every couple of hours.
- Discard floating raisins by scooping them up with a large spoon. Using a strainer or cheesecloth, pour kvass into bottles, loosely cover with a lid and refrigerate overnight. The following day once the bottles are completely chilled, you can tighten the lid.
Day 3:
Your kvas will be ready to drink!
Note: If you keep fermenting Kvass it will become alcoholic, we do not recommend trying this without expert guidance as unprocessed alcohol could be very harmful.
