My favorite kvass recipe

July 16, 2020

I’ve tried a number of variations including traditional bread kvass. This one is my favorite! A tart, fizzy, probiotic beverage with lots of vitamins and minerals. Great over ice on a hot day.

• Clean water
• 1/2 sweet potato, shredded
• 1/2 beet, shredded
• 1 c shredded carrot
• 1 Tbsp dried orange peel
• 1 Tbsp dried lemon peel
• 2 Tbsp dried mint
• 1 Tbsp dried ginger
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Carrot is the base, it has good natural sugars for the lactobacilli to eat and priduces a bright, sharp taste. The beet is for color, but too much makes it too earthy IMHO. The sweet potato makes it creamy due to starches so you have a foamy head when you pour.

• Put all ingredients in a clean 2qt mason jar.
• Fill it up to two inches from the top with clean water.
• Screw on an airlock lid. You can use other containers and cover with cloth, but check frequently for signs of mold.
• Ferment for 2-3 days. Jiggle or stir frequently to release gas and help keep the ingredients submerged.
• Strain into a clean bowl. Return the ingredients plus 1 cup of liquid back to the jar for a second batch.
• Add 2 tsp sugar, this is to carbonate in the bottles. Don’t skip this unless you prefer a flat beverage.
• Pour the liquid into sanitized bottles with enough space to dilute between 50-100%. In other words, you’ll have a about 6 cups so you need bottles that will hold between 9 and 12 cups total.
• Add water to fill them up to 2 inches from the top.
• Let the bottles sit for a few days. Each morning, take them to the sink and carefully “burp” them by quickly opening then closing them again. This keeps the gas from building up too much for an unpleasant surprise when you want to drink it.
• When they “pop” and fizz at burping time they are ready! Put them in the fridge. They’ll keep there for a week, but mine never last that long.

Pour over ice and sweeten to taste. Lovely!

For a second “press”, add 2 Tbsp sugar to the jar and refill with water. It will be milder flavored so don’t dilute it when you bottle. Let this one ferment for longer to extract all the good stuff from the mash.

For bottling use the grolsch style flip tops or plastic soda bottles. Capped beer bottles if you like manual labor. Other bottles that aren’t made for pressure might burst.

If you are missing some ingredients just try it anyway! All you really need are root vegetables and flavor components. For me the mint is a must and I would increase the ginger if I had a surplus.

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