What is kvas drink

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Receive exclusive offers and updates from Oxford Academic. Kvass came to Russia just over 1, years ago, and it was mentioned in Russian manuscripts from the time. It was an everyday drink in old Russia, valued for its thirst-quenching properties and energising effect.

It was the drink farmers would take to the field on a hot day. Back in those days, people believed that kvass had healing properties , and modern science has proved that these beliefs were not without reason. Kvass does have properties that help kill parasites and harmful bacteria, which made it safer to drink than water at that time.

Maybe you have never heard of this drink before today, but this is quite an ancient beverage. You might be surprised to know that we are talking about something older than vodka itself. Kvass has been around since before the Red Square, vodka, the Cyrillic alphabet or even Russia as a country. Before Russians were creating the biggest country on Earth, people were drinking kvass by the Moscow River. The first written mention of kvass takes us back to the year , but most probably it was being consumed centuries before that.

In the 18th century, in the times of Peter the Great , this was the most popular drink among every class in society and during some periods of time it was reported that many people consumed more kvass than water. In those times Russians could freely buy Pepsi, but not Coca-Cola. Two days later your should see why foam on top of your mixture, this is fermentation happening. Just add a bit more sugar and wait a few more days. In a cool dark place you could get fermentation between days.

This is what happened with my first Kvass attempt. Instead of adding a ginger bug I added 1 tsp of shop bought yeast. The whole thing fermented like crazy and after I bottled it, it somewhat exploded. So be sure to keep an eye after bottling. Just as fermentation can sometime be difficult to start, it can also be difficult to stop. Bring your water to a rolling boil for 5 minutes then allow to cool. Toast your rye bread either in a toaster or grill until overly dark. Add your toasted dark rye bread to your water mixture along with your sugar and a few raisins.

Leave to soak for 10 hours then return to strain your mixture. Strain the mixture into a large jar and stir in your ginger bug or sprinkle over wine yeast and a few more raisins These raisins will add a texture and fruitiness to your end kvass. Its not a necessary step, you could do this with rye bread, sugar, and water alone. But the raisins really add a sense of depth you would find in wine.

Close the jar with either an air lock and allow to ferment for 2 days. After 2 days strain out your mixture and refrigerate, serve cold. This will last around 7 days. That's okay, here is a cheap one you can get from amazon UK. When something is fermented gas is created, the airlock works by allowing that gas to escape without any bacteria you don't want being able to get in your drink.

If you were to ferment your kvass or anything for that matter , in a jar with a closed lid, it will keep from getting any unhealthy and unsafe bacteria. However, the pressure from co2 build up would cause your jar to explode causing a massive fermented mess. If you were to leave the lid open on the other hand, then the gas would escape into the air and no explosions would happen.

However, your mix would also attract everything from flies to unsafe bacteria. So investing in a jar with an air lock is a great idea.

Trust me. They are cheap, they keep your fermented beverages safe and stop any explosion risks. Close your jar and twice a day open it up to let the gas escape. But an airlock jar is always your best bet.

Bring 1 litre of water to a rolling boil for 5 minutes then allow to cool. Whilst your water is boiling Toast 2 slices of rye bread either in a toaster or grill until overly dark. Toasted dark rye bread levels. As minimum, the darkest one here is the lightest you should go. He added some water, let the liquid ferment and created the first ever kvas. While the production process is similar to beer making, kvas has very low alcohol content 0.

The main ingredient of true kvas is rye bread, and the drink can contain unfiltered yeast in it. Kvas has a high content of vitamin B, it is considered to be a good appetizer and healthy source of energy. The drink is recommended for sportsmen who are trying to increase their muscle weight. In Russian bacteriologists proved that kvas is a germicide by showing that typhus bacteria die in the drink. Kvas has been consumed in most Slavic countries Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland as well as in ex-Soviet states since ancient times.

In some countries one can still see kvas vendors on the streets. There is a famous saying "Bad kvas is better than good water. House kvas is made with black or rye bread baked into sukhari croutons , yeast and zakvaska kvas fermentation starter.