I tasted my first sips of kvass (kv-AHSS) in Moscow about two years ago during a cross-country ski odyssey. Moscow was our team’s tourist destination before we traveled to the Demino Sports Complex several hours north of the capital city. Out of curiosity, I had peeked into the refrigerator of our Air B&B apartment. There I discovered an opened plastic bottle of Nikola KBAC, which is how the word kvass appears in Cyrillic script. I decided to sample it before committing to buying a bottle. It tasted slightly like Dr. Pepper, but also like soy sauce, molasses, Vegemite and beer. Syrupy, sweet, malty, carbonated. I picked up another bottle at the neighborhood supermarket the following day.
I later read that the brand name “Nikola” has the fun coincidence of sounding like “not cola.” In fact, digging a little deeper, I learned that post-glasnost advertising for kvass attempted to counter the pace that Coca-Cola and Pepsi flowed into Russia and the former Soviet republics. Kvass commercials emphasized that the beverage is natural, but even more to the point, drinking it was said to be patriotic, an act of resistance against Western cultural imperialism. There are clips of clever TV commercials bearing this message; you can find them on YouTube. You know, if you need a distraction, like watching a pale Michael Jackson impersonator moonwalk into a traditional Russian banya (sauna) and spill his cola drink on the hot rocks …
So kvass in a name? According to Wikipedia, kvass is derived from a proto-Slavic word for “leavening,” which makes sense given that the oldest references to this beverage describe it as a bread-based, low or no-alcohol drink, originating in a geographic region that now includes the Russian Federation, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. Your beer historian friends will have more specific data on the history of grain-based beverages, but kvass and its cousins, such as Lithuanian gira, spread across Eastern and Central Europe after the 10th century. Russian literature is full of references to everyday people consuming kvass. In many cases, fermented beverages proved safer to drink than water.
Even more delectable than bread kvass is beet kvass, a tonic made from lacto-fermented raw beets. Sometimes called beetroot tonic or beet kombucha, beet kvass is a magenta-colored, salty, earthy, sour nectar. Around this time of year, fresh vegetables are scarce, and we crave brightly colored foods. If you have a few beets tucked away in your crisper or root cellar, consider making this.
Fermentation enthusiast Sandor Katz, whom I missed bumping into at the Wormfarm Institute’s Fermentation Fest in Reedsburg in October, surmises that Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina might have drunk kvass, but, even more likely, the peasants in the fields outside her estate were refreshing themselves with black bread bubbly. Apparently kvass is so ubiquitous in the summertime, as one woman recalled in an NPR interview about her childhood in the former U.S.S.R., children ran for the “kvass truck” like American kids scream for the ice cream truck (or brake for the lemonade stand.)
In the spirit of promoting local flavors, I’d like to present this humble beverage to you as a healthy alternative to commercial soda, a veritable third-party option. If you have ever tried kombucha or other probiotic beverages, you know that these naturally carbonated, rejuvenating drinks are flavorful, refreshing and a tad expensive if you aren’t making them yourself.
Homemade bread kvass, which I make from scraps of my sourdough rye (see “Driftless Terroir,” March 2016), tastes more like beer than like soda, depending on variations in the five basic ingredients. The main recipe includes toasted, stale bread (preferably rye), water, sugar, raisins and yeast or sourdough starter (I use the latter). Lemon juice adds a bit of a shandy flavor to the brew.
I use Katz’s recipe, which can be found in his book “Wild Fermentation.” Some quick tips I have learned through trial and error: Toast the bread well for richer flavor and a darker color result; strain the brew through a kitchen strainer lined with cheesecloth; and when you bottle up your brewed kvass, do not screw the tops on too tight, or you will lose half of the contents upon decanting. The carbonation level is similar to champagne. My last batch had a similar taste and color to a lager beer. Alcohol content is estimated at less than 1%; not zero, but not enough to cause impairment, unless you drink a gallon.
What could be better than bread champagne? Even more delectable than bread kvass is beet kvass, a tonic made from lacto-fermented raw beets. Sometimes called beetroot tonic or beet kombucha, beet kvass is a magenta-colored, salty, earthy, sour nectar. Around this time of year, fresh vegetables are scarce, and we crave brightly colored foods. If you have a few beets tucked away in your crisper or root cellar, consider making this. (See recipe below.)
Beets, beets, beets. If you eat them regularly, you either love them, or tolerate them because you know they are good for you. Whether you are motivated by your five senses or by common sense, your liver and your cells thank you every time you choose to consume beta vulgaris. The health benefits of raw beets include antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, B vitamins, iron and other minerals, and fiber. Add to that the helpful enzymes and microorganisms that thrive in raw, fermented foods.
I know a cross-country skier who swears that dill pickle juice revives him when he needs an electrolyte fix for muscle cramping. Why not try beet kvass? Other skier friends ate beet concentrate as an energy booster during a 90-kilometer ultra-marathon in Sweden. Next month, I will attempt to make beet kvass the official energy drink of Team Tippy Top, our motley crew of American Birkebeiner skiers.
Meanwhile, happy fermenting, and don’t forget to thank your local farmers for growing your wheat, rye and beets. May I propose a toast: to your health, to grandmother wisdom, and to the kindness of everyday people, all over the world.
Bazile Booth is a native of Boulder, Colorado. The Driftless Region drew her to a hilltop orchard in Iowa County where she lends a hand picking apples and pears. Bazile’s garden and kitchen inspire her to concoct nourishing food and drinks. These meals help fuel her Nordic skiing habit and her day job as a clinical social worker.
Bazile’s Tippy Top Beet Kvass
The hopefully soon-to-be-official energy drink of Team Tippy Top, a motley crew of American Birkebeiner skiers
Ingredients
4 medium-sized raw red beets, peeled and cut into quarters. (You don’t actually want small pieces, as fermentation
will occur too quickly, resulting in fewer desirable
microorganisms in the end.)
Filtered or spring water
1 tsp. non-iodized salt
3 tbsp. raw sauerkraut juice, whey,
or packaged starter culture (available online)
Fresh ginger root (optional), peeled
and sliced into dime-sized pieces
Process
Place beet pieces and ginger chunks into clean glass jar (widemouth works best). Dissolve salt and starter into a small amount of water. Pour this mixture over the beets, and top off with more water, completely covering the beets.
Protect the top of the jar with a piece of breathable fabric held in place with a rubber band, or any other contraption you prefer (if you have a fermenting lid — by all means, use it). After 5-7 days, pour off liquid and store in refrigerator. You can repeat this process 1-2 more times with the same beets, using a little of the kvass as the starter for the next batch.
—Adapted from Jennifer McGruther’s nourishedkitchen.com.
