Brew for kvass: what is the wort and how to cook it at home?

Kvass - a very popular drink of natural origin, which has excellent refreshing properties, so necessary in the summer time. However, getting a really good sample is not always easy, because the bottled liquid is rarely really kvass, representing flavored soda, and the barrel version is often criticized for checking its composition and compliance with the quality of production is not possible.

It turns out that it is easier to cook kvass independently, at home. Many prefer to do so, but then you need a starter, which in most cases you have to buy, again, in the store, which is not always convenient, and most importantly - again does not guarantee the perfect quality of the product. So it turns out that the optimal solution is to establish a full-fledged process for the production of kvass, starting with its starter culture, on its own, especially since in fact it is not so difficult.

Kvass is a product of double (alcoholic and lactic acid) fermentation, which, unlike kefir, uses water as the main liquid raw material. It is clear that water itself will not turn into any other drink, so a certain ingredient is needed that could become a breeding ground for bacteria that provoke souring. Kvass starter - exactly the ingredient in question.

With alcoholic fermentation, everything is relatively clear, because kvass is not made from pure water. - it sours bread, flour, fruit or other similar ingredients, which ultimately provide a small degree to a lively drink. The essence of a good starter is to introduce lactic acid bacteria into the recipe, which will significantly speed up the ripening process, because otherwise it would take weeks to wait for it to be ready. You should not take the name too literally, because lactic acid bacteria live not only in fermented milk products, because other additives can be chosen as a provoking ingredient.

Theoretically, kvass can be made without store sourdough at all, because lactic acid bacteria live literally everywhere - even the fact that not a single glass of milk in an unprotected container has survived for long is proof of this. Another thing is that milk for these microorganisms is an ideal habitat, but conventional water with the addition of bread (so often looks like a blank for homemade kvass) for them is not at all a similar environment for its attractiveness. The ingestion of bacteria in such a mass is very likely, but rapid reproduction by natural means should not be expected.

The task of a person in such a situation is to help the natural processes, directing them in the right direction. If the development of a full-fledged colony of bacteria in a natural way can dramatically stretch out in time, such a colony just needs to be planted - it is for this that the ferment is bought. In many cases, the leaven of the old kvass acts as a starter, in which, naturally, the required bacteria are already present in sufficient quantity. In this case, the difference from kvass will probably consist only in concentration - for obvious reasons, it is very useful for the leaven to be “vigorous”.

At the same time, many newbies mistakenly think that the first home brew is done at all without the leaven, which is fundamentally wrong. In this case, all the ingredients, besides water, that were used in the preparation of the drink, such as bread, flour, fruit, sugar and other possible components, are leaven.That thick sediment, which is necessarily present in the bottle with the infused live kvass, is exactly the starter - you should try to cook it at home instead of buying in the store a powder of questionable content.

Independent preparation of the starter in the first place allows you to guarantee the naturalness of the finished product, but many do not even understand how important this is. The fact is that natural live kvass provides a lot of beneficial effects on the human body, and to obtain such a drink, you must be one hundred percent sure that the leaven is natural. We should start at least from the fact that even such a seemingly simple product contains various vitamins, as well as minerals such as phosphorus, magnesium and calcium, which is hardly characteristic of shop-soda disguised as kvass. Together, these components provide a whole list of effects that make it possible to call kvass a healing drink.

The high content of various vitamins allows kvass to be called a good adjuvant in the fight against vitamin deficiency, so you should not take this drink exclusively as a summer one - it can be useful in any season. Of course, there are more vitamin products like the same fruits and vegetables, however, as a vitamin supplement, kvass will be completely superfluous.

Kvass acquired great importance in ancient times, and this is no accident. The fact is that for the period of the emergence of this drink was characterized by general religiousness of the population, which strictly followed the fast, consciously refusing some products containing substances useful to the human body. Such a post often fell out during the cool season, when serious problems were observed with fresh vegetables and fruits, and naturally, there were no supermarkets with overseas goods. Even then, our ancestors noticed that a person who regularly consumed kvass, on average, feels much healthier and more cheerful during fasting than those who do not drink it. Today, kvass can be a good feed both for the believer’s body during fasting and for a person who, for whatever reason, is forced to follow a diet.

Due to alcohol abuse, much has been said about its harm, but one should not forget that in small quantities this substance has a stimulating effect on the body and is part of a huge amount of medical preparations. Among all alcoholic beverages, kvass contains least of all alcohol, therefore, unlike the same beer, it can be consumed regularly and even to children, unless it is a question of a special extract and with a significant intoxicating component. The healing effect of alcohol is most strikingly manifested in the work of the digestive system - harmful microorganisms in the stomach and intestines, in contrast to the beneficial ones, are very much disliked. Due to the low alcohol content, the drink gently stimulates the stomach walls, provoking appetite, but does not irritate them.

In contrast to the soda produced by the industrial method, kvass is distinguished by much less sharpness of the bubbles, and therefore it is sometimes allowed to drink even by patients with a mild ulcer. Moreover, some experts argue that kvass can help in the healing of small wounds on the surface of the gastric mucosa, and also allows you to somewhat dilute the excessively caustic gastric juice, reducing heartburn and the likelihood of all the same ulcers.

Contrary to the abundant content of bubbles, kvass, in contrast to the same soda or beer, helps reduce gas formation. This effect is achieved due to the destruction by alcohol of excess microorganisms in the gastrointestinal tract, which produce gas as a product of its own life activity.

The trace elements contained in kvass play an active role in building and restoring the vascular walls and heart, therefore this drink can be called an excellent prevention of various diseases of the circulatory system. The high content of nutrients in the drink also has a positive effect on vision, strengthening of teeth and other aspects of health.

Kvass could be called a drink for everyone, because it is useful and allowed for almost everyone, but there are no products that definitely do not harm anyone. Thus, many doctors consider it categorically contraindicated for the use of kvass for all patients with gastritis or gastric ulcer in the active form, since in most cases this drink still contains a large amount of acid, which only aggravates the situation. Due to the fermentation reaction continuing in the beverage, it is also undesirable for people with certain other serious diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Since kvass is a diuretic drink, it should be used very carefully in the presence of any kidney disease or urinary tract. Naturally, it is unacceptable to use kvass and with individual intolerance to any of its ingredients, including alcohol. In particular, for this reason, abandon the drink advise pregnant and lactating women. Often, doctors limit the use of the drink and in the presence of cancer.

Separately, it is necessary to say about the situation with drivers, who often underestimate the alcohol content in this Old Slavonic drink. Most likely, you will not get drunk on it to such an extent that you will get into an accident because of your own fault (although the strongest varieties may contain up to 8% alcohol), but checking on the tester soon after a large amount of kvass can lead to huge problems with the traffic police. . It should be understood that humanly they can understand the driver, whose alcohol content after drinking kvass only slightly exceeds the norm, but the strict letter of our law gives them the full right to impose sanctions on the violator, the lack of conscience can prompt them the idea of ​​a solution using a bribe.

To properly make a live kvass himself at home, it is necessary to properly prepare the starter. You can find many recipes for dry kvass mixes, but we’ll look at some of the most popular ones. There will not be any universal method here - it all depends on personal preferences and the products at hand, so we advise you not to stop at the very first recipe you like, but gradually try all sorts of this drink.

If an attempt to ferment an Old Slavonic drink is the first of its kind, you want to get the result relatively quickly, and you don’t have a particular desire to experiment, the most reasonable would be to use a classic recipe with dry yeast. For 5 liters of ferment water, 20 grams of high-quality dry yeast will be needed, from 50 to 200 grams of sugar (depending on the taste preferences of the household), as well as a half a loaf of bread, necessarily black, preferably rye. Bread (you can even become stained) is cut into small pieces and dried in the oven for a quarter of an hour at a temperature of about 150 degrees, while it is important to stir it periodically to avoid burning.After that, the bread is poured with boiling water, sugar is added there, but the yeast will need to be added a little later - the bacteria will not withstand too high a temperature and will die, therefore, they must be sat up after the mass has cooled to room temperature. Even before the yeast is added, the container with the future drink is wrapped with a warm towel and left for about three days in this form, but the exact dates largely depend on the room temperature - if it is rather high, it is important not to overdo the wort. Risking, trying not to the end of the finished drink, do not have to - you can drink it when the leaven completely settles to the bottom. For the preparation of bread kvass for the second time, you can use the wort from the previous case, slightly refreshing the ingredients.

Quite similar to the previous recipe cooking option with fresh yeast - even the proportion corresponds. The only difference is that it is better to dilute fresh yeast not to the whole volume of water at once, but to a small amount, which is then mixed with the rest of the liquid. For this recipe, home-baked bread is especially recommended - in this case, the taste and aroma of the drink will be especially bright.

For those who want to make kvass without yeast, another recipe is useful. Unleavened yeast, due to the absence of one of the main fermenting elements, needs an additional ingredient in the form of raisins. The proportions of the other components remain roughly the same as described above, and the dried grapes will be needed in the amount of three tablespoons. The cooking process is also no different from what was in previous recipes - even raisins (up to 10 pieces per liter jar) are added to the mass only when it cools. The difference lies in the fact that such a wort practically does not settle, and it is possible to determine the moment of readiness of a drink by the fact that it starts to foam - usually it takes about two days. Ready starter culture skimmer removed and set aside. To reuse it, you need to add a little new raisins and crackers, but sugar should be put as much as the first time, since it dissolves completely in the prepared beverage. The disadvantage of this recipe lies in the fact that this leaven is far from eternal - it lasts a maximum of two repetitions, after which the mash must be harvested from scratch. On the other hand, it is thanks to the raisins that such a brew will contain a huge amount of bubbles, besides, it will have a light fruity flavor. It is this kind of starter that is usually the main “proving ground” for obtaining new unusual combinations by incorporating atypical ingredients - sweet fruits and even spicy herbs like peppermint can act as such.

What is interesting, for making real live kvass, even bread is not needed. The most ancient recipe is the one in which ordinary rye flour is used instead of crackers. The wort is prepared as follows: for a start, a glass of rye flour must be mixed with 20 grams of granulated sugar. Natural honey is not forbidden to use for a more unusual flavor, however, it usually replaces not all sugar, but only half of it. The resulting mixture is slowly poured with hot water, stirring constantly - this is necessary in order to obtain a thick substance uniform in consistency.

When the mass begins to resemble thick sour cream, 7-8 berries of raisins are added to the future wort, which in no case should be washed - there are natural yeast on its surface, which will ensure the fermentation process. The resulting mixture is poured with water, but not to the top, since this type of wort is characterized by huge foaming.

It is necessary to infuse the leaven in a warm place for about three days, but the very next day you should try to extract all the raisins from the mass, since a longer infusion may provoke a liquid overflow from the top. If the thick part of the drink has greatly increased in volume, and in the vessel there is a constant hiss and foaming, then the ferment is ready for use. The drink made from it will surely appeal to those who find the sour rye smell unpleasant, typical of most types of natural kvass.

A relatively rare phenomenon is the preparation of sourdough using hops., although lovers of such a drink say that it is very fragrant and very healthy. Water, bread and sugar for this drink are taken in standard proportions, but then the differences begin: instead of 20 grams of fresh yeast, take half the amount, compensating it with a tablespoon of raisins (strictly unwashed!), And add 20 grams of wheat flour and two tablespoons of hopy cones. Initially, yeast, a little sugar, flour and warm (not hot!) Water, which should be a little mixed up, should be mixed together - a rather dense homogeneous mass should turn out.

Dried bread is placed in a large bowl and filled with boiling water, all remaining ingredients are added to the same place. When the liquid in the main vessel cools to room temperature, it adds a thick mass with yeast, cooked first. After that, it remains to cover the bottle with a thick cloth and wait about two or three days. The resulting starter is reusable, just do not forget that all the ingredients need to be updated a little, while sugar is needed completely new.

A very unusual recipe implies the preparation of kvass without yeast, but with honey and fruit, thanks to which the result is very sweet and pleasant to the taste - the children will not stand absolutely sure before such a drink. 50 grams of natural honey and a handful of green varieties of grapes are required for half a liter of water. It is necessary to supplement the recipe with a somewhat unusual ingredient. Peel two apples; for the preparation of the drink will need their skin. All ingredients are mixed and filled with warm water, while the honey must be thoroughly stirred until completely dissolved, because it is usually added first.

By the way, children shouldn’t be pleased with the news about the soon-coming kvass, since the cooking process is quite lengthy - after the standard 2-3 days the mixture, though fermented due to aging in a warm place, is still not ready. At this point, it is poured into a clean dish, where a handful of dried rye bread is added, after which you will have to wait another 2-3 days - only then the wort will be ready finally.

The proportions and exact ingredients may vary depending on the manufacturer of dry kvass, but usually three tablespoons of store powder, 2 grams of dry yeast and three tablespoons of sugar are taken for a three-liter bottle. All this is poured into a bottle pre-scalded with boiling water, after which it is filled with half the warm water. The mixture is kneaded until the sugar and yeast are completely dissolved, after which it is tightly covered with gauze and allowed to brew for 24 hours in a warm place. The resulting mass is only sourdough, to which you need to add not only new sugar, but also a new dry kvass, as well as a handful of raisins to make a drink - then in 2-3 days a refreshing drink will be ready.

Without ready-made sourdough, the duration of kvass preparation is several days, whereas with properly prepared sourdough, the procedure is reduced to just one day. In order to cook kvass according to the accelerated scheme with personally made sourdough, to the last one just add some fresh ingredients from among all that is its part, and pour it with water. It is logical that because of this the amount of starter is constantly growing, and although the degree of its strength gradually decreases with time, it is important not to exceed its amount, which should be about one-fifth in the tank. If you do not comply with this norm, you can get a liquid, rather like vinegar, instead of your favorite drink.

Accordingly, sooner or later, an extra starter will begin to appear, which is especially important if for some reason it is decided to make a small break in the production of home brew. In order not to throw away the products and do not start the process of preparing the yeast from scratch, you should keep the old one. To do this, the sediment should be collected in a jar and sealed with a lid, and then placed in the refrigerator. It should be noted that due to the fact that the lactic acid bacteria are already present in the composition of the starter, it will deteriorate even in the refrigerator during long-term storage and will be covered with mold. If this happened, unfortunately, the old raw material can only be thrown away.

As in any other business, experience in making kvass is an indispensable thing. In general, the preparation of such a drink is not difficult, but the knowledge of some simple secrets can help to achieve a better result.

For example, if you decide to make kvass at home, and there is no ready leaven from the last time, you can speed up the process of creating a drink using a glass of ready-made kvass. It is desirable to buy this not in a barrel, but in a store - there is at least a label on the bottles. Naturally, only natural raw materials should be chosen, because various “kvass drinks” have nothing in common with the product of natural fermentation. Moreover, it is sometimes enough to add such nonsense to the potential home brew so that the fermentation process is completely damped out due to the death of bacteria from incomprehensible chemistry used by the manufacturer.

Raisin is a common ingredient in kvass, often replacing yeast in it. They are present on its surface, albeit in small quantities, but with an absolute guarantee of the naturalness of the product. Considering that they are not contained in raisins, but represent a bloom on its surface, such a product cannot be washed before adding to brew, otherwise the fermentation process will be disrupted.

Even if kvass does not apply to your favorite drinks, it is still worth putting it - for example, as an ingredient for baking homemade bread. The drink certainly contains natural yeast, but, unlike purchased, these will have a distinctive spicy aroma that will not leave anyone indifferent. As a result, not only kvass, but bread will become a bit more natural.

It should be noted separately that live kvass is often made from rye bread, and the bread itself can be baked with the addition of kvass to the dough, but it is undesirable to use two products together. The fact is that bread is perhaps the most common ingredient for ferment, and, mixed with bacteria in kvass, can trigger a fermentation reaction in your stomach. Jokes about the fact that now drinking kvass is not necessary at all, because it is made right in the stomach, will be relevant only until the negative manifestations of this process show themselves - digestive upset in the form of flatulence and diarrhea.

On how to make kvass on the shop sourdough, see the following video.