Get your Kvass on MyFooDen
Kvass is a fermented non alcoholic beverage that is cereal based / bread based with a sweet and sour taste. If it is flavored, then you might identify berries, herbs or honey.
Simply put, it's best served cold, from the refrigerator, which by extension means that you should store it in the refrigerator in a tightly closed container, ensuring it does not lose carbonation.
The following range is readily available on MyFooDen, your online supermarket.
Historical information further below.
1. Kvass Khlebny Kray Traditional 2L - made in Russia.
2. Kvass Rigas 0.5L - made in Latvia
3. Kvass Rigas 1.5L - Made in Latvia
4. Kvass Sencu 0.5L - Made in Latvia
5. Kvass Sencu 1.5L - Made in Latvia
6. Raudona Meska - Kvass Salykline 1.5L - Made in Lithuania
Looking at history, it appears that Kvass can be traced further back in time, to a point where Russia or Eastern European countries did not even exist. Ancient Egypt and Babylonia are the empires that first mention it in their manuscripts, therefore we are talking about the approximate period of 1895 BC - 539 BC.
Moving onto Russia, it is said it appeared there approximately 1000 years back and was considered a quenching and energising drink, to the point where the population started believing it had healing properties, which contemporary science now backs. It appears to have the required properties to kill some parasites and some bacteria.
Do you want to make your own? You don't need much.
Ingredients:
- Water: about 6 cups
- Stale bread: about 1 to 1.2 KG
- Honey (or sweetener): 100gm
- Sourdough started: 3 tablespoons
- Seasonings (optional): this usually is herbs
First, boil the water with honey and seasonings (if applicable), ensuring the honey is fully dissolved, then allow the mixture to cool.
You need bread, preferably rye bread, that has gone stale. Otherwise, you will have to toast it. Cube and bake your stale bread in the oven for about 10 minutes, without burning it.
Place the baked bread in a large bowl or jar, add sourdough starter and cooled liquid, cover with a towel and let it rise. The catch is to strike the balance between having the dough sufficiently fermented and not very sour. It would be ready anytime between 2 to 7 days so you would have to try it out as soon as day 3.
When the mixture is to your own taste, filter it through a mesh, bottle your kvass and store in the refrigerator.
Sources: TheCultureTrip , Wikipedia, PracticalSelfReliance .