How to know that kvass is ready. How to make kvass at home

Making kvass at home seems difficult only at first glance. In fact, once you have prepared the sourdough starter, you can use it many, many times, delighting your family with a delicious and healthy soft drink all summer long.

Kvass: a long history

Kvass is the most Russian and, perhaps, the most ancient of all Slavic drinks. It is known that he appeared long before the formation of Kievan Rus. Later, kvass was part of the regular diet in the army, navy and hospitals. Everyone drank it - from aristocrats to the poor. However, they sometimes ate: this drink both then and now served as an excellent basis for many dishes (, botvini), and thanks to its beneficial properties, it saved people from hunger during times of war and deprivation.

It's hard to believe, but until the 12th century in Rus', kvass was not considered such an innocent drink as it is today: in terms of strength and density, it was much stronger than the traditional one. The degree of kvass decreased only "thanks" to the appearance of vodka, at the same time the quality of the drink increased: now the fortress was not the main thing in kvass, and people began to care more and more about the taste of this summer drink.

Kvass is obtained through incomplete alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation. The drink can be bread or fruit and berry. The first one is done something like this: crackers are soaked overnight, then they add flour, shiver and leave for another night, then filter and add raisins, honey, mint, ginger and other flavors. The finished drink is cooled and drunk. Fruit and berry kvass is obtained on the basis of juices, fruit drinks or compotes, as well as fresh or dried berries and fruits.

Benefits with taste

Kvass is rich in vitamins, essential amino acids and trace elements, it contains vitamins B and E, which ensure the normal functioning of the body. Lactic and acetic acid help to quench thirst, carbonic acid aids digestion. Since kvass, like kvass, is a fermentation product, this drink is good for the gastrointestinal tract. An interesting fact: typhoid and paratyphoid microorganisms die in a leavened environment. So it's also a disinfectant.

However, besides the benefits, kvass also has contraindications: it should not be drunk with cirrhosis of the liver, gastritis and hypertension. It is also worth bearing in mind that yeast kvass contains alcohol (from 0.7% vol. to 1.2% vol.), so the drink is not indicated for children and - in the light of the new legislation - for drivers. By the way, according to the classification of the Beer Judge Certification Program, kvass is considered a type of beer and falls under the category “Historical, traditional, local beer”.

Of course, all these kvass praises are relevant primarily for live homemade kvass. Unfortunately, recently many have forgotten how to cook it, or rather, have lost the habit of cooking it, but everyone can make kvass.

Subtleties of cooking

1. It is better to make kvass from ready-made dry kvass, and not to cook dry kvass yourself.

2. The ideal proportions of the ratio of water, sugar and sourdough are different for everyone. Try and find!

3. A variety of fruits, berries, dried fruits, spices, aromatic herbs, including mint and even rhubarb, can be added to kvass. But the most popular kvass is with raisins.

5. You can use any yeast, including dry.

6. If you want the kvass to be slightly carbonated, add sugar to it before putting the finished kvass to cool (1 teaspoon per liter of kvass).

7. If you want to make kvass sweeter, add honey (1 teaspoon per liter of kvass).

8. Black bread gives kvass a bitter taste.

9. Kvass can be poured with filtered, clean or cooled boiled water. You can even spring, if you have one at your disposal. And you can also replace the water with birch sap!

10. Kvass must be insisted on the sun for at least a day. Do not close the fermenting kvass with a tight lid - it will explode.

11. In no case should you throw away the leaven left after straining the finished drink: on its basis it will be possible to make new kvass again and again.

kvass recipes

There are a lot of kvass recipes. Almost every family has its own author's book. They differ not only in proportions, but also in ingredients: pear, apple, rhubarb, with malt and others. There are even medicinal kvass, for example, beetroot kvass for pressure or lemon - tonic. If you are making kvass for the first time, then it is best to take a ready-made sourdough from an experienced sourdough maker. But if there is no such valuable acquaintance in your environment, then let's try to start from scratch.

Leaven

Ingredients: 3 tablespoons of dry kvass, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 10 g of yeast, rye or wheat bread crust, a few raisins, 100 ml of water.

Cooking

1. Mix everything.

2. Pour in water to make a thick mass, resembling pancake dough in consistency.

3. Insist in a warm place for about 3 days to ferment.

Classic kvass

Ingredients: 250 g of sourdough, 2 tablespoons of dry kvass, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 liters of water.

Cooking

1. Pour the starter into a jar, put sugar and dry kvass, pour water.

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Kvass: centuries-old history and benefits

Perhaps kvass is the most ancient drink of the Eastern Slavs. Historical sources indicate that the drink appeared long before Kievan Rus. Later, kvass became obligatory in the diet of the army and navy, and was used as a healing drink in hospitals and infirmaries to restore debilitated patients. In difficult times, kvass helped maintain vitality during times of hunger and deprivation.

As in the old days, kvass is not only drunk, but also used as a dressing for okroshka, botvinia, and cold summer soups. In addition, meat and fish are marinated in it. Few people know about it.

In ancient times, kvass was truly intoxicating, its strength reached a higher rate than that of modern beer. The degree dropped only during the period when vodka appeared.

Video: BASTARD

A balanced composition: vitamins, organic acids, essential microelements - all this allows us to talk about the unconditional benefits of kvass. Of course, we are talking about a drink prepared on the basis of a natural fermentation process. Most store-bought products are nothing more than an artificial kvass drink that is made with colorings, sweeteners, and gassing. Beneficial kvass bacteria kill pathogens in the intestinal microflora. Therefore, it is definitely worth preparing kvass at home using any of the recipes you like. We will talk further about how much it should be prepared and how to determine whether kvass is ready.

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How to determine the readiness of homemade kvass

The activation of the fermentation process is accompanied by the release of bubbles and a kind of "game" of crackers. They either go up or go down to the bottom. This continues as long as the yeast works. Therefore, as soon as the crackers remain at the bottom and no longer rise, the kvass is ready. The same rules apply to the preparation of sourdough. The finished sourdough does not bubble, and the bread lies at the bottom of the container.

Another way to determine the readiness of homemade kvass is to taste it. If the taste of the drink seems not sharp and rich enough, let it stand a little more in a warm place. In the case when kvass is sour according to your taste sensations, the situation is easily corrected by adding additional sugar.

If kvass is prepared for okroshka or any other cold soup, it should be slightly sour and sharp.

In order for kvass to be more carbonated, a few raisins are already added to the finished drink immediately before cooling. In this case, thanks to raisins, fermentation will continue even in the refrigerator, saturated with gases.

A white foam forms on the surface of the finished kvass, which is especially pronounced along the edges of the neck of the jar with kvass wort.

Video: How long should the foundation stand ???

Kvass prepared on the basis of malt will ferment for at least a day. How long the drink will be infused depends on the accompanying ingredients and on the temperature at which the kvass wort is kept.

Bread or cracker kvass will be infused from 12 hours. Usually the period is no more than a day.

Herbal kvass also has a short period of infusion, some of its variants only need to stand for 3 hours.

If there is not enough time and you don’t want to mess with the sourdough, then you can cook

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A Russian proverb says: “Kvasok is good if it hits your sock.” In the old days, kvass was served daily on the table both in the royal chambers and in peasant huts. They drank it both in the heat and in cold weather, and were loved by kings, and beggars, and soldiers, and monks. Kvass in Rus' was even considered a miraculous drink that helps with all diseases. During Lent, especially in the summer, the main food of the common people was kvass with green onions and black bread.

Each housewife cooked kvass at home and, as a rule, had her own cooking recipe. Until the end of the 19th century, it was prepared on rye malt with the addition of aromatic and spicy herbs (mint, thyme, oregano) or berry and fruit juices (raspberries, lingonberries, apples, pears). In the old days, kvass was prepared at home, sweet, sour, northern, spring, fragrant, peasant, white, mint, okroshka, with raisins, with horseradish, thick, kvass-shchi (sour shti), daily, fragrant, fragrant, with millet, with pepper (for example, at the end of the 19th century, Muscovites fell in love with kvass from boiled pears). In our article “Homemade Kvass Recipes” you will find tips on how to make different varieties of kvass yourself!

Kvass at home: cooking? No, magic

The technology for making kvass both at home and industrially consists in the fact that water, flour and malt are first used to prepare liquid dough - mash - which undergoes fermentation. And then this fermented mash is again diluted with water, yeast, sugar and other flavors and aromas are added to it, and it is fermented. Most often, juices of various fruits and berries are added as a flavoring additive. Aromatic additives can also be varied (ginger, mint, fragrant kvass).

In addition to the excellent taste, kvass has a wide range of useful and healing properties, it is one of the most nutritious and healthy drinks among all existing today. Kvass is a folk remedy for beriberi, since kvass contains many essential trace elements and vitamins, namely: lactic acid, B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, as well as amino acids and enzymes. It is kvass that best satisfies hunger and thirst, relieves fatigue and increases efficiency. Already in our time, researchers have found that an additional intake of malt extract - the basis of kvass - is much more effective than glucose in improving the muscle work of athletes. At the same time, high sugar levels remain in the blood for a longer time and fewer substances that cause fatigue are formed.

And thin kvass is better than good water.

Kvass, like bread, never gets bored.

Kvass at home: the basis of the basics

Let's start the story about the recipes for making kvass with its historical, traditional basis - kvass malt. Kvass malt is best cooked in enamelware: a bucket, a saucepan. But they should not have cracks, potholes and shells. Clay pots are also suitable, but oak barrels are best. Required products are wheat, rye, barley or peas. To prepare malt, the grains are washed in warm water, completely filled with water at room temperature. Withstand for 5-6 days, constantly stirring the mass. After 2-3 days, the water must be changed, and the grains should be washed again in warm water. As soon as the sprouts appear (they should be 2-3 times longer than the grain), the grains are taken out, dried in an oven at a temperature of 30-40 ° C. Dried grains are passed through a meat grinder, and then through a coffee grinder. Store young malt in a cool dry place in bags.

Malt cannot be brewed with boiling water, as this destroys enzymes - biological substances that contribute to the fermentation process. You can replace malt with yeast. How many days should kvass roam at home? It depends on the raw materials, temperature. As soon as bubbles, foam, sour taste appear, the drink is filtered to separate it from the thick, which will serve as a starter for a new portion of kvass. The filtered drink is cooled and used for drinking. This will be classic white kvass.

Text: Vera Shipunova, chef

Usually do several types of kvass: bread, fruit and berry and honey kvass. The largest share is bread kvass - a product of unfinished lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation of wort, prepared from a mixture of malted and unmalted bread with the addition of sugar.

Kvass is quite nutritious (200-300 kcal/l) and biologically valuable, as it is rich in B vitamins.

About 150 different recipes for bread, fruit and berry and honey kvass have been known in our country for a long time.

In Rus' kvass all classes drank. It was brewed in landowners' estates, noble estates and peasant huts. What only kvass was not in Rus': sweet and sour, mint and raisin, white and lemon, okroshki, fragrant, diurnal, thick.

"Good kvassok, if it kicks in the sock "- this is how they talked about good kvass. Those who are richer drank" kvassok sweet, with raisins and honey, "and the poor" slurped sheepskin kvass "( what does sheepskin kvass mean - I don’t know yet).

In addition to the much-needed summer article Prokvas ( I supplemented that article with a description of the preparation of industrial kvass - a lot of interesting things) - and in this article - the study of the topic of shortcomings of kvass - why and why he turns sour, how to "cure" him and not make such mistakes again.

It has become worse for me now (after 2 weeks) than it was at the beginning - more sour. Perhaps from raw flour (in the future I plan to fry it for sure). We'll figure out.

There is such an interesting concept as Nakvasnik:

WELL. Row (coarse, double stitched rare canvas or burlap). It was used to cover tubs with kvass so that kvass could breathe at the same time and would not be accessible to dust and the so-called wild yeasts, which contribute to the spoilage of kvass and its rapid souring.

I have kvass, however, it’s always covered like that, what wild yeast is - I don’t know much yet.

Sour kvass should not be abused for chronic ulcers and gastritis, high acidity, colitis, gout and liver diseases. To reduce the acidity of kvass, add honey to taste.

Ready kvass should be consumed in 2-3 days. With longer storage, it loses its taste and becomes sour.

If kvass sour, you need to pour it out and prepare a new filling. If you constantly make sure that the drink is not peroxide, you will always have a fresh and healthy product. To kvass not sour, him must be kept in a dark container, and open - under the fern, not under the lid, of course.

So, why does kvass turn sour and spoil?

Defects in soft drinks and kvass can be caused by microbiological processes (diseases), defects and shortcomings.

Microbiological defects are:

♦ sliming appears in drinks containing sugar. Then the drink acquires a thick consistency, ductility, greatly reducing the taste sensations of sweetness. These drinks are unsuitable for consumption due to the development of mucus-forming bacteria in them, during the life of which mucous compounds - dextrins - are formed from sugars;

♦ acetic souring of kvass manifests itself in a deterioration in taste, a decrease in density, turbidity, a thin film may appear on the surface;

♦ putrid smell of kvass is formed during the development of putrefactive forms of thermobacteria. The drink then becomes cloudy and acquires a putrid smell;

♦ mycoderma (flowered kvass) characterized by the formation of a white folded film on the surface of kvass V as a result of the development of wild membranous yeasts in the presence of atmospheric oxygen. The taste of the drink in this case deteriorates, and when the film settles, the kvass becomes cloudy;

♦ yeast haze occurs in sugary drinks. The drink acquires a yeasty unpleasant aftertaste, turbidity and sediment appear due to the development of wild yeast due to violation of technological regimes, sanitation requirements and storage conditions;

♦ lactic fermentation can occur in drinks containing carbohydrates as a result of their fermentation by lactic acid bacteria. The acidity in the drink increases, the taste and aroma deteriorate, the taste of sauerkraut appears, the drink fades and you don’t want to drink it;

♦ bacterial contamination occurs when there are microorganisms in the drink above the permissible norms due to violations of the sanitary conditions for the processing of raw materials and technological equipment. The development of microorganisms may be accompanied by;

♦ moldy smell and taste appear when mold is damaged by the raw materials from which we make kvass, technological equipment and the finished drink, on which they are formed.

The vices of drinks are caused mainly by physicochemical processes that violate the stability of the drink systems, as a result of which the following defects appear:

♦ darkening occurs if the iron content increases during the production of juices, extracts or drinks, while they can acquire an unpleasant metallic taste;

♦ non-biological haze manifests itself as a result of chemical interactions between the components of the drink and the imbalance of its colloidal system:

♦ turbidity of mineral water with the formation of sediment of various chemical compounds due to excessive content or oxidation of its components in case of excessive contact with air;

♦ opalescence of carbonated drinks prepared with juices and extracts containing an increased amount of pectins, terpenes, or when using water with a high iron content;

♦ turbidity and precipitation due to the formation of calcium salts of citric and tartaric acids, compounds of iron salts with phenolic compounds in drinks and with color substances;

♦ release of components oxidation products, destruction of coloring and aromatic substances under the influence of sunlight and high temperature, coagulation of protein, pectin, tanning and coloring substances.

Extraneous tastes and odors in kvass and drinks:

♦ resinous occurs when the composition and technology of grinding tanks and barrels are violated;

♦ kerosene, varnish, etc. manifests itself when containers are covered with fresh paraffin (kerosene taste) or poor quality food varnish;

♦ binder (metal, ink) formed due to the contact of the drink with uncoated iron surfaces, high iron content in process water;

♦ sunny unpleasant taste and smell (terpene-like and others) with hydrogen sulfide tones appears in bottled drinks, in which many substances are reduced to form mercaptans that have a sharp unpleasant odor. This defect is accompanied cloudiness of the drink;

♦ oily taste and smell are formed during the oxidation of essential oils of citrus infusions, etc.

From shortcomings(minor deviations in the composition and properties of drinks) the most common are:

♦ salty taste appears due to the increased content of common salt (sodium chloride) in the process water;

♦ chlorine taste and smell arise due to excessive chlorination of process water;

♦ phenolic (pharmacy) taste is formed due to an excess of nitrites in process water or the use of chlorine-containing materials (bleach, disinfectants, etc.) in the production.

Beverage defects are also considered foreign inclusions in drinks, foreign flavors (filter cardboard, etc.). If you make kvass at home, on good spring water, such shortcomings do not threaten - but the problems listed above are already more than enough.

Kvass in Rus' has always been a favorite drink. During Lent, kvass, along with onions and black rye bread, was the main source of vitamins. I read information that in hospitals during the war, kvass was not only a drink to quench thirst, but was also equated with healing drinks.

To cook kvass at home, you must first make sourdough for sourdough . Properly preparing sourdough is a guarantee of getting good, tasty homemade sourdough. Preparing a starter for homemade kvass is not so difficult and any housewife can do it.

Sourdough for bread kvass with yeast

Compound:

Bread - 0.5 l jar

Sugar 50 -70 - grams

Yeast - 15 - 20 grams of dry bakery

Cooking:

Cut black bread into small pieces and fry in a pan or in the oven. Fold the dried crackers into a liter or one and a half liter jar and pour boiling water over it. Since the crackers will swell, the water must be calculated so that the end result is a creamy slurry. Therefore, it is better to add more water later. If overfilled, add crackers.

Add sugar and stir until completely dissolved. Cover the jar with gauze or a napkin and leave to cool.

As soon as the water cools down to 25-35 degrees, add the yeast. Yeast should only be added to warm water. Once again, mix everything well, cover with a napkin and leave to ferment. During the fermentation of the starter, carbon dioxide is released, so the jar should not be tightly closed with a plastic or other lid.

The prepared amount of sourdough is enough to prepare 8-10 liters of homemade kvass from rye bread.

Sourdough for kvass without yeast

The process of making sourdough from bread without yeast is not much different from the preparation of the previous sourdough. In this case, you need to take a little more sugar and instead of yeast - raisins.

Pour crackers with water, add sugar for 1-2 tablespoons more. Rinse a handful of raisins and add to the jar. Cover with a towel and put in a warm place. The fermentation process can last two or three days. It depends on the temperature: the higher the temperature, the faster the fermentation process will begin. But at the same time, the temperature should not be high enough, otherwise fermentation may slow down. The ideal temperature is 25-26 degrees.

How to cook thick rye flour for kvass

Guscha is a leaven made from rye flour. It can be prepared with or without yeast. With yeast, the fermentation process will be faster. But the taste of yeast will be felt at first, but in the process of updating the thick, it will go away. I will give a recipe for making yeast-free thick with raisins, they also speed up the process of lactic acid fermentation. To prepare the grounds, it is better to take a jar with a volume of at least 1 liter.

Fill a half-liter jar of rye flour with warm water, add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and mix everything well. We should get like dough for pancakes. Therefore, the amount of water is not indicated. Water should be added gradually, mixing well so that lumps do not form. Add 10-15 pieces of raisins to the dough, cover with a napkin and put in a warm place for fermentation. Raisins after cooking thick will need to be removed. Determining the readiness of the thick on rye flour is simple: as soon as you feel sourness, then the thick is ready. Usually thick is ready in 2-3 days.

As I said already, to speed up the process, you can add yeast. One teaspoon will be enough.

Hop starter

Making hop starter at home is very easy. Hop cones can be bought at the nearest pharmacy.

Three tablespoons of hops pour 0.5 liters of boiling water. Put on a slow fire and boil for 15 minutes. Then strain the broth and cool to 40 degrees. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar or honey and add flour to get thick like sour cream. Cover with a napkin and put in a warm place for 24-30 hours. Store the finished sourdough in the refrigerator.

Sourdough on hops can be cooked in another way. But it is more suitable for making sourdough bread.

Pour a glass of dry hops with 2 cups of boiling water and boil over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove and leave to infuse for 30-40 minutes. During this time, the broth will cool down. Strain, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and gradually add flour until you get a pancake-like consistency.

We put the jar with the talker in a warm place for 2-3 days. The sourdough should begin to "play", i.e. foam and bubble.

Make mashed potatoes from one or two small potatoes. We mix the cooled puree with our talker and put it again in a warm place for one or two days. Now our starter should stop foaming and bubbling. That's it, the hop starter is ready. Put it in the refrigerator.

Before preparing kvass, take it out, beat it with flour, sugar and the sourdough for kvass is ready.

These are the main methods making sourdough for homemade sourdough . Preparation of sourdough on malt is a more laborious and lengthy process.

And the last tip. To prepare sourdough for kvass, it is better to take an enameled pot or a glass jar.