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Beet kvass
Buriakovyi kvas (буряковий квас): lightly fermented beetroot juice for souring borscht or sipping
Before lemons and vinegar were easy to buy, Ukrainian cooks soured their borscht with beet kvass, a ruby-red brine made by leaving sliced raw beetroot in salted water for a few days. It is lightly fermented, so it contains no more than a negligible trace of alcohol, and it tastes earthy, salty and pleasantly sharp. In Poltava and Chernihiv villages a jar always stood by the stove; a splash went into the soup pot and a small glass was drunk in the morning as a tonic. Some families add a crust of rye bread to speed things up, which makes it no longer gluten-free. The mistake most people make is leaving the beetroot floating: anything above the brine can grow mould, so keep it weighed down. Discard any batch with fuzzy or coloured mould, a slimy texture or a rotten smell. Chef's tip: a few slices left in the jar from the previous batch start the next one in half the time.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ lb raw beetrootscrubbed, peeled and sliced 5 mm thick
- 8 ¼ cups waterboiled and cooled
- 1 ½ tbsp saltnon-iodised
- 2 cloves garlichalved
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp sugar
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Wash a 3 litre glass jar in hot soapy water and rinse it with boiling water.
5 minStep 3: Pack 2 ¼ lb raw beetroot, 2 cloves garlic and 1 bay leaf into the jar and pour over the brine, leaving 5 cm of headspace.
5 minStep 4: Weigh the beetroot under the brine with a small saucer or a water-filled zip bag so nothing floats. Cover with a clean cloth and an elastic band.
5 minStep 5: Leave at room temperature, 18–72°F, for 3–5 days. Skim off any white foam every day; it is ready when the liquid is deep red, slightly cloudy and tastes tangy rather than just salty.
10 minStep 6: Strain into clean bottles, close and refrigerate. Use within 2 weeks for borscht or drink in small glasses, chilled.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 25 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does beet kvass take?
- About 30 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 8 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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