"There is no substitute for coffee!!!" Is the type of comment from BuckarooFarmer whenever he sees me busy with my latest fermented brew. My husband loves his coffee. He can't leave the house without making a pot of filter coffee to ease into the new day. But what he does first is drink a big glass of warm water with apple cider vinegar. Did you know that while you are sleeping your incredible body does a mild detox? Your night of rest is also a mini fast and you get to reboot every morning. The best thing to do is to help your body flush the toxic waste with an internal shower. A big glass of warm water with lemon or apple cider vinegar - even a warm herbal tea such as stinging nettle - is vital to help your body finish the repair before you energize it for another day.
What I like to do is follow up the night's cleanse with a powerful probiotic boost. I must admit I have every intention of making the family their daily freshly juiced nourishing garden greens. But I don't. Instead Beet Kvass kicks off the day.
The word kvass is from the Russian word; kvasit. It means “to ferment”. The flavour is acquired but I find the earthy - and rather salty - taste delicious. You can take it medicinally or enjoy it as a cold drink.
The fact that beetroot is high in iron is common knowledge. Now add to that a short fermentation process and you have another superfood - superdrink! Beet kvass is really easy to make. And the finished drink is full of beneficial enzymes, beneficial compounds and essential probiotics. The fermentation process also increases vitamin levels. Beet kvass is a wonderful liver tonic.
BEET KVASS:
2 - 4 beetroot (depending on the size)
1 tablespoon good salt (I use himalayan)
1/4 cup sauerkraut juice
2 litres filtered water
Organic beetroots are best. If we have none in our garden then I soak the store bought beetroot for 10 minutes in water with a dash of food grade hydrogen peroxide. This washes off any pesticides and other chemicals sprayed on the veggies. Rinse. Chunky chop the beet. Do not peel.
Sterilize your jars (I use one litre bottles). Add the chopped beetroot and himalayan salt. Add the 1/4 sauerkraut juice (You can also use probiotics if you have. The original recipe calls for whey but there are vegan alternatives and if, like me, you always have sauerkraut then use the delicious juice). Top up the bottles with filtered water. Pop the lid on and keep in a dark place for 3 to 5 days. Make sure to scoop off any froth that forms on the top. You don't need bad bacteria forming. At this stage you can transfer your beet kvass to the fridge. It'll take two weeks before the fermentation process is complete and your probiotic drink is ready. Keep an eye on the bottles and filter off any froth on the surface. When ready filter and drink. By the time it is ready the Beet kvass is a deep purple red colour.
When you say scoop off the froth, what do you use? I'm so bad at kvass... each time I made it it went mouldy, and I"m not sure what I'm doing wrong. It's beetroot harvest at the moment (@thebigsweed might like to make this too!) so I'd like to do it.
I have just finished a bottle of store bought kvass that has heaps of extra stuff, like herbs - nettle etc. That really intrigued me! https://www.biobeetkvass.com.au/ - and me being me, I hate buying stuff and would rather make it. So I've been meaning to come back to this for what seems like days but it's not been that long since you posted it. I probably feel the same way about sauerkraut - I always fuck it up.
Anyway, tanks sooooo much for sharing! I've book marked this one, and the kraut one, so I can have another go next year and get my kraut on.
Love you and sooo glad you are on HIVE.
Thanks for the mention. I wouldn't have come across this post otherwise.
@riverflows I did a double take reading your comment. I saw you asking about the froth .... and read "I'm so bad ass........
Like you I hate buying stuff when I can make it. I love the idea of nettle in beet kvass - that WOULD be bad ass!! I must say mould is a huge problem because of our intense heat. I end up putting most of my ferments in the fridge sooner to avoid that problem. To answer your froth question; although I hate plastic I have a fabulous little plastic sieve/scoop thingumie (like a tea strainer) I use it for straining my ferments. Although with the beet kvass I make it in a very wide mouthed jar (3 - 4 litres). Then I carefully scoop any dodgy looking bits off the top every day. So far so good....
I may be able to give this a try this year. I harvested most of my beets about three weeks ago, but I left 1/2 dozen in the garden to see if they would continue to grow. They were rather small at the time, but to my surprise, they have almost doubled in size since then.
I know what I'll be doing with those bad boys, beet kvass.
I'm surprised that after several days the concoction is placed in the fridge to complete the fermentation process.
I make home-brewed beer and it's critical that during the fermentation process the temp stays between 72/76 degrees F. If the temperature falls below 70 degrees the fermenting stops like it's been turned off by a switch.
Recently @riverflows turned @farm-mom onto a honey and garlic recipe that she tried. After several days sitting on the counter, I noticed it was no longer there and I found it in the fridge. I immediately removed it from the fridge and placed it back on the counter, figuring that the fermentation process would stop due to the cold temperature.
We used it for the first time just a few days ago on a beet salad.
Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
We only made a small batch, to begin with, but after using it for the first time we immediately made a larger batch the following day.
Wonderful post, but then again I'm a beet fanatic.
Garlic and honey is a YUM combination! When I initially learned that the fermentation continues in chilled conditions I was a bit skeptical. But I tested the theory with various ferments. It mostly works. I think it is really ferment dependent - so based on the different probiotic strains. I've noticed that most homesteaders in our area who make sourdough bread allow it to do its thing in the fridge because we have such intense summers. I have yet to be convinced it works but with other ferments, definitely
Beet is great for detox. But I never try to eat or making a drink. I will try some day :)
Beet is wonderful for so many reasons! And this is really a very refreshing drink
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I love beetroot color 😍 so powerful energy to drink it
It is a beautiful colour!
Yes, it is 😍 I feel energetic thanks to color!
Oh this sounds so good, nothing like a good cleanse. I never realized fermenting veggies enhanced the vitamin content, interesting fact. I often will take a shot of apple cider vinegar with a glass of water for it's cleansing effect on the bladder as well as keeping the bugs away. ACV is good stuff.
Nice post, very informative. Definitely going to give that kvass a try.
ACV is amazing @farm-mom! It is wonderful for a cleanse. I love putting it in a nourishing bath for my entire family (with a few drops if essential oils and a cup of bicarb). I even cured ovarian cysts with AVC
Wow, I never thought of using in a bath and I have essential oil on hand all the time. When you say bicarb, you mean baking soda? The more I hear about ACV, the more I like it. I always have that in my pantry.
Thanks for the tip, never too old to learn new tricks.
Yes! Sorry. In SA we call it bicarb(onate of soda). You call it baking soda. So the quantity is 1 cup baking soda dissolved in the bath. Add a half cup of ACV and a couple drops of essential oil. I like lemon but you can use lavender or any other combination you like
Thanks for the measurements, I love my tubby 😉
So, I shall keep this post as I am also a beet junky, but there's much in this post that I have no idea about. I am a bit jealous of the @thebigsweed with all of his beets, as the best is always to grow them organically.
Btw. What is ACV just in case I get an ovarian cyst Lol.
AVC is Apple Cider Vinegar, but if you do get an ovarian cist I don't think it will remedy the situation. 😁
You two are hilarious!! I just had to investigate my husband laughing uproarously AT MY LAPTOP. He was looking at my recent posts and found these two comments @papilloncharity and @thebigsweed
Hilarious? Us two? I cannot speak for the @thebigsweed, but I do not have a hilarious hair on my head.
I've been told that I'm not a funny guy!
My husband says different!
Brilliant! I just ate mines, they were pretty smalls, I don't think there is anyone on hive that has been successful at making kvass (yet!)
I've never even tried anything that involves fermentation, or at least never on purpose 😄
One question, why "do not peel"?
I know that much of the nutritional benefits of veggies can be found in the skin and that may be the reason for not peeling the beets.
Exactly!