Buryakova Zakvaska (бурякова закваска, beet kvas)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A 1.5 to 2 litre glass fermentation jar
• •A box grater or food processor grater disc
• •A fermentation weight or small clean jar
• •A digital scale
• •Clean bottles for storing the strained kvas

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the water

   Weigh the water, then weigh the salt. Stir 30g salt into 1 litre cool water until it disappears. Three percent is enough for grated beets because they ferment quickly and you want a clean sour, not a salty pickle.

   This is the place to trust the scale. Your nose can judge readiness later, but the salt keeps the first days clean.
2. 2

   Pack the beets

   Put the grated beets into a clean 1.5 to 2 litre jar with the garlic and dill if using. Press them down with clean fingers or the back of a spoon so they sit tightly, but don't crush them into paste. You want the brine to move through the shreds.

3. 3

   Cover with brine

   Pour in the salted water until the beets are fully covered by at least 2cm. Weight them down with a fermentation weight or a small clean jar so no beet shreds float above the surface. If you use the rye bread, set it on top for the first day only, then remove it before it softens and breaks apart.

   Anything above the brine can spoil. Everything below it is where the good work happens.
4. 4

   Let it work

   Set the jar on a plate in a cool room, out of direct sun, with the lid loose enough to let gas escape. The brine will turn ruby, then cloudy ruby, and tiny bubbles will gather around the beet shreds. Smell it each day. When raw earthiness gives way to bright, clean sourness, it is becoming itself.

5. 5

   Taste and strain

   Start tasting after four days. It should be tart, lightly salty, beet-sweet underneath, and a little alive on the tongue. Strain the liquid into clean bottles, refrigerate it, and use the spent beets in soup or salad if they still taste good. If you see fuzzy mold, a rotten smell, or slime, throw it away and start again with cleaner jars and fully submerged beets.

6. 6

   Use in borshch

   Add the zakvaska near the end of cooking borshch, after the vegetables are tender and the zasmazhka has done its sweet work. Don't boil it hard. Let it warm through so the sourness stays bright and the color stays brave.

Chef Tips

• •Use raw beets, not cooked. Cooked beets can ferment, yes, but raw beets give a cleaner sour and a stronger color.
• •The rye bread is old-fashioned and speeds things along, but it also makes the ferment cloudier and easier to spoil if forgotten. I usually leave it out unless the kitchen is cold.
• •If your room is hot, taste earlier. If it is cold, give it more time. The jar tells you: bubbles, tart smell, clean sour taste.
• •This is for souring borshch, not for canning on a shelf. Once it tastes right, strain and refrigerate it.
• •Use 150 to 250ml zakvaska for a big pot of borshch, then taste. The ferment should wake the pot, not take it hostage.

Advance Preparation

• •The beet zakvaska ferments at room temperature for 4 to 6 days, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
• •Once strained and refrigerated, it keeps for about 2 weeks, sometimes longer if it stays clean and smells bright.
• •Make it before borshch day. The pot will thank you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)