Buryakovyi Kvas (буряковий квас, beet kvas)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A 2.5 to 3 litre glass fermentation jar
• •A fermentation weight or small clean jar
• •A digital scale
• •Clean muslin for the rye crust

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the jar

   Wash a 2.5 to 3 litre glass jar well and rinse it clean. You don't need theatre, just cleanliness. If the jar smells of old pickle or washing-up liquid, rinse again until it smells of nothing.

2. 2

   Cut the beets

   Scrub the beets and cut them into chunky wedges, not fine slices. Big pieces ferment more cleanly and are easier to keep under the brine. Leave the peel on if it is clean; there is color and earthiness there.

3. 3

   Mix the brine

   Weigh the water, weigh the salt: 40g salt to 2 litres water. Stir until the salt dissolves. This is one of the rare places where I ask you to trust the scale before your nose, because the salt is what keeps the ferment safe while the sourness builds.

   Two percent makes a drinkable kvas. If your kitchen is very hot, use 50g salt for the same water, a little firmer and safer, then dilute the finished kvas to drink.
4. 4

   Pack and cover

   Put the beets in the jar with the garlic, bay, and peppercorns if using. Pour over the brine until everything is covered. Add the rye crust only if you can tie it in clean muslin and remove it after the first day; bread floating loose is where mold likes to start.

   The rye crust is traditional because it wakes the ferment quickly, but it is not compulsory. Beets carry enough of their own sugar to ferment without it.
5. 5

   Keep it submerged

   Set a fermentation weight, a small clean jar, or a food-safe weight over the beets so no piece breaks the surface. Cover with a lid left slightly loose, or open it once a day to release pressure. Put the jar on a plate. The loud shelf likes to announce itself.

6. 6

   Let it work

   Leave the jar at cool room temperature, away from direct sun. After a couple of days the brine should turn dark and a little cloudy, with fine bubbles at the glass and a clean sour smell. Remove the rye crust after 24 hours if you used it. If you see fuzzy mold, throw it away and start again; if you see pale sediment or cloudy brine, that is normal.

7. 7

   Taste and chill

   Start tasting when it smells sour and sounds faintly fizzy as you loosen the lid. It should be earthy first, then salty, then bright at the back of the tongue. When it tastes right to you, strain the kvas into bottles and refrigerate. Drink it cold, or use it by the ladleful to sour borshch.

Chef Tips

• •Use raw beets, not cooked. Cooked beets make a flatter, sweeter drink and they don't carry the same lively surface bacteria.
• •The rye crust is a helper, not the whole recipe. If you are gluten-free, skip it; the kvas will simply take a little longer.
• •For drinking, serve it cold in small glasses. For borshch, add it near the end so the sourness stays bright instead of boiling away.
• •If the finished kvas is too salty for sipping, dilute it with cold water. That is not failure, that is knowing what your jar made.
• •Keep the strained beets for one more weaker batch if they still smell clean and sour. After that, compost them. They have given enough.

Advance Preparation

• •The kvas ferments for 3 to 7 days at room temperature, depending on warmth and how sour you like it.
• •Once strained and refrigerated, it keeps about 2 weeks for drinking, and longer as a borshch sourer if it smells clean and stays pleasantly sharp.
• •Make it before you plan a pot of borshch; beet zakwas is one of those quiet pantry things that makes the whole pot taste older than it is.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)