Beet Kvass (Fermented Beet Juice)
Source: The Nourishing Cook
Information from Nourishing Traditions: “This drink is valuable for its medicinal qualities and as a digestive aid. Beets are just loaded with nutrients. One 4-ounce glass, morning and night, is an excellent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver and is a good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments. Beet kvass may also be used in place of vinegar in salads dressings and as an addition to soups.”
Ingredients
Equipment:
- 1/2 gallon mason jars
- Fine strainer & cheesecloth (to strain whey from yogurt)
- Vegetable peeler
- Chef’s knife
- No stain, no slip cutting board
- Non-reactive spoon
Ingredients:
Instructions
- Place beets, whey and salt in a half gallon glass container (2 quarts). Add filtered water to fill the container. Stir well and cover securely. Keep at room temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.
- When most of the liquid has been drunk, you may fill up the container with water and keep at room temperature another two days. The resulting brew will be slightly less strong than the first. After the second brew, discard the beets and start again. You may, however, reserve some of the liquid and use this as your inoculant instead of the whey.
Notes
- Do not grate the beets. When grated, beets exude too much liquid resulting in too rapid of fermentation that favors the production of alcohol rather than lactic acid.
- Add beet kvass to salad dressings, soups, or wherever you would use vinegar or where a slightly sour taste is preferable.
- Be sure to make the second batch of beet kvass as the recipe directs, but leave some of the first batch of liquid in the jar to help start the 2nd batch.
- After you’re done using your beets for kvass, use your leftover beets and make Simple Roasted Beet Soup. The soup will of course be more sour than if you used fresh but it’s not an unpleasant flavor at all.
Recipe by Season Johnson at https://www.seasonjohnson.com/beet-kvass/