cooking

The almost forgotten taste of real rustic kvass will take you to the atmosphere of old Russia, where the hut and soul were warmed by the aroma of a real elixir of the inexhaustible vital energy of a Russian person.

Russian village kvass is a gastronomic jewel of the culinary traditions of the Slavs, reminiscent of the roots and the importance of preserving the knowledge of ancestors about these unique drinks. In the old days, there were hundreds of types of kvass: honey, herbal, berry, vegetable. All these recipes have been passed down from generation to generation until some time. After all, real kvass is an inexhaustible source of benefits, unique taste and many recipes of authentic cuisine. It was white kvass that was considered the king of all Russian drinks and feasts. Thick, satisfying, invigorating, with a refreshing tart taste and sourness, it was great for drinking and eating.

Centuries-old experience has shown that such kvass in the daily diet contributes to maintaining health and increases efficiency. When performing heavy work - mowing, plowing, logging - the Russian peasant took with him as a drink not milk or fruit drinks, but kvass, it was he who saturated, relieved fatigue and restored strength.

Some delicious history

The history of Russian kvass is unique; volumes imbued with the life wisdom of ancestors, amazing recipes and healing properties of this unique Slavic drink can be devoted to this interesting topic. In the old days, kvass was an indispensable product in the daily diet of peasants and kings, because the drink did not know the estates. If we talk about authentic kvass, then we will talk about a white fermented drink - the most valuable in terms of taste and benefits.

The theme of the revival of everything Russian has become more relevant than ever. If a couple of decades ago we were striving for everything Western, now a new trend for originality is the fashion for the healing properties of a proper diet. However, white kvass has actually disappeared from the tables of modern Russian people. During the period of popularity of carbonated drinks, we have become unaccustomed to the taste of real village kvass. If you were born and raised in Russia, and your grandmother lived in a village where you enjoyed coming for holidays from year to year, then you probably know how important our ancestors attached such a unique taste, composition and useful properties to a drink like kvass! Each housewife had her own recipe for village kvass, its recipe was not disclosed to outsiders, but was passed down from generation to generation.

Taking care of the well-being of consumers, the Ochakovo company recreates the national drinking tradition - it produces village white kvass Semeyny Sekret. Its recipe was brought from an ethnographic expedition to Russian villages and revived by the technologists of the plant using modern equipment. It is this kind of kvass that corresponds to the cooking traditions known in Russia from time immemorial.

"Family Secret" - a unique collection of double-fermented kvass

Kvass "Family Secret" has no analogues on the market. This original product is a real home-made country kvass recreated in industrial conditions. It is very satisfying, has a pronounced sour-salty taste. It was they who poured okroshka before. This kvass is not filtered, so malt sediment is possible. This is practically a farmer's eco-product, and therefore the shelf life is only 60 days. It is made from wheat malt and whole rye grain, unfiltered, live kvass of double fermentation (lactic acid and yeast).

The secret of double fermentation

Today, most producers prefer to make kvass using a simplified single yeast fermentation technology. However, only one that is prepared using the technology of double fermentation - yeast and lactic acid, as this drink was made in Russia, should be considered real Russian kvass. It was produced in the same way in the USSR. Double fermentation uses yeast and lactic acid bacteria. This is the only way to get real traditional kvass.

Antioxidant properties of kvass

Kvass is rich in natural antioxidants that prevent the accumulation of free radicals, thereby reducing the risk of atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer, as well as premature aging.

Grain raw materials - malt and whole grains - enrich Ochakovo's kvass with substances that have an antioxidant effect, which puts them out of competition among other drinks.

Germinated wheat (malt) is a powerful immune stimulant and antioxidant that removes toxins. Whole grain rye contains a large amount of vitamin E. One of the main functions of vitamin E is as an antioxidant.

The line of white kvass "Family Secret" contains 0.1 mg/l of vitamin E.

German scientists have found that a bread drink helps to strengthen the immune system, recover from colds, increase the body's efficiency, reduce hunger, and even help to lose weight. And Germany learned about kvass thanks to German prisoners of war during the Second World War, who personally experienced the beneficial effects of Russian village kvass. According to the stories of captured Germans, this drink worked wonders.

Many people know that there are kvass and there are kvass drinks. The latter are just trying to imitate the taste of real kvass. But in fact, even what GOST allows to call kvass is often not.

Kvass in law

GOST is the law. And "GOST 31494-2012. Kvass. General technical conditions” is a document that allows de jure to call kvass a drink that de facto is not. It was accepted in 2012. What is the trick? Here is the definition of kvass from GOST:

"Non-alcoholic drink with an ethanol content of not more than 1.2% by volume, produced as a result of incomplete alcoholic or alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation of the wort."

In fact, there are two fundamentally different types of drink.

One - double fermentation: alcohol and lactic acid. First, the yeast works, decomposing carbohydrates to ethyl alcohol, then this fermentation stops and lactic acid bacteria turn on the work, converting the same carbohydrates into lactic acid. The result is an invigorating drink with a very small amount of alcohol and pronounced sourness, which perfectly quenches thirst. This is the traditional Russian kvass. It's always been done that way.

Another drink is only alcoholic fermentation. As follows from the definition in GOST, it is not obtained by double fermentation, but only as a result of incomplete alcoholic fermentation. That is, fermentation caused only by yeast, and stopped at a certain stage, when there was not very much ethyl alcohol. If this process is not stopped, then beer will be obtained. After all, the initial substances for this drink and for kvass can be almost the same (with the only difference being that hops are also added to beer). But will such a weakly-weakly alcoholic drink be sour and thirst-satisfying? Of course not, because there is no acid. But it can be added. Manufacturers do just that - instead of lactic acid fermentation, they add lactic, citric or any other food acid to the drink.

Now it’s clear: this option is a greatly simplified copy of the traditional Russian kvass, which would be more correct and honest to call “semi-kvass”. After all, in its production, only half of the production process is simulated. By the way, one could also call it “non-drinking”: if the fermentation of the yeast had not been stopped, it would have been beer.

Selection rules

How to distinguish a traditional Russian drink from a “non-drinking drink”, because according to GOST it can be officially called kvass and even emphasize that this is fermented kvass? By composition. In the composition of the "semi-kvass" there will always be food acids - more often lactic, less often - citric, even less often - others. Sometimes a mixture of several acids can occur. And there are no acids in the composition of traditional Russian kvass - there is no need for them, because they are formed naturally during the fermentation process.

Even in the composition of any kvass made in accordance with GOST, there must first of all be wort and sourdough, which is needed for fermentation. The sourdough contains yeast and lactic acid bacteria (the latter are always absent in the production of "semi-kvass"). And the wort is a mixture of flavoring extractives (mainly from grain crops - rye, barley, etc.), malt and often flour. Extractive substances are needed for taste and aroma, and malt contains a lot of carbohydrates, which turn into alcohol and acids during fermentation.

In addition, kvass can contain various sugars - ordinary sugar, fructose, dextrose, maltose, glucose, etc. (a significant part of them is destroyed during fermentation), as well as natural juices, extracts or flavors to give specific flavors. For example, mint extract or berry juices, which can be in flavored or berry kvass.

Never kvass

As for kvass drinks, they differ from their counterparts in that they do not roam at all. And information about fermentation on their labels should not be. Their taste, aroma, color and gas bubbles are “engineered” and do not have a natural origin associated with fermentation. To obtain kvass drinks, you can mix everything in a row: flavors, dyes, sugars, sweeteners (sweeteners), preservatives, etc. As a rule, all this is synthetic, which is absolutely prohibited in kvass according to GOST. And when you see them in the composition, don’t even rack your brains anymore: this is not kvass. In the composition of kvass drinks, wort and kvass extracts can be indicated, but they are used more for show - to powder the brains of the buyer. And if the label has the word “drink” on it, or it doesn’t indicate that it is a fermented product, then you don’t have kvass in front of you.

For reference

What do some terms mean on bottles of kvass

Kvass pasteurized

Kvass in bottles is almost always subjected to heat treatment in order to slow down the work of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, since live kvass has a very short life. You can sell it only close to the production, and it is always a local drink.

Kvass (cold sterilized)

Lactic acid bacteria and yeast are removed from it by fine filtration, without heating. It is stored less than pasteurized, but longer than live.

Filtration and clarification of kvass

Kvass always contains a suspension of fermenting particles and microorganisms that make it opaque and can accumulate as a sediment at the bottom of the bottle. If they are not removed, then this is unfiltered, unclarified kvass. But more often they are removed and do it in the following ways:

using clarifying materials - this is how unfiltered clarified kvass is obtained
using filtration or separation (separation) - this is how filtered kvass is obtained.

The kvass that we remember from the 80s appeared in the USSR in the 30s of the last century. Until that moment, there were many recipes for kvass, in different regions they enjoyed varying degrees of popularity, kvass was produced handicraft and drunk regardless of the season.

It was decided to produce kvass industrially only in the warm season, that is, in summer. So kvass became a super-seasonal product.

Let's start with double-fermented kvass. It is made according to the classical technology, according to which kvass was made back in Soviet times. First, from natural grain raw materials - from rye flour and rye malt - the wort is brewed. Then water, sugar are added to it, and pay attention - sourdough from special cultures - from yeast and lactic acid bacteria. So it has 2 components.

This mixture ferments. Moreover, both yeast, which form alcohol, and lactic acid bacteria, which give a sour, refreshing taste, ferment. That is why kvass is called double-fermented kvass. This was kvass according to GOST until 2005.

However, in 2005, GOST was changed, and single fermentation kvass appeared. Yeast is also added to it, but instead of lactic acid bacteria, it was allowed to add lactic acid, citric, or even acetic acid to it - as the manufacturer pleases. And many manufacturers have taken advantage of this. After all, this technology is simpler and cheaper. Like, why bother with lactic acid fermentation, if the acid can be added later?

But, besides the taste, single fermentation kvass has lost its useful properties. Compared to it, double-fermented kvass has more useful properties, because it contains more lactic acid.

After the kvass was ready for bottling, it was clarified (filtered) as much as possible by settling. A field of which a hose was connected almost directly to the tank, the other end of which was lowered into the tank truck. A barrel filled with goods was sent to water the suffering in the streets and squares. Kvass had to be sold in a maximum of one or two days, otherwise it deteriorated - the processes of uncontrolled fermentation continued, the number of microorganisms that settled in it at the stage of production and transportation was high, in addition, the kvass ran out of steam.

Bread kvass has been one of the most beloved drinks since the times of Ancient Russia. Kvass was brewed everywhere - in monasteries, in landowners' houses, and in peasant huts.

Previously, peasants never went out to work in the field without taking kvass with them. Even then, people noticed that kvass promotes health and increases efficiency.

The benefits of kvass

Today, scientists add: bread kvass regulates the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. It prevents the reproduction of harmful microorganisms, raises the general tone of the body, strengthens the cardiovascular system. This is all because bread kvass contains many useful substances: lactic acid, vitamins, free amino acids, various trace elements and enzymes.

Bread kvass is used in many recipes of national Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian cuisines. And they poured it on hot stones in the Russian steam room, and in winter they poured ice kvass over it.

There are many varieties of bread kvass: sour or sweet, with mint, with other seasonings and spices, for example, with horseradish, special okroshka, with the addition of various fruit and berry ingredients - pears, black currants.

The procedure for preparing real bread kvass is quite laborious. First, grain (rye or barley) is soaked, germinated, steamed, dried, ground, and wort is prepared from it. It is filled with water, wanders for several days, insists. The whole process takes at least a week. It is much easier to make bread kvass at home from a commercially available concentrate. And it’s even easier to buy ready-made kvass, from a barrel or already bottled.

How to make homemade kvass

Doctors believe that in its effect on the body, kvass is similar to kefir, curdled milk, koumiss and other products of lactic acid fermentation.

In Russia, all classes drank kvass. It was brewed in landowners' estates, noble estates and peasant huts. There were all sorts of kvass in Russia: sweet and sour, mint and raisin, white and lemon, okroshka, fragrant, daily, thick. "Kvass is good, if it hits your sock" - they talked about good kvass. The type of kvass used determined the standard of living.

Wealthy people drank "sweet kvass, with raisins and honey," and the poor slurped "sheepskin kvass." Still, it was believed that even "thin kvass is better than good water." Kvass was drunk all year round. During fasts, which were many and strictly observed, kvass became the main source of vitamins, along with onions and black bread. Kvass was considered so healing that in infirmaries and hospitals it was not just an indispensable part of the diet of patients to quench their thirst, but was equated with medicines.

Already two centuries ago, doctors knew that kvass improves digestion and "expels" microbes. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the industrial production of kvass was established. The main "kvass" competitor was Bavarian beer, which was imported to Russia. The "Russian Society for the Protection of Public Health" came to the defense of kvass, scientifically proving the medicinal, dietary and preventive properties of kvass. Today it is easy to buy ready-made kvass, an extract of this drink or kvass wort.

It is not worth talking about the method of preparing kvass from semi-finished products - it is indicated on the packaging. However, the most healing kvass is homemade and the most common is bread kvass.

Young rye kvass. Cut rye bread into slices and dry in the oven so that they are lightly browned. Pour boiling water over crackers, close and leave for 3-4 hours. Strain the resulting infusion, which is called wort, put yeast, granulated sugar, mint diluted in warm water, cover with a napkin and let it ferment for 10-12 hours.

After the appearance of foam, strain again and bottle into bottles, putting five washed raisins in each half-liter bottle. Close the bottles tightly with corks soaked in boiling water and hold for 2-3 hours at room temperature, and then put in a cold place. In three days, young kvass will be ready. For 500-700 g of rye crackers, you will need 4-5 liters of water, 10-15 g of yeast, 100-150 g of granulated sugar, 10 g of mint, 25 g of raisins.

Petrovsky kvass. It is prepared in the same way as mentioned above, but instead of mint, put in kvass 100-150 g of grated horseradish and 100 g of honey, which replaces half of the sugar. He perfectly fights chronic diseases of the nasopharynx.

Kvass from calamus roots. Add calamus infusion to bread kvass prepared in the usual way in the proportion of one glass of root infusion per 3 liters of kvass. Such kvass sharpens vision and hearing, strengthens the gums, calms nervous excitement and lowers blood pressure.

Kvass with hops. 50 g of hop cones are added to 3 liters of finished kvass and infused for at least 5 hours. It is used in dietary nutrition for gastritis and in cosmetology to strengthen hair as masks.

Kvass with mint. Dip a gauze bag with mint into the prepared kvass - 20 g per 3 liters of drink and add 2 tablespoons of honey. Mint kvass calms the nervous system and provides a healthy sound sleep. Kvass was also made from fruits, berries, oats, wheat crackers and other products.

Kvass with lemon. With regular use, lemon kvass is a wonderful tool for improving metabolism. Such kvass is good for rheumatism, acne in adolescence, obesity, and also lowers blood cholesterol levels. Pour 250 g of dry black bread with 4 liters of boiling water and leave for several hours. Then strain, add 200-250 g of sugar, 5 g of dissolved yeast and the juice of one lemon. Leave this mixture for a day, then pour into bottles and place in a dark, cool place for 3 days. You can add some raisins or ground hazelnuts to kvass.

Lemon honey kvass. Favorite drink of Russian emperors. Pour the juice squeezed from one lemon into 1.5 liters of boiled water at room temperature. Add 4 tablespoons of honey, 6 teaspoons of sugar, stir, cover with gauze and let it brew for a day. After that, strain kvass through triple gauze and pour into bottles, adding 4-5 raisins to each. Close bottles tightly. Put in a cold place for aging and ripening for one to two weeks.

Berry kvass. Recipe from the archive of the cook Nicholas II. Berries: black currants, raspberries, blackberries, lingonberries or blueberries - rinse, mash and place in an enamel bowl. Pour warm sugar syrup at the rate of: for 4 liters of water - 1 kg of berries and 500-600 g of sugar. Stir the resulting mixture thoroughly, cover with gauze, keep for a day at room temperature. After that, strain twice and bottle with a few raisins. Keep in a cold place for 1-2 weeks.

Apple kvass. Cut the apples, pour them with water, bring to a boil and leave for 2-3 hours. Then strain, add yeast, sugar and citric acid diluted in warm water and leave for 3-4 days for fermentation. For 1 kg of apples - 500 g of granulated sugar, 50 g of yeast, 3 g of citric acid and 5 liters of water.

Refreshing kvass is also used to prepare valuable and nutritious cold first courses: okroshka and beetroot.

Okroshka vegetable. Cut boiled potatoes, peeled cucumbers, radishes and apples into cubes. Hard boil eggs. Grind the yolks with mustard, sour cream, chopped green onions, sugar and salt and dilute with kvass. Squirrels cut. Put prepared vegetables, egg whites in a saucepan and pour kvass to the desired consistency. When serving, put chopped greens on the table. Finely chopped boiled meat can be added to okroshka. For 1 liter of bread kvass: potatoes - 100 g, cucumbers - 60 g, apples and radishes - 30 g each, one egg, green onions - 50 g, mustard - 15 g, sour cream - 75 g, herbs, salt and sugar - each taste.

Beetroot with kvass. Cut raw beets into cubes, add water, add vinegar and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Ten minutes before the end of cooking, put the beet tops, cool. Cut carrots, peeled cucumbers, hard-boiled eggs, and grind green onions with salt. Combine everything with beetroot broth, mix, add bread kvass, sour cream, sugar, salt, and dill when serving. For 1 liter of bread kvass: 2-3 beets with tops, one glass of water, one carrot, 2 cucumbers, 100 g of green onions, 2 eggs, sour cream, sugar, salt, vinegar, herbs - to taste.

General "kvass" rules

1. Sour kvass should not be abused for chronic ulcers and gastritis, high acidity, colitis, gout and liver diseases. To reduce the acidity of kvass, add honey to taste.

2. Kvass is prepared on cooled boiled water.

4. Ready kvass should be consumed in 2-3 days. With longer storage, it loses its taste and becomes sour.

5. Champagne bottles with dense and reliable polyethylene stoppers are the most convenient for making kvass.

6. The utensils in which the wort is infused must be glass or enameled; kvass cannot be cooked in aluminum utensils, as it oxidizes.

7. Chilled kvass tastes better.

8. For the preparation of berry kvass, only ripe selected undamaged berries are used.

History of kvass

It is said that kvass, a unique refreshing drink fermented with a mixture of rye and barley malt, sugar and water, was invented by the Greeks. True, it is hard to believe - this drink seems so Russian both to us and to the whole world. So the chronicler Nestor in 989 documented: when Prince Vladimir baptized Russia, during the great holiday people were distributed "food, honey and kvass." Well, how widespread kvass was in Russia during tsarist times is a well-known story. The nobles, and the peasants, and the monks, and the soldiers, and even the king himself drank it. Kvasovarni at that time met almost at every turn.

There was, of course, the "hierarchy" of the drink. Honey kvass was considered the most noble, and the best honey from all over the country went to St. Petersburg for throne kvass. The same famous kvass (which insisted on kalach instead of yeast) was also made in some monasteries, where they bred their bees; the name "monastic" was assigned to it. In the houses of landlords and peasants, kvass was usually prepared from barley and rye malt. Well, berry kvass, infused with all kinds of strawberries, lingonberries, cranberries and bird cherry, was considered cheap, and in estates it was kept for simpler visitors. People lived well!

Interestingly, pre-revolutionary kvass, at least some of its variety, was not non-alcoholic. Its strength could reach 7-8%. Moreover, there was no smell of alcohol in the "drunk" kvass - the whole thing was exclusively in fermentation.

How did kvass appear? Perhaps it was like this: one creative, but not very economic peasant kept grain in the cellar. For example, in a pot. Once there happened in the house, say, a small flood and some water got into the pot. The grain sprouted and began to sour. The peasant, seeing this, was very upset, but decided to try to make flour anyway. He dried the sprouted grain and ground it. Got malt. The peasant realized that he would not see bread, poured boiling water over the mixture and left this must (didn't he come up with such an unsympathetic word in the heat of the moment?) to ferment. “We'll see what happens,” he said. And kvass came out.

Today, few people dare to undertake such a feat as making kvass from scratch - after all, the classic process, from soaking the grain to the readiness of the drink, will take at least seventy days. The matter is greatly simplified by yeast, and not only baker's, but also special kvass. They include rye and barley malt, hop extract and water; like beer, they have a beneficial effect on health. The main advantage of kvass yeast is that, unlike bread yeast, they will never give kvass the smell of dough.

homemade kvass recipe

Cut rye bread (800 g) into small slices, dry in the oven to the state of crackers, put in a large saucepan and pour boiling water (4-7 l). Close the lid and leave for 3-4 hours; stir from time to time. Strain the resulting wort through cheesecloth, cool to 25-30 ° C, add sugar (1-2 cups; first melt in a portion of water and boil for 30 minutes) and yeast starter (5-10 g of yeast mixed with 3/4 cup of warm boiled water, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tbsp flour and leave for 1-2 hours in a warm place). Leave at room temperature to ferment for 12 hours (do not close tightly!). Pour into bottles, without topping up to the very top. Cork the bottles well and put in the refrigerator for maturation. You can try in a couple of days. Keep in mind that homemade kvass should be drunk fresh - it will lose much of its flavor after about five days.

Start experimenting at the stage of introducing sugar and yeast. Add mint, cumin or cinnamon, raisins and lemon, as in Poland and Lithuania, or blackcurrant leaves, as in the Russian North. If you put honey and grated horseradish, you get kvass, known as "Petrovsky". It would be good to brew mint and blackcurrant leaves in advance and stand for five hours. (By the way, for summer okroshka, traditional, without any fantasies, kvass is best suited.)

Kvass is also prepared from wheat bread - it will have a lighter shade and a less pronounced aroma. Instead of sugar, honey or jam, or fruits and berries are often added to this kvass, and the aroma is “improved” with the help of herbs, vanillin or cinnamon.

Berry kvass, which in the old days were not recognized by people of the upper class, are very popular today. From the fruits (those that are at hand: strawberries, lingonberries, wild roses or mountain ash, cherries, cranberries, currants, apples and pears), something like a fruit drink is prepared. Pour boiling water, leave for several hours, strain. Add sugar, citric acid or honey (or whatever else you want), and then add leavened yeast or sourdough. Further - according to the recipe described above. Effervescence and frothiness, the essential qualities of good kvass, are guaranteed. Require topping up after the foam settles!

In 1975, at an international competition in Yugoslavia, drinks were evaluated according to ten parameters, and kvass received exactly twice as many points as Coca-Cola. And no wonder: we will not undertake to argue that it is tastier (after all, they do not argue about tastes), but there are incomparably more benefits in it. It is believed that it acts on the stomach like kefir, curdled milk or koumiss: it calms the digestive processes, destroys harmful microbes, improves metabolism and strengthens the cardiovascular system. It is unlikely that Coca-Cola can boast that it contains lactic acid, trace elements and amino acids, some of which are recognized as essential. It is also known that Russian peasants always took kvass with them, for example, to haymaking - it seemed to them that it restores strength. As it turned out - not just seemed. Today, scientists recommend kvass to all athletes to relieve fatigue, increase muscle volume, and increase efficiency.

How to choose kvass

If you look at all modern bottled kvass, you will always find information on the label that they are made by fermentation. Surprisingly: despite the fact that this information is not required to be indicated (after all, kvass is a fermentation product by definition), it is not only indicated, but also protruded. Often this is indicated not only in large print, but also emphasized with the help of various emblems and other tricks. For example, sometimes they write: “Kvass of live fermentation”, “Real live fermentation” or simply “Live fermentation”. All this is “butter oil”, fermentation cannot be dead, this process is always alive - killed bacteria and fungi do not cause it. Allowing such exaggerations in one, manufacturers may not be entirely correct in other important details.

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For example, when they swear by tradition. Inscriptions like “traditional Russian kvass”, or that kvass is made according to “traditional recipes”, or on the basis of “age-old traditions of Russian kvass” should also be treated with irony. And that's why. Fermentation fermentation strife. Traditional Russian kvass is a product of double fermentation, which we just wrote about. But in 2005, another kvass appeared - non-traditional. It can be done with only one type of fermentation - alcohol ... like beer, mash, wine. Imagine the irony: kvass is a non-alcoholic carbonated drink that is made by alcoholic fermentation. Don't believe?

Here is the official definition of a drink from the current GOST R 52409-2005 “Products of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol production. Terms and definitions”, adopted 5 years ago: “Kvass is a national non-alcoholic drink with a volume fraction of ethyl alcohol of not more than 1.2%, made as a result of incomplete 1) alcohol or 2) alcohol and lactic acid fermentation of wort”.

You can distinguish traditional Russian kvass from those made according to new traditions by the composition on the label. Acids are added to drinks of the latter type (they are highlighted in bold in the composition).

Just double fermentation is a very capricious thing, they need to be steered in order to keep the proportion: so that there is not enough lactic acid, which gives sourness and freshness to kvass, and not much alcohol. But it turns out that the technology can be simplified. Why bother with lactic acid fermentation when the acid can be added later? And now there are many kvass, on the label of which food acids are indicated - lactic, citric or acetic. In traditional Russian kvass with double fermentation, they are formed naturally, and in new, non-traditional kvass they are added in the same way as in soda - as acidifiers.

Be careful with GOST!

It is believed that if there is a mention of any GOST on the label, then the product is what you need. In the case of kvass, everything is more complicated. For example, we came across a drink on which GOST 28188-89 was indicated. In fact, today kvass is made according to a different GOST - R53094-2008 “Kvass. General technical conditions”. But that GOST was called “Non-Alcoholic Drinks”, and along with kvass and other fermented drinks, it described juice-containing drinks, drinks on spicy-aromatic vegetable raw materials, flavorings and a bunch of other “sodas”. So, instead of kvass in a bottle with GOST 28188-89, there was just the same “Monastic Kvass Drink” on the label.

Grain to grain

Kvass is made from almost anything that contains carbohydrates, including berries and fruits. Of course, the most popular kvass is bread or grain. Most often, flour and malt from rye and barley are used for it, but kvass can be made from almost any flour or cereal, even from bread and crackers.

But why does typical kvass contain not these components, but kvass wort concentrate? What it is? This thick, viscous liquid, usually dark brown in color, is occasionally sold for home-made kvass. It has a sweet and sour taste and aroma of rye bread, which is transferred to kvass. The wort is obtained from rye or barley malt with the addition of flour from the same and other grain crops. All these components are crushed, mixed, poured with water, boiled, filtered, evaporated - as a result, the wort is obtained. In fact, these are the first stages of kvass production, then yeast is added to the wort, it ferments, and a traditional drink is obtained.

Most modern producers make kvass from ready-made wort, which, in turn, is made for them by other producers.

Sweet, creepy!

Sugar, or rather sugar, is almost always added to kvass: this is ordinary table sugar or sand, and fructose, glucose, dextrose, maltose, and so on, including honey.

But sometimes strange sweets are found in the composition of the drink. Here, for example, in the composition of one kvass, a sweet food mixture with the Marmix 25 trademark is indicated. It is 80% fructose, and the rest are sweeteners: acesulfame potassium, sodium cyclamate, sodium saccharinate. Of course, such a drink can officially be called kvass, and it fermented, but I would prefer something more traditional.

Dead or alive?

This is one of the main questions in relation to kvass. The drink that was sold in the Soviet years from barrels for bottling was alive, but it had to be consumed within two days. The remains of kvass wort continued to live (ferment), and the drink quickly deteriorated.

Today kvass is made by anyone. But since the term “living” is not regulated by law, it is abused. For example, on a very popular kvass, I came across the following information: “filtered kvass: dehydrated, pasteurized”, and also: “live, tonic”. There are a lot of obvious contradictions here.

Firstly, translated into ordinary language, “pasteurized” is about the same as “dead”: pasteurization is heating during which microorganisms die. But such kvass are still useful, and most of them are on sale.

Secondly, kvass is called “depleted”, which is subjected to cold sterilization - it is passed through special filters that trap bacteria and yeast. They are, of course, livelier than pasteurized, but still this term does not apply to them.

Thirdly, pasteurized kvass can no longer be considered safe, because it was heated to a fairly high temperature.

But in principle, there are kvass, which can be unofficially called alive, today. These are unfiltered and unclarified drinks that are stored for no more than 5 days. For comparison: pasteurized kvass is stored for at least 6 months, and unsecured - from 10 to 30 days.

It is important

If you want live kvass, look at its expiration date! This is an unfiltered drink that is stored for no more than 5 days.

There are several other important characteristics of kvass that must be indicated on the label:

Kvass filtered - this means that the drink is clarified by filtration (but this is a different treatment than decoldization).

Unfiltered clarified kvass - clarified not by mechanical filtration, but treated with special clarifying materials.

Unfiltered unclarified kvass - was neither filtered nor clarified with the help of special materials; may be cloudy and with sediment. But this kvass is closest to the living ones.

BARREL KVASS - this inscription is not regulated by law and does not mean anything significant.

OKROSHCHNY KVASS - kvass for okroshka should be more sour and less sweet (the content of carbohydrates in it should be less than in drinking), but, in fact, this inscription is also not regulated by law and therefore can be used arbitrarily.

Kvass and how it differs from mash

Continuing to study the topic of kvass (it turned out to be not so easy to make it - at one fine moment it turned sour, ceased to be "sparkling", and for some time it was not possible to fix it back), we found interesting information.

There was a feeling of bad spoiled kvass, before it became more like something alcoholic, with a degree, and sour - this is felt in the taste, it is not kvass at all. We decided to study how kvass fermentation differs from the preparation of mash for further distillation into alcohols.

There were a lot of interesting things here. I post it here in the article.

With a variety of methods for preparing bread kvass, the essence of the chemical changes occurring in this case in general is as follows. A mixture of flour and malt with water, the so-called mash, is aged for a long time at a moderately high oven temperature, as a result of which the starch contained in flour or bread, under the influence of the unorganized diastase enzyme, which is found in malt, is converted at this time into sugar and dextrin.

We already noticed this when we studied coffee roasting - at a certain temperature, starches turn into glucose, and other interesting transformations occur. We are now preparing porridge in this way: we put the soaked grain in earthenware, and send it to the oven at 200-210 degrees (for half an hour), then you need to leave it to sweat in a cooling oven or under a blanket - this is how green buckwheat is done (it turns brown and awesome fragrant), naked oats, rye, anything.

So what

When the dough is subsequently diluted with water in vats and after the addition of yeast, the resulting sugar and other soluble parts of flour and malt are fermented under the influence of mainly two types of organized enzymes: alcohol-fermentative fungus and lactic acid fermentation bacilli, which results in formation of alcohol and lactic acid.

Because mash does not boil, the wort is kept at a low temperature for a long time and the cooling is slow, then this gives all the conditions for souring the wort, that is for the development of lactic acid fermentation; despite the addition of yeast (at home we change them to sourdough), alcoholic fermentation in the wort occurs only to a weak degree, since the alcoholic fermentation fungus does not withstand the above conditions for preparing the wort, under which lactic acid fermentation is predominant and goes so vigorously that it prevents strong development alcoholic fermentation.

According to a recognized expert in the field of beer and soft drinks based on bread, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Ya. Sviridyuk, this is precisely what distinguishes kvass from beer - the starting materials are the same for both, nose cooking method is different: when making beer, everything is aimed at prevent acid fermentation, for which the mash is heated to a higher temperature and cooled as quickly as possible, so that alcoholic fermentation in the beer is predominant, When preparing kvass, the exact opposite happens..

Braga and kvass

The main thing in the process of obtaining mash (for subsequent distillation into alcohols - we study to understand what is needed for mash - this is definitely not needed for kvass) is the fermentation temperature. It should not be less than 18C and not more than 24C. If a sharp cold snap occurs at the beginning of fermentation, the process may stop completely, although not all the sugar has yet fermented. At low temperatures, yeast cannot work. You need to raise the temperature to the required one and the yeast will be able to finish its job. The only thing to do is to "start the yeast" by stirring. High temperatures are more dangerous than low temperatures. At high temperatures, the vital activity of the yeast can slow down so much that it will be very difficult or impossible to start the fermentation process. If the temperature has risen more than required and the fermentation process can no longer be revived, then you need to remove the wort from the yeast with a rubber tube, add new yeast and place the container with the mash in a room where the air temperature will not exceed 20C.

Noticed that we got good kvass in the first about 2 weeks, when the temperature was above 25-26 degrees. It can be assumed that kvass fermentation is a fast fermentation, and the temperature is needed above 24 degrees. Then kvass (provided that we make it on the sourdough from the previous kvass) is prepared quickly, in a day, and it is "sparkling". If it is colder - apparently 24 degrees - a critical mark -.

In addition to the substances mentioned, lactic acid and alcohol, other by-products arise during fermentation, such as carbon dioxide, acetic acid, formic acid, etc., then mannitol, dextrin, acid esters with alcohol, etc. substances, giving kvass its peculiar taste.

After pouring kvass into barrels and bottles fermentation does not stop.

The formation of lactic acid most vigorously occurs during the first 4-5 days, and then acetic fermentation occurs; subsequently, the more the percentage of lactic acid in kvass increases, the slower lactic acid fermentation occurs, and acetic acid fermentation comes to the fore.

The higher the room temperature of kvass barrels, the faster the development of acetic acid.

When preparing kvass, of course, hygienic standards must be observed: barrels and vats must be thoroughly steamed, - otherwise, along with the formation of lactic acid, butyric fermentation occurs, and such kvass, when consumed, produces and enhances the development of butyric acid in the intestines and can cause serious digestive disorders . That is why, basically, in kvass recipes, we pour bread with boiled water, cooled to 60-70 degrees.

Rationally prepared and carefully preserved kvass can remain unchanged for 2-3 months.

With careless storage in kvass, decomposition processes soon begin; acetic fermentation comes to the fore, and then kvass acquires an unpleasant sour taste.

Sometimes kvass acquires the properties to stretch into threads, which depends on the formation of a special gum substance; often kvass is covered with mold fungi. In such kvass, Dr. Georgievsky found a fatty acid of the highest order, reminiscent of caproic acid in smell.

Now it becomes more or less clear why kvass is not always obtained.

Conclusions for today:

To prepare kvass, it is better to boil the water, let it cool down so that you can barely hold your finger, and already pour the mass with this water (flour + bread, malt, crackers, plus honey and raisins - that is). Let's add the starter.

Next is a jar (preferably opaque - apparently light is not needed (earlier kvass was made in wooden tubs) - we put together a plywood box for it - we cover it with linen cloth (leaf) and put it in warm place. Above 24 degrees.

The first young kvass can be prepared for 2-3 days, then (when there is a lot of kvass thick and it is ripe) it should be prepared in a day. We drain the kvass, take it to the basement, partially drain the wort so that it is constantly renewed, add, plus honey, a new portion of fresh bread, flour, boiled chilled water - and again into the heat.

The most difficult thing is to provide the right temperature when it is around 20 degrees outside - the house is no longer heated, and this temperature is not enough for kvass fermentation. It was not for nothing that they used to heat the oven for kvass, put dishes there, and the temperature gradually dropped. So when it's cool - dishes with kvass, apparently, need to be placed over the stove when cooking, or over a small heater, so that it is warm enough.

The same with bread (already written somewhere on the site) - it fits well, as we found out, in a "greenhouse" (we cover the dishes with a box), when it stands above the heater - there the temperature is about 43-38 degrees.

How often do you want a cold okroshka in the summer! Yes, with delicious kvass, like in childhood! Unfortunately, now you can’t buy it anywhere - manufacturers offer something between tea and lemonade, trying to pass it off as a refreshing drink. And many are already accustomed to this taste, and children generally believe that this is exactly what kvass should be like.

To dispel this misconception, it is worth treating them with homemade kvass prepared by oneself. There are several recipes for making a drink using chicory, but the ingredients are almost the same. All the ingredients are very affordable, and it will take quite a bit of time.

Kvass from chicory with lemon

granulated sugar - 300 g,
pressed yeast - 50 g,
half a lemon
chicory instant or ground - 1.5 tablespoons,
citric acid - to taste,
boiled or artesian water - 5 liters.

Prepare a container for kvass - wash a few plastic bottles well.
Pour water into a suitable size container;
Add there and mix yeast, sugar and chicory;
Wash the lemon and grind to a state of gruel along with the peel. To do this, you can use a meat grinder or a blender.
Transfer the lemon juice to gauze, tie it up and put it in water with sugar, yeast and chicory.
Mix the resulting composition thoroughly with a clean hand, while squeezing gauze with lemon.
Pull out the bag of lemon gruel and taste the mixture - it should be sour. If there is no such taste, you can add the remaining half of the fruit, or citric acid powder. Half a teaspoon without a slide will be enough.
Pour the resulting composition into a pre-prepared container - plastic bottles. At the same time, it is by no means necessary to top up to the very edges - it is necessary to leave 5-6 cm for the accumulation of gases. If this is not done, the resulting gas will burst the container.
Put closed bottles in the sun for 2-3 hours.
After 2 hours, you can check the readiness of the drink by pressing the container - if it is dense and does not bend, the drink can be removed to a cold place. A refrigerator or cellar is perfect for this purpose.
You need to carefully open the finished kvass, otherwise it can “shoot” like champagne.

The main thing is not to overexpose the composition in the sun, otherwise it will begin to ferment. In this case, there is a high risk of getting mash, and not an invigorating drink.

Kvass from chicory with citric acid

There is another recipe for making kvass from chicory at home. For him you will need:

50 g pressed yeast
half a kilo of granulated sugar;
50 g of soluble chicory;
10 g of citric acid;
5 liters of artesian or boiled water.

Pour 1 liter of water into the pan;
Pour sugar and powdered chicory into it;
Mix everything and boil the syrup;
Cool and pour the syrup into the remaining 4 liters of water;
Add citric acid and mix;
In a separate container, dilute the yeast in a small amount of water and add it to the water with syrup;
Cover everything with a tight lid and leave for 2 hours to infuse at room temperature;
After the time has elapsed, pour kvass into pre-prepared bottles and put in the refrigerator until the next morning. Ready!

If you want to make a larger volume of the drink, you should take 10 liters of water and also double the amount of other ingredients from the recipe.

Kvass from chicory with mint

4-5 liters of warm drinking water;
400 g of granulated sugar;
peppermint tincture (can be bought at any pharmacy for no more than 20 rubles). If you want to drink kvass in the country, then the recipe allows you to use a fresh plant - a small bunch;
3-5 tablespoons of soluble chicory;
1.5 tsp dry yeast (or half a sachet);
1 tsp citric acid.

Boil water and dissolve chicory, sugar, citric acid and mint tincture in it;
Leave to cool;
Mix yeast with a teaspoon of sugar in a small amount of water and leave to approach;
When the main composition has cooled down to about 30 ° C, pour in the yeast;
Mix everything thoroughly and leave for several hours for further fermentation - for about 3 hours;
A couple of hours after the start of fermentation, you can taste the composition - perhaps someone likes it to be sourer. In this case, you can add another pinch of citric acid;
After the time has elapsed, pour into pre-prepared bottles and leave in the room for a few more hours (you can overnight);
In the morning, put the mixture in the refrigerator and leave for a couple of hours. Useful kvass is ready!

Warning

Whatever recipe for kvass from chicory is chosen, it should be remembered that it has all the pros and cons of this plant. Of the positive qualities can be noted:

improvement of the gastrointestinal tract and the cardiovascular and nervous systems;
elimination of constipation;
normalization of the functioning of the kidneys and pancreas;
decrease in blood sugar.

But there are also disadvantages, which should not be neglected in any case:

due to the minimum, but the alcohol content, with extreme caution, drinking kvass from chicory should be pregnant and lactating women, as well as children under 5 years old;
patients with diseases of the liver and digestive system, especially during exacerbations;
you should not feast on such a drink for people suffering from varicose veins, hemorrhoids, respiratory diseases;
due to the high content of vitamin C in kvass from chicory, it is not recommended to drink it for people with individual intolerance to this component.

But even if there are no medical contraindications for drinking this refreshing drink, they should not get carried away and drink several liters a day. It should be remembered that everything is good in moderation. Only then a pleasant and tasty kvass prepared according to a recipe at home will also become useful!

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