This drink I’m holding, my friends, is a success! A sweet success! A sweet (and slightly sour) success!
Sweet from the spring beets, slightly sour from the fermentation.
Refreshing. Balancing. And oh-so-satisfying!
I held it up to the light to show you the beautiful ruby color. (It looks like I’m saying “cheers” to the sky, doesn’t it? Which would be quite fitting, considering how I feel about it.)
What is this drink I’m so excited about? Beet Kvass!
Years ago, I made beet kvass all the time in our home and Jeff and I enjoyed drinking it regularly. At that time, we were milking goats and had plenty of whey to use for our fermenting. I posted the original recipe I used in: You just gotta love Beet Kvass! (with information about health benefits too.)
I came across the recipe in ‘Nourishing Traditions’ by Sally Fallon. In it, she writes:
“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 salad dressings and as an addition to soups.” and also “Beet kvass and kombucha, with their liver-supporting properties, are useful in preventing future morning sickness….”
I drank Beet Kvass before I was pregnant and during my pregnancy with Bracken too (I didn’t have any morning sickness.) Somehow I stopped making it after he was born. Recently, out of the blue, I had a craving for Beet Kvass, my old friend, and wondered how we had gone so long without it?
We’ve changed the way we ferment now, no longer using whey, but a starter culture instead because we have been happier with the results. So we used the starter culture with the beet kvass for the first time and it turned out even better! It’s truly the most delicious batch we’ve made.
Would you like to make some?
Here’s how we did it:
2 gallon size glass jars
A bunch of beets
(which was about? 6 medium size beets per gallon)
2 tablespoons salt per gallon
1 pouch of starter culture for 2 gallons
We washed our beets from the farmer’s market. (We sauteed up the greens to eat right away, yum!) Then I chopped up the beets coarsely. (Note from original recipe: “Do not use grated beets in the preparation of beet tonic. When grated, beets exude too much juice resulting in too rapid fermentation that favors the production of alcohol rather than lactic acid.”) The leftover beet parts went to the compost pile. I put the beets in two gallon size glass jars, added the salt (himalayan crystal salt = rich in minerals), and filled the jars with filtered water. Jeff prepared the pouch of Caldwell’s Starter Culture for fermenting vegetables, from Cultures for Health. We used one packet for both gallons. Then we put the lids on and placed the gallon jugs in a cooler with a heating pad in it, to keep the temperature in the cooler warm. The recipe says to leave it for two days at room temperature, but we left it longer because it didn’t taste ready after two days. (Warmer temperatures will ferment quicker, colder temps will take longer.)
When the taste has gotten to your liking, then drink and enjoy!
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Many of you have heard me talk about fermented foods before, like in this post where I wrote about why we think they’re so great and what our favorites are. There is something powerful in fermented foods that my body needs and craves. The flavor is enlivening. Fermented foods are beloved part of our life.
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(I am an affiliate with Cultures For Health. If you purchase something from them through the link provided, I will receive a small percentage. I recommend their Caldwell’s Starter Culture because we use it ourselves and have loved the results of our ferments. There are 6 pouches per box and one pouch is able to ferment a lot. Then you can use the liquid from previous ferments to start new batches. We are not consuming sugar or dairy at this time, but there are very minute amounts in the culture. Not enough sugar to be a concern for those on the GAPS diet or similar diets, in my opinion.)
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Have you ever tried beet kvass?
Ever heard of it?
Do you enjoy fermented foods?
Which are your favorites?
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