Ingredients
Beetroot
- 1 kgraw beetroot, peeled and cut into thick slices
- 2 litreswater, boiled and cooled
- 1 tbspsalt
- 1 tspsugar, optional
Optional
- 1crust of rye bread
- 3 clovesgarlic
- 2bay leaves
To use it
- borscht, at the end of cooking
- or drunk cold, in a glass
Directions
- Use raw beetroot only. Boiled beetroot has lost the sugars and surface bacteria the ferment runs on and will simply go slimy.
- Peel and slice the beetroot thickly and pack it into a large jar, filling it about two-thirds.
- Dissolve the salt in the cooled boiled water and pour it over to cover the beetroot by 3 cm, adding the garlic and bay if using.
- Add the rye crust if you want it going faster — it is an old shortcut that seeds the jar with wild yeasts, though it also gives a bready taste some cooks dislike.
- Cover with a cloth rather than a lid and keep at room temperature, out of direct sun.
- Skim the foam and any white film from the surface every day. This one habit is what separates a good kvas from a slimy one, and the film returns for the first four or five days.
- The liquid will go deep crimson and start to smell sour and earthy after three days.
- Taste from day five. It is ready when it is sharply sour with no sweetness left, like a thin sour beetroot juice.
- Strain into bottles and refrigerate, where it keeps a month. The beetroot slices are eaten in salad or chopped into borscht.
- Stir it into borscht off the heat at the very end. Boiled, it loses both its acidity and its colour, which is exactly why it goes in last.
Technique
- Raw beetroot, cooled boiled water, skimmed daily.
- Into the borscht at the end, off the heat.
- Slimy or ropy liquid means it went too warm. Start again.
Substitutions
- A little whey from strained yoghurt to start it, which makes it more reliable.
- Sugar added for a sweeter drinking kvas.
- Bought bottled beet kvas, sold in Eastern European shops.
Variations
- Drunk cold as a tonic, which is its other traditional use.
- The Polish zakwas buraczany is the same souring agent for barszcz.
History
The old Ukrainian souring agent for borscht before tomatoes and vinegar were common.
Frequently asked questions
What is Buriakovyi kvas?
Buriakovyi kvas is a fermented & pickled from Ukraine: sour beet brine fermented in a jar, stirred into borscht for colour and acidity. The old Ukrainian souring agent for borscht before tomatoes and vinegar were common.
How long does Buriakovyi kvas take to make?
Buriakovyi kvas takes 20 min plus 5 to 7 days fermenting of preparation and no cooking at all. The recipe makes makes 2 litres. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Buriakovyi kvas?
Yes, within limits. A little whey from strained yoghurt to start it, which makes it more reliable. Sugar added for a sweeter drinking kvas. Bought bottled beet kvas, sold in Eastern European shops.
What is the most important thing to get right in Buriakovyi kvas?
Cover with a cloth rather than a lid and keep at room temperature, out of direct sun.
