Kvass Recipe (квас)

[Clemence]

Hey!

With my russian roommates (who grew up in USSR), we tride to make the homemade beverage they used to buy in Moscow streets : the famous Kvass.

(for those who dont know it is a beverage made thanks to black bread fermentation).

We found several recipes on the net. The problem is: the proportion were never the same; even worse :they were all very very different from one to another and often condratictory. We tried to combine all of them in what seemed to us the best.

We were all excited and impatient to finally taste the result of 4 days of wait.

The result was... well... awful . I didnt finish my glass and only the sink agreed to finish the bottle.

So my question is : does anyone have a reliable recipe (by reliable I mean already tested several times and approved) to make the kvass?

If yes, would you please give your sucessfull recipe?

Thanks

Clem

[feedmec00kies]

Hey, I personally do not have one, but I might be able to get one for you. I'll let you know.

[bostonapothecary]

Hey!

With my russian roommates (who grew up in USSR), we tride to make the homemade beverage they used to buy in Moscow streets : the famous Kvass.

(for those who dont know it is a beverage made thanks to black bread fermentation).

We found several recipes on the net. The problem is: the proportion were never the same; even worse :they were all very very different from one to another and often condratictory. We tried to combine all of them in what seemed to us the best.

We were all excited and impatient to finally taste the result of 4 days of wait.

The result was... well... awful . I didnt finish my glass and only the sink agreed to finish the bottle.

So my question is : does anyone have a reliable recipe (by reliable I mean already tested several times and approved) to make the kvass?

If yes, would you please give your sucessfull recipe? 

Thanks

Clem

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i have a recipe somewhere from a book on soda making but i've always just really enjoyed malta goya and malta guiness...

[tedious]

There is a recipe in Andrew Whitley's (excellent) 'Bread Matters'. OK, that doesn't meet your requirement for having personally tested it, but the author certainly knows rye breads intimately (I can vouch for the bread recipes!) and is also something of a Russophile. It involves a rye sourdough starter, which might put you off immediately.

My copy of the book is currently in transit, and I'm not sure if eGullet house rules would permit posting the recipe anyway. However, it's already out there if you Google.

[Bunnyhugs]

So far as I know Kvass means different things in different places. Central Asia is a pretty big place and I think most areas have their own version of Kvass.

I only tried it in East Turkestan (Xinjiang - actually a province of China these days). Their version is supposedly made from grains and honey - but tastes awfully like cider.

So I guess my point is that you should not be too put off by the variety of recipes. There seem to be an awful of lot of things out there calling themselves kvass.

[Clemence]

Thanks to all of you for your input.

I will try the Andrew Whitley's one and I didnt know kvass could be based on grains and honey!!??