Kvass is an old Russian drink, which is famous for its ability to quench thirst and maintain human strength.
As the name implies, this drink should be fermented, that is, wander, which explains its effervescence and sour, tonic taste.
To make the fermentation process go right, it is customary to add yeast, sugar or honey, sourdough from brown bread or ready-made wort to it.
General principles for the preparation of kvass from concentrate
Cooking kvass does not require special culinary talents. It is not difficult to prepare, it can even be entrusted to a child. The main problem is to choose the appropriate temperature mode, since you do not need to put kvass in the heat, but in a too cool place it will wander for too long. However, when this problem is solved, you can please homemade kvass from kvass concentrate at least every day. Why is it better to cook kvass from kvass wort concentrate? Because it takes about five days to prepare a drink from a sourdough, and kvass from kvass concentrate can be prepared in two or three days.
In addition to these two options (wort and sourdough) kvass, which is called bread kvass, as it is prepared on the basis of rye bread, grain or rye flour, there is a huge amount of fruit, berry, vegetable kvass: apple, currant, pear, beet, sea buckthorn, even birch - based on birch sap. There, fermentation is also provided by yeast and, often, a slice of rye bread, but wort is usually not added to these types of kvass.
How to make kvass from wort? What ingredients are required for this?
First of all, water. Water for kvass from kvass concentrate should be taken boiled, of course, it should be boiled for several seconds and only once so that the water does not become too heavy. In extreme cases, you can use drinking water sold in bottles.
Secondly, yeast is needed. Those who are considering how to make kvass from wort: on dry or pressed yeast can be assured: both of them are quite suitable for making kvass. You just need to make sure that the pressed yeast is alive, because if it is stored incorrectly, they die.
Bread, if it is required according to the recipe, it is necessary to dry it, even to dry it slightly, then kvass from the kvass wort concentrate will be tastier. Naturally, we are talking about rye bread.
Various additives, such as herbs, are often used. To improve the taste of kvass from kvass wort concentrate, mint, lemon balm, currant leaf, ivan tea, horseradish and some spices are used.
It’s nice to put a few raisins in a container with kvass. And it is advisable to use raisins with pits, and not quiche-mish.
So, what ingredients we need, we have identified. Now let's see how to cook kvass from the wort at home for the joy of everyone at home.
Recipe 1. Kvass from the concentrate of kvass wort "Ordinary"
Ingredients
Fermented wort - 2 large spoons with top
Rye breads - 3 slices, it is advisable to even take 3 crusts, cut them from the side and top of the loaf
Yeast "fast", dry (for example, "Saf-moment"; can be found on sale and those that say "for making kvass," but this is optional) - 2 incomplete teaspoons
Granulated sugar is an incomplete glass; if you like sweet, then you can full
Cooking method
First you need to place the bread slices or crusts on a baking sheet and place in the oven with an average temperature (say, 150 degrees). They must be kept there until croutons turn out, you can even wait until they burn slightly (a little), then remove the crackers from the oven and let them cool at least to a warm state.
Put boiling water.
To prepare the simplest kvass from the wort, you need to take a clean and dry glass jar or an enameled can (pan) with a volume of at least 3 liters.
In this tank you must first pour about two and a half liters of boiled water. It is better to pour hot water, because it will be easier to dissolve granulated sugar in it.
Pour sugar into water and mix thoroughly. Leave the sweet water to cool to a very warm temperature, then place two full, literally with the top, spoons of the wort in the container and mix it thoroughly, making sure that there is no unmixed wort left at the bottom. After that, put in the jar, in which the kvass is prepared, the dried crusts of the black bread.
Wait until the temperature of the workpiece for homemade kvass reaches about body temperature, and pour in the yeast; In no case should you add them to a very warm or, especially, hot billet: the yeast will die.
Stir the resulting liquid again and cover the top of the container. To do this, it is best to take a clean large gauze and put it in 5-6 layers. Cover the top of the container with multilayer gauze and secure it with an elastic bandage, bandage, braid - which is at hand. However, if you are going to cook kvass often, then it is worthwhile to allocate special gauze and elastic for this purpose, this will greatly facilitate the process.
Place the kvass blank in a rather warm place, but it is still advisable that it should not be exposed to direct sunlight, and soak for 24 to 48 hours, and after a day you should try the kvass for the first time: it may be ready. In the process of keeping warm, the taste of kvass will constantly change, becoming more and more "hoppy", so you need to notice the moment when the taste of kvass seems ideal to you. At this point, the drink should be rearranged in a cool place for another two days.
After this period, the drink should be filtered through cheesecloth in 6-8 additions (for this it is better to use another piece of cheesecloth, and not the one with which the container was covered), pour into bottles, adding 3 raisins to each, put or refrigerate. When the kvass cools - in about five hours - you can drink it.
Recipe 2. Kvass from kvass concentrate "Starorussky"
Ingredients
Wheat grains - approximately 3 cups
Leaven wort - half a glass
Honey - one and a half glasses
Boiled water - approximately 4 liters
Cooking method
First you need to cook wheat, which will take most of the time.
Rinse the grain and leave it in cold water for 10 hours, then rinse thoroughly again.
Pour a small amount of water into the wheat and leave in a warm place for germination, periodically checking to see if there are sprouts (two or three millimeter long). Usually the process takes a day or two; during this time, you need to rinse the grains once and pour them with clean water so that they do not become acidic.
Rinse sprouted wheat again and turn through a meat grinder.
Pour up to half the water at room temperature into a five-liter glass or enameled container and put the sprouted wheat, wort and honey there. Mix everything very carefully and add water almost to the top.
Cover the container with multi-layer gauze and keep warm for about 48 hours. To ensure the desired temperature, in winter you can put a container with kvass near the battery, and in the summer - in a basin with warm water, where you need to pour boiling water all the time.
When a lot of foam appears on the surface of the kvass, strain the drink, pour it into several bottles and refrigerate for 6 hours.
Recipe 3. Kvass from kvass must concentrate "Vigorous"
Ingredients
Rye bread - about half a loaf
Wort - half a glass
Dry yeast - sachet
Sugar or honey - 1 cup (2/3 cup is possible)
Water - 4 L
Raisins - half a handful of an adult
Horseradish (root) - about 100 g
Cooking method
Dry bread in the oven until dark. Pour crackers with hot water and leave for five hours.
Strain, add yeast, wort, sugar or honey (you can part of the sugar, and part of the honey) and leave to ferment in a very warm place for 6-8 hours.
Pour into bottles, adding raisins and horseradish to each, and place in the refrigerator for two days.
Recipe 4. Kvass from aromatic kvass concentrate
Ingredients
Leaven wort - half a glass
Yeast - 1 sachet
Water - 4 L
Sugar - two thirds of a glass
Blackcurrant leaves - approximately 20 pieces
Hops, ginger, cardamom - a little bit
Cooking method
Put cardamom, ginger and hops in a gauze bag and place in a pan with water, put currant leaves there (already without a bag). Boil spices and leaves for 5 minutes, then discard the bag of spices and leave the leaves of currant.
Dissolve sugar in a hot broth and cool to body temperature. Stir in must and yeast.
Leave for a day in a warm place, then pour, strain, into bottles and leave for 12 hours at room temperature until the bottles become hard.
Place the kvass in the refrigerator, where it should ripen for a couple of days.
Recipe 5. Kvass from kvass must concentrate "For okroshka"
Ingredients
Sugar - half a cup
Wort - 3 tablespoons
Water - 3 liters
Yeast (pressed) - 6 g
Raisins - 10 pieces
Cooking method
In a jar of very warm water, mix the wort and granulated sugar. When the workpiece cools somewhat (to a temperature of no higher than 40 degrees), add the yeast there and stir. Put raisins and put kvass in a warm place.
After a day, if foam has already appeared, you need to start trying kvass. When the taste is desired, strain the kvass into the bottles and refrigerate for about 6 hours.
Recipe 6. Kvass from kvass concentrate "Delicious"
For this recipe, kvass from kvass concentrate should be taken not with ordinary rye bread, but with Borodinsky; it is also undesirable to replace honey with sugar - this will change the taste of kvass.
Ingredients
Wort Concentrate - 3 tablespoons
Borodino Bread - 5 slices
Honey - 2/3 cup
Yeast - 1 sachet
Water - 3 L
Raisins - Half a Handful
Cooking method
Cut bread into small pieces and dry in the oven. Then put crackers in a container for making kvass, pour almost hot water and stir in honey
Cool the mixture to body temperature, put and carefully mix the wort, and then the yeast.
Leave the fermentation blank in a warm place for 12-24 hours. Then strain thoroughly and pour into bottles, put a few raisins in each. Soak for 10 hours or less (until the bottles are hard) at room temperature, and then another two days in the refrigerator.
Recipe 7. How to cook leavened wort at home
Wort can be prepared at home, if there is such a need.
Ingredients
Rye bread - 1 kg
Water - about 10 l
Cooking method
Break the bread into small pieces and fill it with hot (70 degrees) boiled water, let it brew for a quarter of an hour. Add boiling water to 750 ml and leave for 2 hours in a warm place.
Put the resulting mass into clay dishes, add a little water and put in the oven, heated to 180 degrees for 3 hours.
Break the resulting baked dough into pieces and pour almost boiling water (9 liters) for a couple of hours. Carefully drain the kvass wort and use to make kvass.
Tricks and tips for making kvass from a concentrate
While kvass is in the refrigerator, it still does not stop fermenting, so its taste will change slightly during storage. Children and pregnant women can be given such kvass in a limited amount and only in the first couple of days of storage: then the kvass will become too strong.
Raisins for making kvass are best taken with seeds; soaking it is not necessary, only rinse with cold water.
Spices (hops, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, etc.) can be added to kvass in limited quantities, otherwise the taste of the drink will be distorted.
