Beet Kvas

(Photo taken by my son C-Rex.) 

We love Beet Kvas.  All it rooty goodness.  Salty and earthy.  Yum!

When I was pregnant with our last child I had some serious salt cravings. Chips were high on my list of necessities. I also had some uncomfortable indigestion and bloating. Kvas hit the spot for both.

My husband has been eating to heal his gut for about 17 months and kvas has been part of his daily routine. He also will drink some when ever his stomach feel a bit uncomfortable. It's very healing for him.

Beets are full of minerals. The beets root reaches deep into the soil to pull nutrients and minerals from the way down in the earth. These minerals are stored in the root ball that we then eat. Fermenting the beets adds wonderful probiotics to the mix.

To make Beet Kvas you will need:
-a 4 litre jar
-4-5 beet medium beet roots
-3-3 1/2 litres of spring water
-2 tablespoons of Celtic sea salt
-1/3 cup of whey (from yogurt)

Peel and chop your beets into 1/2 inch cubes. Put the chopped beets into your jar.

Boil 1 cup of the water and dissolve the salt into the water. (It will look dirty with floaties in it but that is the nature of Celtic sea salt.)

Then add the salt water into the jar with the beets.

Pour about half of the remaining water into the jar. The water will cool off the salt water so the bacteria in the whey won't die when added.

Now add the whey.

Fill the jar with the rest of the water until it is 2-3 inches from the top and stir it well. I love the way the red of the beets colours the water. It gets darker still as it ferments.

Put the lid on the jar and set it some where cool-ish (better flavour) for two days. White foam forming on the top is fine. Just spoon it off and don't tell anyone. People can be squeamish.

Strain out the beets and put the (liquid) kvas into glass jars in the refrigerator. I've read you can make a second ferment using the same beets and some previously made kvas instead of whey, but it isn't as strong. I've never tried it.

Occasionally, the kvas is very thick, almost like strange yogurt.  It fine!  After straining just whizz it with a stick blender to loosen it up.  I think it gets thick when the beets are sweeter and the bacteria have multiplied like crazy.  BUT I'm just guessing.

Drink 4 oz with meals or when ever you want to.

This recipe is adapted from Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.  It's a fun book.




Photo taken in our backyard by my son C-Rex. Thanks boy!

This post is part of Fight Back Friday.  Come and join us to learn some more about healthy food and preparation.

I've also linked up to Monday Mania.