Guest guest Posted October 6, 2004 Report Share Posted October 6, 2004 Hello People, If you've made beet kvass successfully, I would appreciate your help. I'm interested in making beet kvass and have some questions that nurishing traditions didn't quite answer. I made it once before, following the NT recipe, however, I'm not sure it turned out how it was supposed to. It got dark red and had a strong beet taste, but it didn't have much of a sour or fermented taste to it. It was more like watered-down beet juice. I'm ready to try again and am ready with my beets, kefir whey and celtic sea salt. Here are my questions: - How finely did you chop up your beets? - How much chopped beets did you use for a two quart container (a cup or two?)? - Did you seal your jar tightly, or was it loose? - Was a two day fermentation enough? - should it be bubbly? - how sour should it be? - Any extra pointers? Thank you in advance, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 >>Ok, I'm going to try making beet kvass again. I do not have nor can I find 2 quart jars, just 1 quart ones, can I halve the recipe or use 2 jars instead? I tried doing it in a gallon jar last time and was very dissapointed in the results, so I gether too much space is not good either? Should the lid be tight? Mrs. Siemens<< ~~~Are you using the recipe in NT? I tried it in one quart jars and the beets stayed hard and didn't seem to do anything. But, I just don't think whey and short timing works. I may try it again, and will still use one quart jars, but I'm going to look for a different recipe. I'm new at fermentation too, so I can't tell you much, but thought I'd just add my experience, because I don't think many people have tried it. (Not too many of us beet lovers around, I guess. :-) I like pickled beets in salads.) Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 Carol or , Excuse my ignorance please! Is Beet Kvass the " formal " name for pickled beets? I love pickled beets! I haven't had them in forever! Would one of you mind sending the recipe from NT? I still haven't been able to afford a copy...not on the priority list at the moment! LOL I will have to wait until after we move to try it though...everything in this house molds long before it ferments! Cazt - who is longing for something fermented! > ~~~Are you using the recipe in NT? I tried it in one quart jars and the > beets stayed hard and didn't seem to do anything. But, I just don't think > whey and short timing works. I may try it again, and will still use one > quart jars, but I'm going to look for a different recipe. I'm new at > fermentation too, so I can't tell you much, but thought I'd just add my > experience, because I don't think many people have tried it. (Not too many > of us beet lovers around, I guess. :-) I like pickled beets in salads.) > Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 I had such a hard time finding a 1/2 gal. jar, I bought one full of apple juice, which I poured out and used the jar for the beet kvass. I used the recipe from NT and it turned out fine (nothing to compare to)except it was rather salty to me. I don't know if cutting back on salt interferes with fermentation so I actually added a couple ozs. water to each glass. karen > >>Ok, I'm going to try making beet kvass again. I do not have nor can I find 2 quart jars, just 1 quart ones, can I halve the recipe or use 2 jars instead? I tried doing it in a gallon jar last time and was very dissapointed in the results, so I gether too much space is not good either? Should the lid be tight? > Mrs. Siemens<< > > ~~~Are you using the recipe in NT? I tried it in one quart jars and the beets stayed hard and didn't seem to do anything. But, I just don't think whey and short timing works. I may try it again, and will still use one quart jars, but I'm going to look for a different recipe. I'm new at fermentation too, so I can't tell you much, but thought I'd just add my experience, because I don't think many people have tried it. (Not too many of us beet lovers around, I guess. :-) I like pickled beets in salads.) > Carol > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 >~~~Are you using the recipe in NT? I tried it in one quart jars and the beets stayed hard and didn't seem to do anything. But, I just don't think whey and short timing works. I may try it again, and will still use one quart jars, but I'm going to look for a different recipe. I'm new at fermentation too, so I can't tell you much, but thought I'd just add my experience, because I don't think many people have tried it. (Not too many of us beet lovers around, I guess. :-) I like pickled beets in salads.) >Carol I for one tried it, and I do a fair bit of fermentation, but I just didn't like it. And, it is one of the few things I've made that got moldy. Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 > I for one tried it, and I do a fair bit of fermentation, but I just didn't > like it. And, it is one of the few things I've made that got moldy. > > Heidi Jean Don't beets contain a funky sugar called raffinose? Would a raffinose eating strain of lactic bacteria have to inoculate the beets by random chance to properly ferment them? Darrell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 4, 2004 Report Share Posted December 4, 2004 >>Don't beets contain a funky sugar called raffinose? Would a raffinose eating strain of lactic bacteria have to inoculate the beets by random chance to properly ferment them? Darrell<< ~~~You could be right, because she warns, (in NT), not to grate the beets or put them in a food processor, because there is too much sugar in them. I think she did mention mold as a possibility. (I just sliced mine up because of that, but as I said I didn't like them either, and I ordinarily like beets.) Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2004 Report Share Posted December 5, 2004 >Heidi, what do you think about a apple beet ginger kefir kvass beer? >Could I add some beet and ginger slices to the apple juice and kefirize >it like the beer without salt or whey? > >Thanks. >Deanna Sure. I've added ginger a couple of times, it's pretty good. Nice thing about kefir beer is it doesn't seem to ever get a mold problem (for me anyway, YMMV). Actually I never thought of that ... if you used kefir grains for kvass instead of whey it'd probably be fine. I tried making some kvass the typical Russian way (according to websites anyway) which is using soaked bread, and that worked too. Harder to strain though. Heidi Jean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 6, 2004 Report Share Posted December 6, 2004 I've made both the beet kvass and the beet pickle recipes from NT; they've worked every time for me. But our preference is for less salt than Sally uses. For kvass I cut it down to 1/2 - 3/4 of what the recipe recommends. I do use whey, and coursely chop the beets; if you cut them smaller than about dime or nickel size, then you end up with mold in the top of the jar, because the smaller size beet pieces release too much juice/too much sugar. I use quart size jars. Rebekah Re: beet kvass >>Ok, I'm going to try making beet kvass again. I do not have nor can I find 2 quart jars, just 1 quart ones, can I halve the recipe or use 2 jars instead? I tried doing it in a gallon jar last time and was very dissapointed in the results, so I gether too much space is not good either? Should the lid be tight? Mrs. Siemens<< ~~~Are you using the recipe in NT? I tried it in one quart jars and the beets stayed hard and didn't seem to do anything. But, I just don't think whey and short timing works. I may try it again, and will still use one quart jars, but I'm going to look for a different recipe. I'm new at fermentation too, so I can't tell you much, but thought I'd just add my experience, because I don't think many people have tried it. (Not too many of us beet lovers around, I guess. :-) I like pickled beets in salads.) Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 I've made beet kvass many times with kefir grains and it works just...swell. [MAP] Hmm, without trying to raise the frightful specter of " beet kvass " etymology, I have to wonder why we wouldn't call that " beet water kefir " instead of " beet kvass (made with kefir grains " ... :-) I mean, that's " what it is " ! Mike SE Pennsylvania The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 MAP, As you wish. B. On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 03:29:25 -0500, Anton <michaelantonparker@...> wrote: > > I've made beet kvass many times with kefir grains and it > works just...swell. > > [MAP] Hmm, without trying to raise the frightful specter of " beet > kvass " etymology, I have to wonder why we wouldn't call that " beet > water kefir " instead of " beet kvass (made with kefir grains " ... :-) > I mean, that's " what it is " ! > > Mike > SE Pennsylvania > > The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 > MAP, > As you wish. > B. I wasn't wishing, just wondering... :-) Anyway I'm anti-prescriptionist (probably a synonym for " closet prescriptionist " ... hahaha) Frightful etymological specters aside, I really would enjoy finding out what makes beet kvass " beet kvass " to Russians in an everyday, practical sense. Mike SE Pennsylvania The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 MAP, My mistake, I see now you were wondering. Here, from Wikipedia, as I suspected, means " leaven " : " Kvass Definition, Meaning, Explanation Kvass ( " leaven " ) is a Russian fermented non-alcoholic or mildly alcoholic beverage. It is made by the natural fermentation of whatever vegetable product is available. Fruits and berries were probably the first for this use. A notable raw material for kvass is birch sap, collected in the early spring. Grain suits well for his purpose, e.g., wheat, rye or barley (common or table kvass), or of black or rye bread, with the addition of sugar or fruit, usually apples. Some sorts of kvass use yeast for fermentation. Kvass has been a common drink in Russia since ancient times. It has been both commercial product and home made. " In strength kvass can be almost non-alcoholic and at its strongest is only around 2.2%. It can often be flavoured with other fruits or herbs such as strawberries or mint. My reasoning that it was still kvass was that I originally made it with kefir whey so using grains was just a variation. Whatever. Fermented beet infusion in the Russian style. Sorry if I'm messing up your format, heh, not. B. On Tue, 7 Dec 2004 03:48:45 -0500, Anton <michaelantonparker@...> wrote: > > > MAP, > > As you wish. > > B. > > I wasn't wishing, just wondering... :-) > Anyway I'm anti-prescriptionist (probably a synonym for " closet > prescriptionist " ... hahaha) > > Frightful etymological specters aside, I really would enjoy finding > out what makes beet kvass " beet kvass " to Russians in an everyday, > practical sense. > > Mike > SE Pennsylvania > > The best way to predict the future is to invent it. --Alan Kay > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 7, 2004 Report Share Posted December 7, 2004 [MAP] Hmm, without trying to raise the frightful specter of " beet kvass " etymology, I have to wonder why we wouldn't call that " beet water kefir " instead of " beet kvass (made with kefir grains " ... :-) I mean, that's " what it is " ! [DMW] Pour moi, I produced a cross of Heidi's apple kefir beer by thinly slicing beets and ginger and adding them. The beets make it so brightly beautiful and frothy. I hereby dub the " apple beet kvass kefir beer " from this moment on. No salt, no whey. Here, , have a taste. It deserves a better name than " beet water kefir " as it is quite a special tonic. Deanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 B. wrote: " I've made beet kvass many times with kefir grains and it works just...swell. " , Just to clarify, are you making the NT recipe just minus the whey and sticking in a kefir grain? I'm allergic to casein, but I'd love to enjoy the health benefits of the beet kvass. Thanks! Steph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 8, 2004 Report Share Posted December 8, 2004 Steph, Yah, that's what I'm doing. B. On Wed, 8 Dec 2004 22:10:27 -0500, Steph <flybabysteph@...> wrote: > > B. wrote: > " I've made beet kvass many times with kefir grains and it works just...swell. " > > , > > Just to clarify, are you making the NT recipe just minus the whey and sticking in a kefir grain? I'm allergic to casein, but I'd love to enjoy the health benefits of the beet kvass. > > Thanks! Steph > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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