Beet Kvass

Beet Kvass is an amazing health tonic, it has powerful medicinal qualities and it acts as a digestive aid. Beets are packed full of nutrients. One small glass in the morning and night is an excellent blood tonic, it promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver and is a good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments. Its an inexpensive health tonic that is made from fermented beets. It has a wonderful savoury, earthy slightly sour and tangy flavor. Before I tried it for the first time I wasn’t expecting to like it, now I love it and would even go so far as to say I actually crave it when I have gone for a while without my morning dose.

Makes 1 large 2.5L jar

Beet Kvass

Makes 1 large 2.5L jar

Ingredients

2 to 4 Beets, depending on size

¼ cup (50ml) of whey (see below on how to make whey)

1 tablespoon of sea salt or Himalayan salt

Filtered water (NOT TAP WATER the chlorine will prevent it from fermenting)

A large 2.5 L glass jar, sterilized (this can be done in the dishwasher)

Method

Wash and peel beets. Chop the beets into small cubes roughly 2cm across.

Place the beets in the bottom of your big glass jar, add the whey and salt, fill the jar with the filtered water and then cover with a tea towel or cheese cloth and leave on the counter for 2 days or more to ferment. If your kitchen is cold it may take a bit longer. You can test it each day by using a clean spoon to dip in and then take a small sip. When it starts to get a bit fizzy and has a fermented taste simply place a lid on the jar and put the whole thing into the fridge. It tastes best if you leave it to mature in the fridge for up to 2 weeks before drinking, but you can drink it straight away if you like.

To drink, simply ladle off a small amount, roughly 80ml and have morning and or night. When the liquid has finished you can eat the beets at the bottom. These are now what you call lacto fermented veg. The beet Kvass will last in the fridge for several months, by which time you will have most likely polished it off.

*To make whey, simply place about 350ml of natural unsweetened yoghurt (not Greek yoghurt) in a cheese cloth or nut milk bag, tie it up and hang it over a bowl.

I do this in my sink and tie the cheese cloth to the tap with a piece of string. The thin white liquid that starts to drip from the bottom is whey. By adding whey to your beet kvass mix you will stop any unfriendly bacteria from growing and you will encourage the good bacteria. The left over thickened yoghurt in the cheese cloth is now like Greek yoghurt and is delicious used with other dishes in the same way Labneh or Greek yoghurt would be.