Beet Kvass

Have you ever made your own fermented foods at home? Well today I am sticking my toes in the water. I have started my own first fermented drink, Beet Kvass. It looked easy enough, not too intimidating. It is suppose to be a super healthy tonic full of probiotics, enzymes and other good stuff. I don't normally like beets, but this drink just looked so beautiful I had to give it a try.

So, I will give you a pictorial of what I did.

Ingredients: Whey (I actually changed my mind at the last minute and used organic Kefir instead of this organic yogurt, same idea though), organic beets, sea salt, filtered water, a gallon jar.

To get my whey, I put the kefir in the thin towel over the strainer and once it got thicker I hung it from the cabinet overnight. What was left was a thick yogurt, or cream cheese that can also be used for other things. The liquid below is the whey.

I don't have a great filter, so I let my water sit over night to allow the chlorine to dissipate.  Chlorine, choramine, and fluoride, I have read in various places, are not good for the living organisms in fermenting. Next time I will buy some filtered water at the health food store.

Cut the beets into large chunks, smaller ones ferment faster.

I placed the beets in the bottom of my jar.

I had premixed the other ingredients and poured them over the beets and closed it up tight. Then I placed a towel over the jar to keep out of sunlight and I will let it sit on the counter for several days to weeks. I am going to open it occasionally to make sure the gasses don't build up and make sure the jar doesn't explode all over my kitchen!

And, I won't be wasting these. I think I will put them in a smoothie today for lunch! Mmmm, healthy!

After the Kvass is done on the counter, I am going to put it in the fridge. I have read that about another week in the fridge will mellow it out, sweeten it up, and the saltiness will fade. I will let you know how it goes.

And if you have followed my blog for long, you might notice, I have never grown beets. But, there is a time for everything, right? Hopefully I didn't get them started too late, but I planted Bull's Blood and Chioggia. I figure if the kvass doesn't work out, I can always give the beets to someone who will enjoy them! Or maybe I will find another use for them, like these crackers!

So, do you ferment? Tell me about it. 

Next on my list I am going to try to make my own Kombucha, fermented tea. I tried a store bought version yesterday with hibiscus flavor. I liked it. It was a tad sweet and sour and has a bite to it, but it is also bubbly like a soda. My 3 year old liked it too. My husband didn't like that particular flavor, but maybe he will like another!