Make Beet Kvass at Home – Recipe
When fermenting make sure to use organic, fresh, (local if possible) quality ingredients. The results will be better tasting, healthier, more nutritious. We recommend spring water. You will need:
- 1 bunch of beets / 3 medium sized beets
- Sea Salt (do not use salt with iodine or table salt)
- Mason jar or any glass jar with lid
- Plate or something to set the jar on/in to collect any potential leaking
- Spring water, distilled / filtered water (do not use tap water)
Starting out it’s best to get a base understanding of the process and flavor profile. Use this simple formula for starters, experimenting with adding more ingredients later on. There are a few tricks to adding other ingredients. Some work and others don’t.
If you really can’t wait to spice it up. Dried chili peppers and fresh, whole crushed garlic work well without any special treatment. Fresh, dried herbs like rosemary, thyme and sage also bring a new perspective. We love to squeeze fresh lemon at the time of bottling. Cayenne and black pepper work well also. Add into your glass before drinking.
Beet Kvass may be a little salty for some tastes. Since, it’s made with a salt brine of about 3%. Mix it with water, orange juice or into a smoothie if you find drinking it straight to be too strong. You cant beet the health benefits of beet kvass. 🙂
To make the brine mix:
- 1000ml of Spring Water
- 30g Sea Salt
Next, cut the beets in small to medium sized (1/2 inch) cubes. Add enough beets to the fermentation jar to fill it about 1/2 – 2/3 full.
Then, add the salt water brine. Fill to the top of the jar, almost touching the lid, but not quite. Place the lid on tightly. Put the vessel on top of a plate to catch any leaks. It will build up gas and you may want to purge the gas in about 2-4 days after you start. Depending how active, or how much bubbling you see in your jar.
Store out of direct sunlight. If the daytime temperature/ indoor heating is about 65 degrees or higher, there should be no problems fermenting.
There are 3 stages the bacteria must go through and each stage takes ≈ 2-3 days. Therefore, we always wait at least 10 days before drinking. To get the most health benefits possible. Ferment even longer for a more sour taste.
TIP: Do not stick your fingers, or any utensils that have touched your lips/ tongue into the kvass. In other words don’t taste it every few days! Have patience. You may introduce yeasts that will affect the outcome in a negative manner.