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Beet Kvass with Optional Ginger & Cayenne

7/12/2013

16 Comments

 
Picture
This recipe is from Lisa Herndon of Lisa's Counter Culture, Palo Alto, CA.  Used by permission.  Thank you, Lisa!

Ingredients: Organic Beets (peeled and chopped into 2 to 3 inch cubes)
Brine: (2% brine [20 grams per liter of filtered water])
Optional: Ginger (peeled and sliced into 1" pieces)
1/8 teaspoon or less cayenne (optional, added after primary fermentation)

Important tips:
Fresh beets should be large and detached from greens for at least a week to concentrate the sugars.
Try to choose beets that are at least the size of your fist.
Make sure the beets are not cut too small, or they will ferment too quickly.
Vary the color and flavor of the final kvass by choosing different varieties of beets.  Golden beets result in a beautiful orange tonic, Chioggia or striped pink/white results in a light pink tonic, and the traditional purple beets results in a deep wine colored tonic.  The chiogga and the golden beets are milder in flavor or less "beety".  They're all delicious!

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Primary Fermentation
The key is to fill the jar half way with beets, not less.
  1. Place clean, peeled chopped beets into The Probiotic Jar, filling it half way to the top.
  2. Add a few 1 inch chunks of peeled ginger.
  3. Make a 2% brine.  Dissolve salt completely.
  4. Fill brine almost to the neck of the jar.  Float the Brine (Submersion) Bowl on top of the brine. Add airlock with water.  Ferment away from direct light at room temperature.
  5. Ferment in a warm place (mid 70ºF to low 80ºF) for 7 to 9 days.  You may see bubbles forming on the top.  This indicates active cultures are thriving.  Taste after several days.  Mine usually takes at least 8 days, maybe longer in cooler weather.
  6. It should not taste like salty water. 
    Salty tasting ~ keep going with the primary fermentation.
    Not salty tasting ~ then proceed to the second fermentation or drink as is.  I prefer the deep rich flavor that comes with the second ferment.

Secondary Fermentation (for fizz and depth)
Strain the beets and/or ginger and add the juice to a flip-top glass bottle.  (Caution: Placing any fermenting food or liquid into a pressure building bottle has the potential to break the bottle if the conditions are just right and the glass is weak.  Therefore, it may be advisable to burp the jar to prevent excessive pressure buildup.)
Optional: Add less than 1/8 teaspoon cayenne or another flavor listed below, seal and let it ferment for several more days at room temperature ~ even weeks.  If it tastes good, then go ahead and move it to the fridge ~ it gets better over time.  It will become richer, deeper in flavor, and perhaps fizzier.  Some of my best kvass is several months old!  I prefer to drink it cold.
More Flavors: Try adding other herbs such as rosemary, turmeric, or even lavender during the second fermentation.  Feel free to experiment!

Beet kvass is known for several health enhancing properties. Anything a beetroot can do, beet kvass does better! We keep this tonic on hand and enjoy a glass of it every day.
Picture
Beet Kvass from Golden Beets.  Just a delicious, light flavor.  Each variety of beets offers it's own unique flavor and health benefit profile.
Picture
16 Comments
Traci Miller
11/18/2014 11:05:16 pm

My beet kvass is fermenting, it has been 5 days, looks great so far. What do I do with the beets after straining the liquid off?

Reply
Probiotic Jar (Karen)
1/30/2015 10:04:52 pm

After the kvass is finished and I'm ready to consume it, I either add the beets to the compost pile (after kvass is made the beets are well spent) or you can eat them raw or steam them. They are very very sour, and some people really enjoy them that way.

Reply
Alexandra
12/28/2016 04:06:26 am

I am really confused by this comment actually, everywhere else it states that the vegetablesashould be eaten after fermenting, but how come these beets are well spent then? I can't see the process being any different from other ferments? Thanks!

Probiotic Jar (Karen) link
12/28/2016 09:07:15 am

Hi Alexandra,

I can see how confusing this can be with all the information elsewhere on the web.

The reason that beet kvass is different from other ferments is that the volume of brine is about 70% of the ferment. We surmise that since it starts out salty (causing osmosis) and moves towards high acidity (causing tincturing) most of the nutritional value of the beets is in the liquid at the end. My dark red beets are often so pale they are almost pink, and while sour, they are no longer taste "beety". While you certainly can eat the beets at the end, the real value is in the liquid (the kvass).

Michele
2/26/2015 01:57:00 am

Could you use the beets to make borscht after the kvass is finished?

Reply
The Probiotic Jar
2/28/2015 10:46:51 pm

Hi Michele,

I suppose you could, but most borscht recipes call for fresh beets, and the beets following fermenting for kvass are *really* sour. I don't think it would taste at all as expected. They are quite spent and don't have much beety flavor left.

Reply
rose
2/28/2015 02:19:24 pm

i am doing beet kvass. what do i do once im done? to i pour it over to a different bottle or container?

Reply
The Probiotic Jar
2/28/2015 10:41:36 pm

Hello Rose,

I use a plastic dipper to get the kvass out of the Jar it was fermented in until it is about 2/3 full, and then I pour the kvass into a smaller Probiotic Jar so that it is full, with all but one chunk of the beets removed. I leave in one chunk so that the active bacteria still have something to work on. I start with a 5 Liter Jar, and then move it down to a 2 Liter Jar, then a 1 Liter Jar to finish it up. This keeps the head space small relative to the amount of kvass.

If you would like fizz, you can pour it into a sealing flip-top Jar so that pressure will build and cause carbonation, but be mindful of too much pressure for safety.

I don't ever pour my kvass into another type of Jar. I use a Probiotic Jar, or a Probiotic Jar with the stopper in to create pressure.

Reply
Connie
8/12/2015 10:10:25 am

My beet kavass has a pinkish foam on top after it fermented for 7 days when I opened it. Is this normal?
Thank you

Reply
Sally link
1/16/2016 03:44:36 am

Hello Connie, I am so sorry that we did not see your post on time. Yes, pinkish foam is perfectly normal. Even a little brownish at the top of the pinkish foam is perfectly normal, and this part of the foam normally folds neatly into the Brine Bowl.

Thank you for your comment. :)

Reply
Michelle
2/16/2016 12:01:24 pm

I've tried kvass a couple of times, but it always grows a layer of white film (mold?) at the top. This is during the 2nd fermentation, so it's in a capped, sealed glass bottle. Is it okay to drink?

I'm sure there's no sugar in there because I test it with strips, so unsure how anything could be growing.

Reply
Sarah
3/25/2016 06:16:28 am

Hi Michelle,

That white film is likely to be yeast, and if so it is not harmful, although it doesn't taste very good. You can certainly drink it.

This can be prevented entirely by using a Probiotic Jar for the first ferment, with very fresh beets in season, and then doing the second ferment in the flip-top jar in the refrigerator, and allow a week for the carbonation to form, although you should check it daily and burp the jar to limit the risk of explosion.

Reply
MIchelle
3/27/2016 11:04:48 am

Ah okay. I was doing my 2nd fermentation on the counter, as in the instructions above. Will it get fizzy if I do the 2nd ferment in the fridge? I have always the the 2nd ferment for my water kefir on the counter and assumed this was similar.

Scotland Places link
3/24/2021 03:15:12 am

Great blog I enjoyed rreading

Reply
Roni Ben-David
2/19/2023 05:35:50 pm

Thank you for this!
Is there any wisdom on the best times to enjoy beet kvass? For example, just before a meal or in the morning?

Reply
Karen
2/20/2023 11:05:11 am

Any time is a great time!

Reply



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  • HOME
  • Shop Now
    • PROBIOTIC JAR SYSTEMS
    • PACKAGE SPECIALS
    • SALT & ACCESSORIES
    • REPLACEMENT PARTS
    • International Delivery
  • How To Ferment
    • Quick Start Guide
    • Expanded Guide >
      • Introduction
      • Brine
      • Vegetables
      • Pack The Jar
      • Assembly
      • Light & Temperature
      • What's Happening In The Jar
      • Handling Finished Ferments
      • Detecting Spoilage
    • Free Videos
    • Fermenting I & II Classes
  • Recipes
    • Click to See Alphabetized Recipe List on Right Side of Page > > >
  • Subscribe
  • More
    • Events
    • About Us