Beet Kvass: Lacto-Fermented Super Tonic How-To Tutorial

Beet Kvass is said to be a lacto-fermented super tonic that aids in digestion, helps cleanse the liver, promotes regularity, good for kidney stones and other ailments, and helps to alkalize the blood. How do I know this? I read it ... so I guess I just have to take 'their' word for it ... but if you have success stories please feel free to share.

Before I continue however I'd like to share an apparent pet-peeve (and, I believe, rightfully so) of many who are of Russian or Ukrainian origin. Kvass or Kvas is actually a fermented drink made with grain, usually rye sourdough bread, not beets!!! So really I am not sure we can properly call this drink beet "Kvass" (maybe 'fermented beet liquid?') but it seems that is what has become the new thing. So, here on this blog, though I know that REAL kvass/kvas is made from grain/bread, I will still call this drink "beet kvass" ... ok? But be watching! I'll eventually post a 'how to' on the original Bread Kvass. Maybe. We'll see.

Beet Kvass can be consumed straight up (start with 4oz or so, morning and night, but how much is too much? I'm not sure.), diluted with fresh juice, water kefir, kombucha or ginger soda, or even used as a vinaigrette in a salad dressing recipe. It may be added to soups too, although the soup must not be so hot that it kills the beneficial bacteria, enzymes and yeasts. Lukewarm is good. From all the comments I have read, there are usually two camps on the taste ... really good or really nasty. I'm with the former camp. This stuff is absolutely delicious to me and I like it best 'straight up'.

As with all lacto-fermented foods, the variations of methods and recipes seem endless for beet kvass, so in this post I will not only share how I make it but I will also share all the variations I have found though I'm sure I have missed some. [My method will always be in brackets.]

• Not many mentioned the quality of the beets (besides saying organic is best and preferred). Choose beets that are firm, preferably fresh from the garden.
• First conflict of course is the amount of beets to use. Most recipes I found are pretty vague and leave a lot to individual interpretation with phrases like "3-4 medium sized beets". Some had nearly a jar full of beets while others opted for only half-full or even 1/3 full ... and of course everything in between. Most seemed between 1/3-1/2 full. [For the sake of consistency I'm much more fond of doing things by weight, so I filled my 1/2 gallon jars somewhere between 1/3-1/2 full of beets and weighed them ... almost 400g.]
• On peeling. Peel the skins, do not peel the skins, peel if not organic and leave on if organic. Skins are said to hasten the fermenting process because they harbor beneficial bacteria ... yet some opt for peeling while others say there's no other way but to leave the skins on. [I do NOT peel them.]
• For skins left on ... scrub well, do not scrub well, just rinse off. The 'do not scrub too much' camp believes the more skin the better (because again, skin is said to aid in the fermenting process). [I scrub decently well if the skins are tough, a little softer if they are fresh out of the garden.]
• Skin or no skin, the beet tops are to be trimmed off, tails removed. [Save tops for other ferments, for juicing or throw in your green smoothie.]
• Size of beet pieces: chop small, chop medium, chop large. I found instructions of 1/2" pieces to 2" or more. All however said do not shred - really small pieces or shredded releases too much of the beet sugar at once and causes the product to ferment quickly thus elevating the chance for mold to form. [I chop roughly somewhere between 3/4" - 1 1/4"]

• To whey or not to whey, that seems to be the question on most folks minds. Most half-gallon recipes called for 1/4c whey along with the tablespoon of 'good salt'. (Left to your imagination or personal bias/preference, nothing mentioned as far as I have found about the different weights and sizes of various salts. I use Redmond's Real Salt.) Some say you can use kraut juice instead of whey for a non-dairy alternative. Some say you can purchase a 'starter culture' for more consistent results. 
• No whey? Omit the 1/4c whey (or kraut juice or starter) and instead use an additional 1T salt. [For this batch I did a side-by-side experiment - one without a starter and one with 'juice' from my lacto-fermented carrots. I don't think I'll be using the starter next time.]
• Herbs, other seasonings and/or other veggies are optional ingredients; add alongside the beets, salt and [optional] whey/kraut juice/starter. Rosemary? Caraway seeds? Celery seeds? Orange peel? Ginger? Garlic? Cabbage? Onion? Let your likes guide you ... a tip though ... put the other veggies in first and then beets on top; this will help keep the other stuff from floating to the top.
• Add distilled or filtered water up to 1" to the top of the jar. [I find it easiest to mix the salt and optional starter with some of the water first, add that to the beets and then top off with more water and stir well.]
• Cover the vessel ... with just a cloth, a plastic lid, a metal lid, an airlock. Airlocks were mentioned when commenters were having issues with mold as airlocks offer a controlled fermenting environment (preventing the wild yeasts and bacteria from your home from getting into your fermenting vessel). Hardly anyone that I found said to use a cloth, but I did see a few. The common method seems to use some sort of air-tight lid. [For this batch I used my new homemade airlocks with half-gallon jars.]

• Fermenting time. Some say leave it sit out for only 2 days, others say leaving out a month or so gives it the best flavor, and then you may find everything else in between (I found one even mentioned leaving it out for only one day if it's warm in your home). 1-2 weeks seemed more common though and I found one that said "go by taste, not by time." I personally like this method the best, however it's not practical if you've never tried it before! [After 24 hours I noticed the salt-only jar had a few more bubbles than the salt+starter jar. At about 36 hours there was a marked difference in color; the salt-only jar being slightly red/orange and the salt+starter jar being more beet-red. At 6 days out they looked pretty much the same color ... beautiful, deep, beet red, however the starter jar had mold on top. Both tasted fabulous, but one was obviously a bit more salty than the other. The starter+salt batch seemed a bit more effervescent than the salt-only batch. See photos below.]

 

• Many mentioned mold, most said to just scrape it off and continue. [that's what I did this time ... the jar without the starter never formed mold, however the jar with the starter did ... see below ... it scrapes off real easy and then looks just like the other one. Sometimes you might encounter a white film either on the veggies or the liquid or both. That is not mold but yeast. See this helpful article (off site) that gives a little more info about it.] [Update - I made another batch using liquid from a NEW batch of fermented carrots and that did not develop mold ... so it could have just been something in the old batch? Whatever the case, we drank it anyway and it was very good ... or at least I thought it was very good ... others just tolerated it :) ]

[another update - I made 3 batches using the salt-only method. One formed quite a bit of mold, though I shook the jar trying to get the airlock off and the beet juice covered much of the mold, another formed a little spot of mold and another formed a black-looking film on top. All cleaned off easily and taste normal - see 'before and after' photos below.]

before

after

 

• Strain out the 'tonic', pour into a glass container with a tight fitting lid (or see optional step below) and keep in the refrigerator for a long time (but really you should drink it ... don't let it sit there!).

• Second batch from the same beets: save back some of the liquid and all of the beets. "Some" means different things to different people. Here are 'some' variations I found: about 10%, a half cup, an 'inch', 'a little bit left in the jar', and so on. Top off with water as before and allow to sit on the counter a day or two or three (or more). Some say to add more salt (about 2t if using a half gallon jar), however most leave off the salt for the second batch. Worth noting: one recipe I found only required the beets to be saved back; this recipe also required more salt.
• Optional step after straining ... It may be bottled up and left out on the counter an additional 24-48 hours to promote carbonation (if preferred). Though from my experience this never gets fizzy like ginger soda, just a little effervescent. If yours gets fizzy like soda, let me know ... I'll be curious of the differences in methods.
  Some say flavors may be added to the bottle along with the strained liquid - like a few TBS of fresh juice (beet, apple, etc). Of course you may also skip this step and put it right into the fridge. [see below - after 2 days bottled on the counter the one with the starter began to form a little mold. I put it in the fridge and drank it anyway.]

Do you make 'Beet Kvass'? If so, please feel free to share your method below!