Kraut, kvass, kimchi: Revive the art of fermentation in your kitchen

Fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, and beverages like kombucha and kvass, have been shown to help balance the bacteria in the intestinal tract, boosting the good bacteria that protect the body while reducing inflammation.|

All kinds of hipsters and do-it-yourselfers are tackling home fermentation projects these days, reviving a craft dating back to antiquity, when the lack of refrigeration, out of necessity, led to the invention of preserved foods that would last longer and taste better.

Nowadays, ancient fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi and beverages such as kombucha and kvass, have been shown to help balance the bacteria in the intestinal tract, boosting the good bacteria that protect the body while reducing inflammation.

Fermentation can also make vegetables like raw cabbage easier to digest and enhance the uptake of nutrients.

“The Neolithic tradition of fermentation has sparked modern use of and interest in probiotic microbes,” Robin Foroutan, a registered dietitian nutritionist. wrote in Food & Nutrition magazine. “From Korean kimchi and Indian chutneys to the ubiquitous sauerkraut, yogurt and cheese, global cultures have crafted unique flavors and traditions around fermentation.”

Adam Johnston, president of Biotic Beverages, produces five flavors of organic, vegetable kvass drinks in Petaluma: Beet Kvass, Ginger Kvass, Turmeric Kvass, Lime Kvass and Pineapple Kvass. He started the business four years ago, when there was only one other kvass maker in the country, and is now the third largest producer in the nation.

“Kvass is from the Baltic region,” Johnston explained. “The Russians make it with bread, sugar and raisins with yeast. Biotic Beverages makes it with vegetables, like they do in the Ukraine.”

The sour-sweet beet kvass provides the healthy properties of beets, which are detoxifying for the liver and beneficial for the bloodstream, and enhances the uptake of extra vitamins and minerals, from Vitamin A and B6 to calcium and zinc.

“It was the most popular drink in the 19th-century Russian, consumed by the rich as an occasional refreshment and by the peasantry on a daily basis,” Elena Molokhovets wrote in “Classic Russian Cooking.” “The drinking of kvass in late Tsarist Russia had become a culture-laden act that helped to define one’s Russianness.”

Unlike kombucha, which is made from sugar, tea, water and a scoby (a symbiotic blend of yeast and bacteria), vegetable kvass is fermented simply with salt and flavored with extras such as ginger, citrus, carrots, beets and pineapple.

The resulting drink is a healthier alternative to kombucha because it has no refined sugar and a lower level of alcohol.

“You can make these products at home safely and easily, and they’re kid friendly,” Johnston said. “We’re seeing a trend away from sugar.”

Compared to kombucha, the process for making kvass is quite simple. During the workshop, the participants simply trimmed the red beets, sliced them into chunks to increase the surface area, then put them in Mason jars with salt and water.

The jars were then left out at room temperature for four to seven days while being tasted and burped daily (lid unscrewed to let out gas) and kept out of sunlight. After that, the kvass was ready to strain and sip.

“A 2-ounce dose a day is recommended,” he said of the healthy beverage. “You don’t need a lot … kombucha finishes sweeter and lighter, but kvass is more nutritious.”

In Russia, the lightly fermented kvass are also made from fruits or berries. Johnston suggesting trying it with apples, once the season begins this summer.

The following recipe is from Adam Johnston, president of Biotic Beverages of Petaluma:

Beet Kvass

Makes 1 pint

2 organic beets

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

13 ounces water

Sanitize or wash your pint Mason jar with lid.

Wash the beets and trim top and bottom. Slice the beets into cubes about 1/2-inch thick and add to jar.

Add the salt to the beets. Fill the jar with water 1 inch from the top. Put on the lid. Shake to dissolve salt.

Let the beets ferment at room temperature (out of sunlight) for four to seven days, burping the jar daily (unscrewing the cap to release gases) and tasting it daily.

When it has developed the flavor you want, strain and refrigerate. A two-ounce dose a day is recommended.

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