Andrea Fabry
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Beet Kvass
This cleansing tonic offers a salty, slightly sweet, slightly sour taste. It can be adapted to suit a variety of tastes by adding coarsely chopped carrots, ginger or turmeric before the fermentation. Beet kvass makes a delicious salad dressing or starter culture for other fermented foods.
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Ingredients
- 2 large beets coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon sea salt - double the salt if whey or another starter is not used
- 1/4 cup whey, ginger bug, turmeric bug, or sauerkraut juice for the starter.
- filtered water to fill jar - see below
Instructions
- Place beets, salt and starter in 1/2-gallon mason jar.
- Add filtered water to fill the jar leaving 1-2 inches of headroom.
- Cover with cloth and rubber band. Place on a shelf for 2 days. Transfer jar to refrigerator.
- If desired you can make a second batch. Pour out most of the beet kvass into a separate jar leaving behind some of the liquid as well as the beets. Refill with water and add 1 tablespoon sea salt. Leave for another 2 days.
- If you see white on the surface of the liquid in the jar, this is kahm yeast. It is harmless and can easily be strained off.
So easy! Can’t wait to give this a try.
Yes, it’s crazy easy. 🙂
I’m new with the fermentation process but am trying to get on top of a bad gut and a cystic thyroid which is causing some heart rate issues. I’ve been making beet kvass for about two months and buying GT’s Kombucha. I’ve been having some elevated blood pressure readings in the mornings and am trying to pin point what may be causing it. I love the kombucha but have stopped it for the time being. Does the fermentation process of the kvass off set some of the sodium content? If not, what are your thoughts on increasing the Whey and decreasing or omitting the salt entirely?
Shirley, The salt will still be there throughout the fermentation process. My recipe does have a salty taste. I have not tried only whey. Here is a great low salt version of the kvass that may be worth a try. It uses only 1 teaspoon!
http://www.creativeculturesfoods.com/beet-kvass-with-whey-less-salt-please/ See what you think.
Andrea, I’ve made the low sodium recipe and the taste is good. I used 1/4 cup whey and 1/4 cup turmeric bug in lieu of 1/2 cup of whey. I’ll use a fermentation lid the next time. Just yesterday I read in your Probiotic Raspberry Lemonade blog that you experienced an explosion because of the CO2 build up. Last night when it was time to take up the last jar I couldn’t get the lid off. I noticed the lid was puffed up. A small hole in the lid released the air and the lid came off. I’m grateful that it didn’t explode, what a mess that would be! THANKS!
Thanks for sharing your experience on both counts, Shirley. That’s a great idea about the turmeric bug and whey combination. I’m also glad you didn’t get an explosion. 🙂
What can you do with the beets after making kvass twice. And do you just drink this plain? Does it cleansemail the liver? I would think if you use mineral sea salt that it won’t make your bp go up like iodized will it? Thanks!
Yes sea salt is much better overall. You can dehydrate the beets and grind into powder. Or you can add chopped beets to a salad. I’m sure there are numerous other options – great question. I need to add something about this to the post.
In Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions she gives a recipe for Beet Kvass using salt & whey. Apparently the whey is not necessary for fermentation but is used as a starter. If fermentation is done without whey the amount of salt is increased. Using whey as a starter or some other probiotic increases the vitamins & enzymes available in the final product.
If you use only sea salt does it change how long it’s left out on the counter?
It takes longer, but it is the same process. Good question. Just watch it and taste it. You’ll know.