Rus: Kvas the Mother of All Rus Food and Drink

Kvas is the most favorite along being refreshing of all Russian beverages. Since antiquity the Slavs have made and known about Kvas since long before the foundation of the Kievian Rus.

The word Kvas is Russian, derived from old Ukrainian by origin, literally means sour drink. It was so popular that in the Encyclopedia of Food it was written: "After water, the most widespread beverage was Kvas ... It is thought that people drink it more often than water......" A love to kvas overstepped the limits of classes: poor people drank it with a pleasure as did the nobility whu actually kvas to foreign wines. Kvas was very inexpensive and easy to make. These facts partly, explains its popularity. Kvas serves as the base for many dishes in Rus cuisines: okroshka , turya, balanda, etc.

It is the superb gustatory qualities of kvas that has surprised foreign visitors to the Rus for centuries. They could not believe that this delicious fermented beverage was as tasty and useful as well as being much better than the sherbets was given to servants as well.

Together with sauerkraut, kvas was the only medicine that saved people from scurvy during a long winter without green, as real Russian kvas was made from malt that is notable for rich content of vitamin B and vitamins C. In folk medicine kvas was used for curing cold, dropsy, fever, digestive tract diseases and many others.. In Rus hospitals kvas is a necessary daily beverage for every patient. To increase nutritious value of kvas, it was made from 2 kinds of malt sans sugar. At times people add honey to ennoble kvas. Freshly made kvas is preferred and is what most folk drink. Some lazy women, historically and habitually, managed to make kvas once a year and as required they poured in new water. In the end this kvas had no real resemblence to real kvas and was more like vinegar.

There are literally hundreds of thoiusands of recipes of kvas. Actually they have the same ingredientsbut are presnted with different proportions: malt, rye or wheat flour, & boiling water. This dense mass was blended until it had a sweet taste. Then this mass was put in a well-heated oven for a day and a night, 24hours. After that the mass was dissolved in water then left in at room temperature for 2-3 hours. It is then bottled. This is the basics of making kvas. Kvases differ depending upon the different kinds of flour, cold or hot water; additives such as sugar, raisins, honey, mint, berry juices or molasses.

Go To Page: 1 2 3