Monday, December 16, 2019

Baltic Christmas Day 16 - Honey-lemon kvass!

Please welcome back to the series a favorite contributor, Inga Lucāns! You might have seen her recipes in publications such as Dzeltenā pavārgrāmata or sampled her piparkūkas and kliņģeris at a local tirdziņš, and she has appeared on 24 Days of a Balic Christmas with posts ranging from piparkūkas and the Latvian pīrāgs, to puzuri and Latvian Christmas stories! Today, on Day 16 of the series, Inga with her recipe for a traditional Baltic fermented beverage, Honey-lemon kvass!


Fermentation is all the rage nowadays. There are foods and beverages that fermentation makes truly interesting, and others that I believe should be left alone (stinky tofu, anyone?). Everyone is familiar with wine and beer – both are fermented beverages with an ancient heritage and a great variety of flavors. Kombucha, which is basically a fermented tea, may be the non-alcoholic fermented beverage most of us have tasted, of at least heard of.

Kvass' roots lead way back to the Slavs of the Middle Ages, where it was brewed and consumed  in humongous quantities in ancient Rus', and became popular throughout the region. Truly everyone, rich or poor, drank it. The peak of its popularity was the 15th and 16th centuries, where every Russian on average drank 200 to 250 liters of kvass per year, from the poor to the Tsars.

(Painting by Vassiliy Kalistov, Street vending of kvass (1862), Chuvash State Art Museum, Russia, photo source here)

Traditional kvass is made by fermentation of bread, most often rye, sometimes, though not necessary with risen bread, boosted with added "iesals" (malt), and flavored by fruit, berries, dried fruit. It's a fine way to make use of stale leftovers and "doniņi" (ends) of "rupjmaize" (rye bread). Modern kvass most often uses rye bread, sugar, raisins, and a yeast culture or "ieraugs" (starter).

(photo source here)

During the years of Latvia's occupation by the Soviet Union, a frequent sight on the streets was was a kvass-wagon, where people could stop, pay a few "centi" (cents), and be handed a communally used glass of kvass. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, new health laws banned street sales of kvass, and many kvass factories closed. Quickly, the Coca-Cola company moved into Latvia and other newly independent nations, and soon bought existing kvass manufacturing facilities to make and market their own brand of kvass.


How does all this apply to Honey-Lemon Kvass? Really, only in the process itself. Our ancestors were innovative and inventive, were already fermenting beer, sauerkraut, a kefir-like drink called "rūgušpiens" (literal translation: fermented milk). Black and red currants, rhubarb, and other fruits were experimented with.  

This particular recipe was the result of a dare. Quite a few years ago, the folklore teacher at our Latvian School was organizing a traditional holiday event, and challenged me to learn to make several traditional foods I had never before had a need to make, and this beverage called "medalus" (literally translated "honeybeer") or "medus kvass" (honey kvass). I began to do research and experiment with different recipes, combinations of recipes, trial and error. I ended up with this, and brew it several times a year, for special Latvian events, like celebrating the Solstice, and for our school's yearly Christmas Market. It has developed a small following.


Traditional kvass has its fans, but it's usually a love it or leave it beverage. I've found that it's kind of the same thing with honey-lemon kvass, although many kvass-haters were pleasantly surprised when they were talked into taking a sip. This kvass is nothing like the traditional bread-based kvass – it is a refreshing and vibrant beverage!

When trying this recipe, leave yourself about a week before drinking; this is not a last-minute-throw-together thing. That said, it really is quite simple. If you find you like it, the recipe multiplies nicely – I usually brew it x8, and it ferments nicely and tastes great. The ingredient amounts for larger quantity are at the end of the recipe.


HONEY-LEMON KVASS


INGREDIENTS:       

½ pound (1 cups or 200 grams) honey (raw honey is best – and should be heated to liquid form, if sugar crystals have developed, but processed honey works just fine)
          grated peel (zest) and juice of ½ lemon
¼ ounce (6 grams) cake yeast  (or approximately teaspoon active dry yeast – I use Red Star cake yeast
          a small amount of sugar
1 quart distilled water – tap water varies from place to place in the amount of minerals, chlorination, taste, and in some instances may give the kvass an unpleasant side-flavor, or it may not ferment properly

YOU WILL NEED:  

          A pot that holds at least a gallon, a wooden spoon, grater or lemon zester, lemon juicer, a cup in which to proof the yeast, a glass container for fermenting the kvass, straining ladle, sieve and cheesecloth, a ladle and a funnel tor transferring kvass, glass bottles or jars that can be well sealed for storage. (Wash bottles with hot water and dish soap, and rinse with VERY hot water; or fill with water, place in a large pot, cover bottles with water, bring slowly to a boil, boil on low for 10 – 12 minutes.)

PREPARATION:


1. Bring water to a boil, add honey, lemon juice and zest. Stir until honey has dissolved completely. 

2. Proof yeast in a cup with the sugar and a splash of warm water (if your tap water has an unpleasant taste, use distilled or filtered drinking water).

3. Cool honey mixture to 18°C (65°F) – the ideal temperature for rising – and gently stir in the proofed yeast.

4. Cover with a clean cotton or linen cloth and let the mixture ferment in a warm place a day or two, three, skimming foam from the surface. Taste it daily, until it you consider the flavor pleasing, not over-fermented.

5. Filter fermented kvass, through cheesecloth in a sieve. Pour into clean glass bottles or jars, seal tightly and store in a cool place – like your refrigerator.

* Kvass will become more effervescent if stored for a few days or a week!
** Since the kvass has no preservatives and is not processed by canning, it will not keep indefinitely. Some solids from the yeast may settle in the bottle – don't shake the bottle – let them stay on the bottom!

Honey-lemon kvass in quantity (somewhere around 3 gallons):


4 pounds honey (5 cups)
Zest and juice of 4 lemons (juice of 4 lemons is about 6 ounces or 12 tablespoons or 3/4 cup)
2 ounces cake yeast (6¾ teaspoons active dry yeast)
2 gallons distilled water




Some little things to know:

Of course, raw honey is always best, but store-bought processed honey works just fine.

Use large lemons, and wash them thoroughly before grating the peel. Grate the peel before squeezing the juice – it's really hard to grate an empty, limp lemon skin!

I always use fresh yeast (cake yeast), and I prefer Red Star brand, but active dry yeast will do in a pinch – let it proof  (make sure it's active and will do the job of rising) really well.

During fermentation, you need not skim the surface more than once daily; you will skim off some lemon zest along with the foam – oh, well. Taste it after skimming – you can follow the changes in flavor, and decide when is enough.

Wash bottles with dish soap and rinse with VERY hot water, or follow instructions for sterilizing bottles as written in recipe.

Once bottled, resist the urge to taste it daily (that lets out the bubbles!). At least two days in the refrigerator are needed to let it start becoming effervescent, a week should have the bottle popping like Champagne!

Remember that home-made kvass is not canned or preserved, and though honey is a very good anti-bacterial agent, it will not keep forever in your refrigerator. Drink up before it "turns".

Honey-Lemon Kvass is non-alcoholic, although it might have a miniscule alcohol content – just like kombucha.  But – rumor has it that the longer left alone in the refrigerator, the higher the alcohol content. I have never known anyone to get drunk from this kvass, but the rumor has helped pre-teen boys think they are getting away with something, and acting a bit silly. I have purchased alcohol-content measuring equipment for use with my next batch, so that I can definitively defend my assertion of non-alcoholicism.

Don't expect everyone to be thrilled and love your new drink, but do encourage them to try it!

  
PRIEKĀ! (It's what you say when you look into the eyes of the person you are about to klink glasses with – literally translated "in happiness"!)

* Historical references sourced from Wikipedia, www.npr.org, various food and drink websites and blogs, old and new Latvian cookbooks.

* This recipe is a mix-and-match of my research, experimentation, and good luck.

Paldies, Inga, for another fascinating post! Your recipes and posts from previous years are among the most-read in the series, and I have no doubt this one will join the others, bookmarked and pinned for frequent reference. I’m so glad you were able to join us again this year!!

If you are in the Chicago area, I urge you to stop by the Krišjāņa Barona Latviešu Skolas tirdziņš; not only will you be able to purchase Inga’s pīrāgi, piparkūkas dough and kliņģeris, but the piparkūkas baked by the school that will be for sale utilize her recipe – which you can find right here on 24 Days of a Baltic Christmas: A Baltic Christmas Day 5 - Piparkūkas!

Tomorrow on the series we cross the ocean to the U.K., to find out more about the Lithuanian shops in London!

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