"Russian kvass saved a lot of people" - this proverb fully reflects the importance of this drink for the Slavic peoples. Unfortunately, today's drink, which is on the shelves in stores and is called kvass, can hardly be called the savior of the Russian people - it is often a mixture of preservatives and acids that are not very useful for the body. Fortunately, it is very easy to make bread kvass at home.

In the summer heat, we are always in search of high-quality cooling drinks that would perfectly tone up the body and give it vigor.

But there is nothing better than folk recipes - homemade double-fermented kvass will be an excellent thirst tamer! Homemade drinks are always healthier and tastier than store soda and, most importantly, contain only natural ingredients.

Traditional health drink

Why exactly double-fermented kvass? The drink prepared using this technology is considered a primordially Russian product, and its recipes have ancient roots.

Double fermentation technology is the most successful for tasty and healthy kvass, in which two components complement and enrich each other. Sour milk and yeast bacteria, which are in kvass, have a beneficial effect on our body, just like kefir or fermented baked milk, cleanse the intestinal microflora.

Lactic acid fermentation curbs the level of alcohol in kvass, making this product safe even for young children.

Traditional double-fermented kvass quenches thirst well and tones the body perfectly. It has a pleasant taste and a light smell of bread - this is a great option for those who do not use homemade kvass because of the pungent smell of yeast.

It is very simple to prepare such a drink - you only need time for fermentation. A glass of homemade chilled kvass will give your body freshness for a long time, and you will feel comfortable even in the summer heat!

Bread kvass of double fermentation

Ingredients

• Fresh rye bread - 350 g;
• White granulated sugar - 5 tablespoons;
• Rye sourdough - 3 tablespoons;
• Purified water - 4.5 liters.

How to make double-fermented folk kvass

1. First, prepare the rye starter: mix 2 tablespoons of sugar and 5 tablespoons of rye flour in a glass jar, diluting the ingredients with water until a thick mass is obtained.
2. We close the container with a lid and put it in the refrigerator.
3. The next day, open the jar, add 1.5 tablespoons of rye flour and a little water, so that the sourdough is again like thick sour cream.
4. On the third day, do the same, and send it back to the refrigerator. After that, the leaven is ready.
5. Cut the rye bread into small pieces and brown in the oven until golden brown (but do not overcook).
6. Pour water into a saucepan and boil, add rye croutons, stir and set aside until it cools (so that the liquid is warm).
7. Add rye sourdough to the cooled water with bread and stir. Cover the container with a cloth and tie the neck, leave warm for 1.5-2 days.
8. After fermentation, strain the kvass through clean cheesecloth and add sugar, stir until it is completely dissolved. Pour the kvass into clean plastic bottles (you do not need to fill the bottles up to the top, leave a place for oxygen to escape: about three fingers from the neck), and seal tightly.
9. Place the bottles in a dark, warm place for 24 hours, then transfer to the refrigerator.

After the kvass has cooled down, pour it into glasses and enjoy the pleasant taste of the homemade drink!

Double fermentation kvass with lemon balm and honey

Ingredients

• Rye malt - 350 g + -
• Rye flour - 300 g + -
• Citric acid- 1 tsp + -
• Pears - 2 pcs. + -
• - 4 tablespoons + -
• Melissa dry - 3 tsp + -
• Rye sourdough - 2 tablespoons + -
• - 5 l + -

Cooking kvass with lemon balm and honey

1. Boil 2 cups of water and pour in rye flour, stir well so that the mass is like sour cream in consistency. Set aside until it cools completely.
2. Pour the dried lemon balm with a glass of boiling water, cover and let it stand until it cools. Then strain through cheesecloth.
3. Peel, core and dice the pears. Along with the raisins, mince or grind in a blender.
4. Pour the rye malt into a separate saucepan and add 3 cups of boiling water, put on fire and bring to a boil. Cool to 30 ° C so that the broth is barely warm.
5. Combine all components in one bowl: rye flour, lemon balm infusion and rye malt broth, mix everything well.
6. Add fruit, citric acid, rye sourdough and honey.
7. Pour in the rest of the water and mix, put in a warm place.
8. Kvass should ferment for at least 2 days. If it has acquired richness, strain it through cheesecloth (otherwise, let it stand for a day).
9. Pour the drink into plastic bottles (not to the neck), and then keep warm until they become hard like stones - this means that the kvass is ready. Place the bottles of kvass drink in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

An excellent alternative to sweet soda is double-fermented kvass with lemon balm and honey. Such a drink energizes and gives new taste sensations - just what you need for unbearable hot days!

Homemade kvass. Kvass recipes. Bread kvass. Choosing kvass

Bread kvass is one of the most favorite drinks since the times of Ancient Rus. Kvass was brewed everywhere - in monasteries, in landowners' houses, and in peasant huts. Previously, peasants never went out to work in the field without taking kvass with them. Even then, people noticed that kvass promotes health and increases efficiency. Today, scientists recommend kvass to all athletes to relieve fatigue, increase muscle volume, and improve performance.

How to make homemade kvass
Today it is easy to buy ready-made kvass, an extract of this drink or kvass wort. However, the most healing kvass is homemade and the most common is kvass made from bread.
Young rye kvass
Cut rye bread into slices and dry in the oven until they are slightly browned. Pour crackers with boiling water, cover and leave for 3-4 hours. Strain the resulting infusion, which is called wort, put yeast, granulated sugar, mint diluted in warm water, cover with a napkin and ferment for 10-12 hours.
After the appearance of foam, strain and bottle again, putting five washed raisins in each half-liter bottle. Close the bottles tightly with corks soaked in boiling water and let stand for 2-3 hours at room temperature, and then put in a cold place. In three days the young kvass will be ready. For 500-700 g of rye crackers, you will need 4-5 liters of water, 10-15 g of yeast, 100-150 g of granulated sugar, 10 g of mint, 25 g of raisins.
Petrovsky kvass
It is prepared in the same way as above, but instead of mint in kvass, you need to put 100-150 g of grated horseradish and 100 g of honey, which replaces half of the sugar. It fights well against chronic diseases of the nasopharynx.
Kvass from calamus roots
Add calamus infusion to the bread kvass prepared in the usual way in the proportion of one glass of root infusion per 3 liters of kvass. Such kvass sharpens vision and hearing, strengthens the gums, soothes nervous excitement and lowers blood pressure.
Kvass with hops
Add 50 g of hop cones to 3 liters of finished kvass and leave for at least 5 hours. It is used in dietary nutrition for gastritis and in cosmetology to strengthen hair as masks.
Kvass with mint
Dip a gauze bag with mint into the finished kvass - 20 g per 3 liters of drink and add 2 tablespoons of honey. Peppermint kvass soothes the nervous system and ensures a healthy, sound sleep. Kvass was also made from fruits, berries, oats, wheat rusks and other products.
Kvass with lemon
When consumed regularly, lemon kvass is a wonderful way to improve metabolism. Such kvass is good for rheumatism, acne in adolescence, obesity, and also lowers blood cholesterol levels. Pour 250 g of dry black bread with 4 liters of boiling water and leave for several hours. Then strain, add 200-250 g of sugar, 5 g of dissolved yeast and the juice of one lemon. Leave this mixture for a day, then pour into bottles and place in a cool dark place for 3 days. You can add a little raisins or chopped hazelnuts to kvass.
Lemon honey kvass
Favorite drink of Russian emperors. Pour the juice squeezed from one lemon into 1.5 liters of boiled water at room temperature. Add 4 tablespoons of honey, 6 teaspoons of sugar, stir, cover with gauze and let it brew for 24 hours. After that, strain the kvass through triple gauze and pour into bottles, adding 4-5 raisins to each. Close the bottles tightly. Place in a cold place for aging and maturation for one to two weeks.
Berry kvass
Recipe from the archive of the chef Nicholas II. Berries: black currants, raspberries, blackberries, lingonberries or blueberries - rinse, mash and place in an enamel bowl. Pour warm sugar syrup at the rate of: 4 liters of water - 1 kg of berries and 500-600 g of sugar. Stir the resulting mixture thoroughly, cover with gauze, stand for 24 hours at room temperature. Then strain twice and bottle with a few raisins. Keep in a cold place for 1-2 weeks.
Apple kvass
Cut apples, add water to them, bring to a boil and leave for 2-3 hours. Then strain, add yeast diluted in warm water, sugar and citric acid and leave for 3-4 days to ferment. For 1 kg of apples - 500 g of granulated sugar, 50 g of yeast, 3 g of citric acid and 5 liters of water.

Homemade kvass recipe
Rye bread - 800 g, cut into small slices, dry in the oven to a state of breadcrumbs, put in a large saucepan and pour with boiling water - 4-7 liters. Close the lid and leave for 3-4 hours; stir from time to time. Strain the resulting wort through cheesecloth, cool to 25-30 ° C, add sugar, for which 1-2 glasses; pre-dilute in some water and boil for 30 minutes, and yeast starter (mix 5-10 g of yeast with 3/4 cup warm boiled water, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tbsp flour and leave for 1-2 hours in a warm place). Leave at room temperature for fermentation for 12 hours, do not close tightly. Pour into bottles without topping up to the very top. Cork the bottles well and refrigerate for ripening. After a couple of days, you can try. Keep in mind that homemade kvass should be drunk fresh - after about five days, it will lose a significant part of its taste.
Start experimenting at the stage of adding sugar and yeast. Add mint, cumin or cinnamon, raisins and lemon, as in Poland and Lithuania, or black currant leaves, as in the Russian North. If you put honey and grated horseradish, you get kvass, known as "Petrovsky". It would be good to brew mint and blackcurrant leaves in advance and stand for five hours. (
Kvass is also prepared from wheat bread - it will have a lighter shade and less pronounced aroma. Instead of sugar, honey or jam is often added to this kvass, or fruit-berries, and the aroma is "improved" with the help of herbs, vanillin or cinnamon.
Berry kvass, which in the old days was not recognized by the people of the upper class, is very popular today. From the fruits of strawberries, lingonberries, wild rose or mountain ash, cherries, cranberries, currants, apples and pears, something like fruit drink is prepared. Pour boiling water over, leave for several hours, drain. Add sugar, citric acid or honey, and then add leavened yeast or sourdough. Further - according to the recipe described above. Effervescence and frothiness, essential qualities of good kvass, are provided.
General rules
Kvass is prepared in cooled boiled water. It is recommended to store kvass in a cool place. Chilled kvass tastes better.
Ready kvass should be consumed in 2-3 days. With longer storage, it loses its taste and becomes sour.
The most convenient for making kvass are champagne bottles with dense and reliable plastic corks.
The dishes in which the wort is infused must be glass or enameled; it is impossible to cook kvass in an aluminum dish, as it is oxidized.
For the preparation of berry kvass, only ripe selected undamaged berries are used.
The benefits of kvass
Bread kvass regulates the activity of the gastrointestinal tract. It prevents the reproduction of harmful microorganisms, raises the general tone of the body, strengthens the cardiovascular system. This is because bread kvass contains many useful substances - lactic acid, vitamins, free amino acids, various trace elements and enzymes.
Doctors believe that in its effect on the body, kvass is similar to kefir, yogurt, koumiss and other products of lactic acid fermentation.
Sour kvass should not be abused for chronic ulcers and gastritis, high acidity, colitis, gout and liver diseases. To reduce the acidity of kvass, add honey to taste.
How to choose kvass
By no means everything that “pretends” to be kvass is. Kvass is not a soda, but a product of a unique fermentation - double: lactic acid and alcohol. As a result of the first, lactic acid is formed, which gives it sourness and freshness, and with alcoholic fermentation, alcohol and carbon dioxide are obtained.
And if you look at all modern bottled kvass, you will always find information on the label that they are made by fermentation. Surprisingly: despite the fact that it is not necessary to indicate this information (after all, kvass is a fermentation product by definition), it is not only indicated, but also pushed out. Often this is indicated not only in large print, but also accented with the help of various emblems and other tricks. For example, sometimes they write: "Live fermentation kvass", "Real live fermentation" or simply "Live fermentation". All this is "butter oil", fermentation cannot be dead, this process is always alive - killed bacteria and fungi do not cause it. Allowing such exaggerations in one thing, manufacturers may not be entirely correct in other important details.
Manufacturers often swear by tradition. It is also better to treat the inscriptions like “traditional Russian kvass”, or that the kvass is made according to “traditional recipes”, or on the basis of “age-old traditions of Russian kvass” with irony. And that's why. Fermentation fermentation strife. Traditional Russian kvass is a product of double fermentation, which we have just written about. But in 2005, another kvass appeared - an unconventional one. It can be done with only one type of fermentation - alcoholic like beer, mash, wine. Imagine the irony: kvass is a carbonated soft drink made by alcoholic fermentation. Don't believe me?
Here is the official definition of the drink from the current GOST R 52409-2005 “Products of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol production. Terms and Definitions". "Kvass is a national non-alcoholic drink with a volume fraction of ethyl alcohol not exceeding 1.2%, made as a result of incomplete 1) alcoholic or 2) alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation of wort."
You can distinguish traditional Russian kvass from the one made according to new traditions by the composition on the label. Acids are added to drinks of the latter type (they are highlighted in fat).
It's just that double fermentation is a very capricious thing, they need to steer in order to observe the proportion: so that lactic acid, which gives kvass sourness and freshness, is not a little, and not a lot of alcohol. But it turns out that the technology can be simplified. Why bother with lactic acid fermentation if acid can be added later? And now there are many kvass, on the label of which food acids are indicated in the composition - lactic, citric or acetic. In traditional Russian kvass with double fermentation, they are formed naturally, and they are added to new, unconventional kvass in the same way as in soda - as acidifiers.

It is believed that if there is a mention of any GOST on the label, then the product is what you need. Today kvass is made according to GOST - R53094-2008 “Kvass. General technical conditions ”.
Kvass is made from almost everything that contains carbohydrates, including berries and fruits. Of course, the most popular kvass is bread or grain. Most often, flour and malt from rye and barley are used for it, but you can make kvass from almost any flour or cereal, even from bread and rusks.
But why does a typical kvass contain not these components, but a concentrate of kvass wort? What it is? This thick, viscous liquid, usually dark brown in color, is rarely sold for home kvass production. She has a sweet and sour taste and aroma of rye bread, which is transferred to kvass. Wort is obtained from rye or barley malt with the addition of flour from the same and other cereals. All these components are crushed, mixed, poured with water, boiled, filtered, evaporated - as a result, wort is obtained. In fact, these are the first stages of kvass production, then yeast is added to the wort, it ferments, and a traditional drink is obtained.
Most modern manufacturers make kvass from ready-made wort, which, in turn, is made for them by other manufacturers.
Sugar, more precisely sugar, is almost always added to kvass: this is ordinary table sugar or sand, and fructose, glucose, dextrose, maltose and so on, including honey.
But sometimes strange sweets are found in the composition of the drink. For example, in the composition of one kvass there is a sweet food mixture with the trade mark “Marmix 25”. It is 80% fructose, and the rest is sweeteners: acesulfame potassium, sodium cyclamate, sodium saccharinate. Of course, such a drink can officially be called kvass, and it fermented, but it is better to give preference to something more traditional.
Live or dead kvass
This is one of the main questions in relation to kvass. The drink that was sold in the Soviet years from barrels to bottling was alive, but it had to be consumed within two days. The remnants of the kvass wort continued to live (ferment), and the drink quickly deteriorated.
Today anyone can make kvass. But since the term “living” is not regulated by law, it is abused. For example, on a very popular kvass I came across the following information: “filtered kvass: packed, pasteurized”, and also: “lively, tonic”. There are a lot of obvious contradictions here.
First, translated into ordinary language, “pasteurized” is roughly the same as “dead”: pasteurization is heating, in which microorganisms die. But such kvass is still useful, and most of them are on sale.
Secondly, kvass, which is cold sterilized - passed through special filters that trap bacteria and yeast, is called “depleted”. They are, of course, more lively than pasteurized, but still this term does not apply to them.
Thirdly, pasteurized kvass can no longer be considered uncooked, because it was heated to a sufficiently high temperature.
But in principle, kvass, which can be unofficially called alive, exists today. These are unfiltered and unclarified drinks that are stored for no more than 5 days. For comparison: pasteurized kvass is stored for at least 6 months, and encapsulated kvass - from 10 to 30 days.
It is important
If you want live kvass, look at its expiration date! This is an unfiltered drink that can be stored for no more than 5 days.
There are several more important characteristics of kvass, which must be indicated on the label:
Filtered kvass - this means that the drink is clarified using filtration (but this is a different treatment than depletion).
Clarified unfiltered kvass - clarified not by mechanical filtration, but processed with special clarifying materials.
Unfiltered unclarified kvass - was not subjected to either filtration or clarification with the help of special materials; may be cloudy and sedimentary. But this kvass is closest to living.
BARRELED KVASS - this inscription is not regulated by law and does not mean anything significant.
OKROSHECHNY KVASS - kvass for okroshka should be more sour and less sweet (the content of carbohydrates in it should be less than in drinking), but, in fact, this inscription is also not regulated by law and therefore can be used arbitrarily.
In 1975, at an international competition in Yugoslavia, drinks were evaluated on ten parameters, and kvass received exactly twice as many points as Coca-Cola. And it is not surprising: we will not undertake to assert that it is tastier, but the benefits in it are incomparably greater. It is believed that on the stomach it acts like kefir, yogurt or koumiss: it soothes the digestive processes, destroys harmful microbes, improves metabolism and strengthens the cardiovascular system. It is unlikely that Coca-Cola can boast that it contains lactic acid, trace elements and amino acids, some of which are recognized as irreplaceable.

The sour, leavened taste, familiar to many from childhood, is one of the features of the national taste that distinguishes Russian cuisine from other cuisines of the world.

"After the Russian-French wars, kvass became a symbol of national patriotism, when in the salons of the nobility, French champagne was replaced by a glass of kvass," he said culinary historian and author of books on gastronomy Pavel Syutkin during a round table in the framework of the project "Arguments and Facts" "Food Security".

Since 2012, the publishing house has been holding a series of events, the purpose of which is to tell consumers the most important criteria for choosing high-quality products using the example of goods of a certain class. This time, representatives of the medical and scientific community discussed kvass.

How to choose kvass?

Real Russian kvass is prepared using the technology of double fermentation (lactic acid and alcoholic) using lactic acid bacteria. Double fermentation technology was used in pre-revolutionary Russia, as well as in the USSR. Kvass made using this technology has unique properties and is the most useful.

“Kvass is a product of unfinished lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation. So it is written in all textbooks, and so it really is. In a production environment and on a large scale, it is rather difficult to make a combined starter culture. Therefore, most enterprises began to produce kvass, and this is allowed, using both baker's yeast and brewer's yeast, but then the taste of the drink turns out to be a little different than we would like. And the acid has to be added with acids (lactic acid, citric acid) ", - shared the peculiarities of the technological process of modern kvass production Galina Ermolaeva, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Department of Food Products Design, MGUPP.

Photo: Shutterstock.com

I agree with her and Sergey Rumyantsev, vice president for production and quality of ZAO MPBK Ochakovo.

“Kvass is a unique product made only using double fermentation technology. Single fermentation gives a flat, unexpressed taste with insufficient acidity. Kvass produced by a simplified technology without lactic acid fermentation requires the introduction of chemical acids from the outside. In our opinion, such drinks should not be called traditional and national. And they are not kvass, ”Rumyantsev shared his opinion.

The expert advised consumers to pay attention to the label when choosing a drink. The composition of traditional Russian kvass should not include the following components: citric acid, lactic acid, acetic acid, maltose syrup, sweet food mixture, sweetener, aspartame, preservatives (for example, sodium benzoate and others).

A natural product, experts are sure, contains only natural ingredients. It always contains lactic acid bacteria (combined starter culture) and kvass wort concentrate (rye malt, rye flour and other cereals). And sometimes natural juices, herbal infusions and extracts. If lactic acid bacteria are not listed, then most likely the product contains artificial additives, such as synthesized lactic acid.

Is kvass better than soda?

Doctors and nutritionists believe that today's children and adolescents are poorly versed in what they drink. In their opinion, kvass could be an excellent alternative to sweet fizzy drinks, which are high in sugar and additives. But for this it is necessary to strengthen control over production.

“I would like consumers to clearly understand the difference between what is real kvass, which is better for children to drink, and what is what we are often offered under the label“ kvass ”,” she commented Ekaterina Belova, nutritionist and TV presenter of the Domashny TV channel.

A change in the current technical regulation to kvass could protect conscientious producers and consumers, experts noted. To do this, it is necessary to fix the definition of kvass as "a drink obtained by lactic acid and incomplete alcoholic fermentation", and kvass, made not according to traditional technology, should be called "fermentation drink" or "kvass drink".

“In any state, the national product is a part of the national culture and historical heritage. Therefore, the position should be as follows: kvass is a national product, it is produced according to strictly defined national traditional technologies, there must be mandatory standards, ”summed up Vladimir Bessonov, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Head of the Food Chemistry Laboratory of the Federal State Budgetary Institution Research Institute of Nutrition.

Yesterday, at the beginning of the hot season, experts gathered at the AiF press center to discuss issues related to the safety of manufactured products for the consumer. This time the discussion touched upon one of the most widespread and traditional drinks for Russians - kvass. Its popularity is growing: according to the agency Nielsen, in 2014 the Russian kvass market grew by 11%. Today, kvass is produced by almost all large beer and non-alcoholic factories, and consumers are faced with a wide choice.

What were we - the gathered experts talking about? There is hardly any point in retelling each one. The AIF press center tried to summarize these opinions:

Kvass is a national product, the traditions of its preparation have been developing for centuries. In all the history and culinary books there is a sly phrase “Kvass became known in Russia no later thanIX century ". However, it no longer refers to the kvass itself, but to written sources on Russian history, which from that time - one or two and missed.

Nevertheless, in the 10th century it was already widespread throughout Russia. And always kvass was a product of double fermentation: lactic acid and alcohol. Carbonic and lactic acids were released during natural fermentation, as described in the book of Dr. L.N. Simonov 1898 "Brewing, brewing and honey brewing":

The variety of types of kvass is far from being a modern achievement. Eastern Slavs prepared kvass long before the baptism of Rus, and the first official confirmation of the nationwide veneration of kvass can be found in the annals of 996: newly converted Christians were treated to "food, honey and kvass" by Vladimir Svyatoslavovich's decree. By the 15th century in Russia there were more than 500 varieties of an old drink: sweet and sour, mint and with raisins, thick and kvass-cabbage soup, fragrant and daily, white and okroshechny, with horseradish (Ural) and boyar, aromatic and millet, with pepper and pear. The Russians drank kvass every day and even endowed it with the properties of a sacred drink and amulet. Girls poured them on the shelves in the bathhouse during the washing ceremony before the wedding, and the men extinguished fires caused by a lightning strike (it was believed that only kvass and milk could cope with them). Kvass was drunk by tsars. For example, prince Golitsyn, demoted to jesters, should offer a drink to Empress Anna Ioannovna.

In the 30s of the last century, booths-carts could be seen on the streets of Moscow. A glass of "Bavarian kvass" in those days cost 20 kopecks (for comparison: the student's stipend averaged 130 rubles). A little later, the so-called "yellow barrels" appeared, which in the official documentation were called "food insulated tank trucks" or ATsPT. Kvass was released into cans. The most impatient could quench their thirst on the spot by buying a small or large mug of kvass. It is interesting that Vera Mukhina, the author of the legendary Worker and Collective Farm Woman, worked on the design of reusable glass mugs into which kvass was poured.

Traditional kvass production technology (double fermentation)

The use of only alcoholic fermentation in the production of kvass without lactic acid is a gross violation of the traditional brewing technology. It is in the combination of two types of fermentation, lactic acid and alcohol, that the secret of the healing properties of kvass lies. Yeast causes alcoholic fermentation, and bacteria cause lactic acid fermentation. Lactic acid bacteria convert about half of the sugar into lactic acid, the rest of the sugar into carbon dioxide, acetic acid and ethyl alcohol. All processes occur naturally, without the addition of third-party ingredients.

Reconstruction of double fermentation in industrial production is a complex and time-consuming process. Therefore, many manufacturers make kvass using a simplified technology based only on alcoholic fermentation. After yeast fermentation, acids are added to the kvass and this is how they "catch up" the drink. At the same time, without the stage of lactic acid fermentation, kvass does not have the unique beneficial properties that real kvass has - double fermentation kvass. To resolve the issue and protect the interests of bona fide producers, it is necessary to officially separate the concepts of kvass and fermented drinks. Kvass is a separate category of drinks produced only using the classic double fermentation technology. And fermented drinks - everything else, including what is today called kvass, but produced using a simplified technology without lactic acid fermentation.

Why is the technology of double (lactic acid and alcoholic fermentation) important - firstly, with this technology, both types of fermentation complement and enrich each other, it is lactic acid fermentation that restrains the increase in the level of alcohol in kvass in a natural way. With alcoholic fermentation alone, the alcohol level has to be contained by freezing. Secondly, to give sourness during single alcoholic fermentation, it is necessary to add lactic acid obtained by chemical means, and during double fermentation, lactic acid is formed naturally, giving kvass a special taste. Only with double fermentation, lactic acid bacteria are formed, which make kvass as useful as possible.

Expert staff of the Round Table:

Vladimir Bessonov (Doctor of Biological Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Chemistry of Food Products of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "Research Institute of Nutrition")
Ekaterina Belova (nutritionist, TV presenter of the Domashny channel)
Alexey Bezymyanny (general practitioner, presenter of Channel One)
Galina Naumchik (Clinic of Professor Yutskovskaya, cosmetologist, dermatologist)
Sergey Raksha (Public organization "The Truth About Food", head)
Pavel Syutkin (culinary historian, author of cookbooks)
Galina Ermolaeva (Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor of the Department of Food Designing, MGUPP)
Sergey Rumyantsev, vice president for production and quality of CJSC MPBK "Ochakovo".

Violation of traditional brewing technology

The technology of double fermentation began to be violated already in the Soviet period. However, Soviet technologists knew from OST 10 98-87 that kvass is “a drink obtained by lactic acid fermentation and accompanying alcoholic fermentation”. But since there was no separate GOST for kvass (there was only a common one for all soft drinks), in the second half of the 20th century, “kvass” began to appear on the market, which did not ferment, but were made from kvass wort, sugar, citric and lactic acids.

The listed components were mixed and saturated with gas. At the end of the 90s, real kvass was practically no longer on sale. Under the label "kvass", there were drinks made from water, wort, sugar or artificial sweeteners, colors, etc. on the shelves in stores. In 1997, a new GOST R 51074-97 was issued, in which a liquid based on wort was called a "kvass drink", but soon it was abolished like the concept of a "kvass drink".

The situation that developed in the 90s eventually forced the state in 2005 to adopt a new GOST and the definition of kvass - "a national soft drink with a volume fraction of ethyl alcohol not exceeding 1.2%, made as a result of unfinished alcoholic or alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation of wort." Later (in 2008, 2010, 2012), changes were made to GOST, but the definition remained the same, allowing for variability in the production of kvass by the method of alcoholic or alcoholic and lactic acid fermentation. Thus, the law allowed for the possibility of producing kvass not according to the traditional recipe.

The usefulness of kvass for the human body

Real, live kvass of double fermentation (lactic acid and alcoholic) is a low-calorie drink (29 kcal per 100 cubic cm of lemonade contains 40-50 kcal) that perfectly quenches thirst and has a beneficial effect on the body. Kvass contains a unique set of amino acids and nutrients that a person needs.

Due to the content of enzymes, dark kvass has a beneficial effect on digestion and metabolism in the body, contains vitamin E, lactic acid has a strong antiseptic and antimicrobial effect. Kvass also contains calcium in a valuable combination with vitamin D. Malt extract enriches the body with B vitamins and vitamin C.

White kvass is especially useful. Nutritionists have confirmed that white kvass restores strength, supports immunity, improves the appearance of hair and nails, and cleanses the body. Kvass contains 14 amino acids: aspartic acid and asparagine help the liver to remove harmful substances from the body, glutamic acid and glutamine stimulate mental activity and support immunity; histidine is necessary for the body during growth, under stress and during periods of recovery from illness and injury; serine stimulates memory functions and strengthens the immune system; arginine increases the body's endurance, glycine has a calming effect, threonine is involved in the elimination of toxins from the body, alanine regulates blood sugar levels, valine strengthens muscles, methionine is a powerful antioxidant, isoleucine helps to fight stress, phenylalanine improves brain function, memory, increases the ability to learning, leucine stimulates protein synthesis in the body, lysine increases the body's protective functions against infections., 7 of these elements are not synthesized in the human body, but can only come from food. And also Niacin (B3, PP), Pyridoxine (B6), B5 vitamin E, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, iodine.

Russians' preferences for the types of kvass

The most common in our country are classic dark kvass, which is a sweet and sour product, quite dense, rich in taste with a pronounced rye crust aroma.

In the central part of Russia, white kvass was very popular, especially in the villages. They taste sour, or sour-salty.

Kvass for children is a novelty. The alcohol content in such kvass is minimized (0.5%), so it is suitable for baby food. The market is saturated with classic kvass, so today manufacturers are trying to come up with unusual flavor variations and release kvass with additives: cranberries, currants, mint. But in general, this niche is just beginning to fill and it is too early to talk about the variety of offers. The production technology of kvass with additives is not much different from the classic one. The difference is that at a certain stage additional components are added - juice or natural extracts. It should be noted that according to official regulatory documents, only natural flavors or juice components can be used as additives.

Storage and use of kvass

Kvass can be stored at temperatures from 5 to 20 C and in the shade. The shelf life of double-fermented kvass is 6 months. A shelf life of 6 months is achieved first by filtration, and then by gentle pasteurization - short-term heating of kvass immediately before bottling. The filtration parameters, as well as the temperature and duration of heating, are selected in such a way that the drink retains its useful properties as much as possible and at the same time remains stable during the entire shelf life.
White kvass is not filtered, it is practically a farm organic product, so the shelf life of such kvass is only 45 days. By the way, the presence of sediment in the bottle is proof of the naturalness of the product and the absence of filtration.
It is better to drink open kvass right away.
Dark kvass is ideal for quenching thirst, while white kvass is ideal for making traditional Russian cold soups, such as okroshka.

Kvass is the best alternative to sweet soda

The state must take special control over sweet soda: first of all, it is necessary to protect our children from drinks with a huge content of sugar and harmful phosphoric acid - this will be a significant step towards strengthening food security. Perhaps, officials should provide more support to domestic producers of natural kvass and other drinks and be more strict with producers, including transnational companies that produce drinks containing artificial ingredients. This question is extremely relevant, since E-supplements approved in Russia are nevertheless considered dangerous and can cause the following health problems: the growth of malignant tumors, gastrointestinal diseases, liver and kidney disease, allergies (especially in children).

How can an ordinary consumer distinguish where is kvass, and where is just a fermentation drink, or it is not at all clear what.

Single alcoholic fermentation kvass is prepared on the basis of malt by alcoholic fermentation, using beer technology. Unlike double fermentation kvass, alcoholic fermentation kvass lacks acidity, so it is artificially recreated with the help of additives - citric, lactic or acetic acid. Manufacturers sometimes substitute malt molasses for malt. For alcoholic fermentation, molasses is enough, but the finished product contains an order of magnitude less nutrients. How to determine: in the composition of real kvass, lactic acid bacteria are always present, which are not found in alcoholic fermentation kvass. Also, the presence of citric, lactic or acetic acids in the composition indicates that kvass was produced using a simplified technology. Previously, it was possible to determine kvass made according to a simplified technology if lactic acid was indicated in its composition. Now, many manufacturers of kvass, using a simplified technology, have begun to add lactic acid to water and not indicate it in the composition. Therefore, now the traditional Russian kvass can be determined by the presence of lactic acid bacteria or a special combined ferment in the composition.

And who is interested, the whole round table can be viewed here: