Greetings my beautiful lovelies. It's Emmy. Welcome back to another episode of Fermented, where I toy and experiment with things that are fermented.

Today, I'm going to be making a beverage, a beverage called kvass. So, kvass is a fermented drink and as a result of the fermentation process, alcohol is produced, but it's produced in such small amounts, it's about 0.5 to 1 percent alcohol. It's kind of similar to drinks like kombucha where it is present, but not high enough in amounts where it's considered alcoholic.

So, kvass comes from the Slavic and Baltic regions of Central and Eastern Europe. It's been produced and consumed for hundreds of years all the way back to the Middle Ages. Fermented drinks like kvass and beer were safer to drink because they were fermented with wild yeast and bacteria that are naturally present in the air, which killed off any bad bacteria that might have been present.

I'm really excited about making kvass today because I've had it before, but it was in cans and I remember it being really different from this. So, let's get started on making our own homemade kvass! We'll need some pumpernickel or rye bread to make the starter for our fermentation process.

Alright, I'm going to soak the bread we can save and actually use this as a starter for our next batch of kvass. This is one of my favorite parts of fermenting because you get to see the magic happen when your ingredients start to come together. Alright, I'm gonna have to get a second jar so that I can make more kvass.

Now, let's talk about the process of making kvass. First, we need to create our starter culture by soaking the bread in water and letting it sit for a few days. This will allow the wild yeast and bacteria to start growing and fermenting the sugars in the bread. Once our starter is ready, we can mix it with water and add some more ingredients like fruit or spices if we want.

I'm going to seal this up and place this in the refrigerator because kvass is generally consumed cold. But, I'm not completely chilled, so I'll put this in the fridge but also speed things up by adding a glass of ice. Now, let's try it out!

Oh my goodness, that sounds good! You can definitely smell the rye in there. Alright, let's give that a taste... Cheers! Ooooh! Hmmmm! That is interesting. That tastes really different than what I remember. The kali and the kvass that I tasted in the cans were much darker in color and didn't have this kind of refreshing quality to them.

The kali I tried wasn't very effervescent at all, but it was much darker in color and as I remember it was called "Estonian Coca Cola" because it was the drink of choice before colas and sodas invaded the market. So, it's slightly effervescent, there's a little bit of tanginess to it. You can definitely taste the bread, the rye flavor is in there, it's a little bit anise-y, a little bit kind of licorice.

And it tastes of bread and there's a bit of sweetness to this that tastes kind of caramelized. But the color is really different than the kali that I tasted - the kali was much much darker in color. This is almost like a ginger-ale in color. Hmm! Not bad! I like it's actually really refreshing when you have it cold.

The kvass that I had in my Serbia video was also very dark in color and had a similar kind of bready flavor, but it didn't taste as much like rye bread as this one. And the glass that I had in the can I remember was much fizzier than this one. And I've read that you can make this fizzier by adding just a pinch of commercial yeast to this about a day before you're ready to strain the bread out to give an extra little bit of carbonation.

But, I kind of like it like this - just barely barely a little bit of bubble in there. This reminds me a little bit of kombucha, it's not nearly as vinegar smelling or vinegar tasting as kombucha. I love kombucha, by the way, if you haven't seen my kombucha video, I have a very old video on how to make it at home.

This reminds me of that a little bit because it has a little bit of a kind of slightly fruity flavor to it, but it's more tangy rather than being really kind of vinegar-ed. But this has a very strong rye bread flavor to it, very interesting drink and when you ice it, Very refreshing.

So, there you have it homemade kvass or bread beer! If you've got some leftover pumpernickel or rye bread around, definitely try making this it's really fun and I love the process of fermentation. It's absolutely fascinating natural and alive.

There's something about this energy that happens when something is fermenting, you can hear it fizzing, you can see the bubbles bubbling and gurgling, it's just absolutely delightful. Alrighty, I hope you guys enjoyed that one, I hope you guys learned something, please share this video with your friends.

Follow me on social media check out the Fermented playlist and... yeah! Like this video, subscribe, and I shall see you in the next one! Toodaloo! Take care! Byeee!(giggles)

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en('Recognized By Accident' music)Greetings my beautiful lovelies. It's Emmy.Welcome back to another episode of Fermented,where I toy and experiment with thingsthat are fermented.If you've missed the other episodes in the series,I will put the link up above and down below to the playlistwhere you can see otherbubbling, fizzing, things including kimchi,and... what else have I made that's fermented? Oh!Sourdough experiments...But today I'm going to be making a beverage,a beverage called kvass.So kvass is a fermented drink and as a result of the fermentation processalcohol is produced, but is produced in such small amounts,it's about 0.5 to 1 percent alcohol.It's kind of similar to drinks like kombucha where it is present,but not high enough in amounts where it's considered alcoholic.So kvass comes from the Slavic and Baltic regions of Central and Eastern Europe.It's been produced and consumed for hundreds of yearsall the way back to the Middle Ages.Fermented drinks like kvass and beer were safer to drinkbecause they had undergone a fermentation process.Also, the fermentation process often requires the water to be boiled,killing many of the pathogens that were in the water.So it's interesting to think that fermented drinks like beer and kvasswere safer means to get hydrated during the Middle Ages.Brilliant, right? So, so interesting!So today I'm gonna be making kvass, and the reason why I wanted to make itis because it's super simple to make, andit is made of only three ingredients:water, sugar, and bread...bread!So there are many different recipes and techniques to make kvass,some use additional amounts of yeast with the bread,some use fruits, some use this kind of flour pasteLots of different recipes - some even use beetsBasically we need some kind of sugar that needs to be fermented,we need a source of yeast, we can add additionalmanufactured or commercial yeastOr we can use naturally occurring yeast,which exists everywhere kind of similar to sourdoughBut today I'm going to use the simplest process,I love the idea of just usingstale bread, water and sugar to make some kind of beverageSo stinking cool!And in that sensethis is related to pruno which isthe prison hooch or prison wine that's made in prisons using some kinds of sugar,kool-aid, ketchup, and the breadmixed together with water, allow it to ferment,and you got yourself some prison hoochThat is a prison recipe that I have not made -if you're interested in seeing that one,please comment down belowthe recipe that I'm gonna be using todayI found from the Beets & Bones blogand I will put a link down in the descriptionSo the first thing you're gonna dois take your breadI'm using a very dark rye bread or pumpernickel breadSo place the bread on a rack and allow it to dry outSome other recipes say that you can also toast thisto get a really dark colorthat will also make your kvass a darker colorSo, after a daythe bread was very very crisp and dryand I cut it into small piecesand we're gonna need two cups of thatSo bring six to eight cups of water to a boiland once it comes to a boil you're going to take about two cups of that andadd it to one cup of raw cane sugarYou're gonna stir this up until the sugar is completely dissolvedThe sugar water needs to be at 130 degrees or less,we don't want to add it immediately tothe bread because it will killthe yeastAnd the reason why we're using hot water is that the hot water will extractmore of the flavor from the breadOnce we've added the syrup,we're just gonna close up the jar,put it in a warm spot and allow it to fermentanywhere from three to seven daysEvery day or so you want to open the jar upand allow it to burp a little bitbecause carbon dioxide will build inside ofthe jarIt's been six days for me and now we are ready to consume our kvassSo we're going to strain itI should also mention, this is not the first time ever had kvassI had my first tasting of itI believe in my 'Emmy Eats Serbia' videoI also had the Estonian version of kvass and it's called kali,and that was in my 'Emmy Eats Estonia' videoand I will put the links to those videos down belowSo, let's see how mine compares:open up my containerOoh!Can definitely smell the Ryeit smells a little bit anise-y,kinda sweetAlright, here we goNow this soaked bread we can saveand actually use this as a starter for our next batch of kvassAlright, I'm gonna have to get a second jarOkay, I'm gonna seal this upand place this in the refrigerator because kvassis generally consumed coldDoo doo doo!Because this is not completely cold,I put this in the refrigerator, but it's not completely chilledI'm going to speed things up with a glass of iceSo, let's try it like that(ice cracking)I love that sound of cracking iceIt smells good,you can definitely smell the rye in there.Alright, let's give that a taste -cheers!Ooooh! Hmmmm!That is interesting,that tastes really different than what I rememberthe kali and the kvass that I tasted in the cansIt's just slightly effervescent, just a little bitActually, the kali I triedwasn't very effervescent at all, but it was much darker in color,and as I remember it was called,oftentimes, Estonian Coca ColaBecause this was the drink of choice before colas and Coca Colaand sodas and soft drinks invadedSo it's slightly effervescent, there's a little bit of tanginess to itYou can definitely taste the breadthe rye flavor is in there,it's a little bit anise-y,a little bit kind of licoriceand it tastes of bread and there's a bit of sweetness to this,that tastes kind of caramelizedbut the color is really different than the kali that I tasted --the kali was much much darker in color.This is almost like a ginger-ale in color.Hmm! Not bad!I like it's actually really refreshing when you have it cold.The kvass that I had in my Serbia video was also very dark in color,and had a similar kind of bready flavor,but it didn't taste as much like rye bread as this one.And the glass that I had in the can I remember was muchfizzier than this one.And I've read that you can make this fizzier by addingjust a pinch of commercial yeast to thisabout a day before you're ready tostrain the bread out to give an extra little bit of carbonation.But I kind of like it like this --just barely barely a little bit of bubble in there.This reminds me a little bit of kombucha,it's not nearly as vinegar smelling or vinegar tasting as kombucha.I love kombucha, by the way, if you haven't seen my kombucha video,I have a very old videoon how to make it at home.I'll put the link above and down below.This reminds me of that a little bit because it has a little bit of a kind of aslightly fruity flavor to itBut, it's more tangy rather than beingreally kind of vinegar-edBut this has a very strong rye bread flavor to it,very interesting drink and when you iced it,Very. Refreshing.So, there you have it homemade kvass orbread beerIf you've got some leftover pumpernickel or rye bread arounddefinitely try making this it's really funand I love the process of fermentation!It's absolutely fascinating natural and aliveThere's something about this energy that happens when something is fermenting,you can hear it fizzing,you can see the bubbles bubbling and gurgling,it's just absolutely delightfulAlrighty, I hope you guys enjoyed that one,I hope you guys learned something,please share this video with your friendsFollow me on social mediacheck out the Fermented playlistand...yeah!Like this video, subscribe, and I shall see you in the next one!Toodaloo! Take care! Byeee!(giggles)(Sprightly outro music)('Recognized By Accident' music)kvass kvass kvass kvass kvass KVASS!(burp)You knew it was coming!(snare drum)\n"