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The Dreaded Beet Kvass

While reading Nourishing Traditions, I came across a strange drink made with lacto-fermented beets. Now, my family doesn’t even eat beets at all, in any form, ever. I kind of chuckled and read on.

Then I downloaded an article from Wise Traditions that said there was a family out there drinking this stuff as part of their “snack” at least once a week. My interest was tickled, but not piqued.

The real kicker came when I read that beets purify the liver and blood. Now, I’ve known for years that hubby suffers from low liver function. I’ve had him taking milk thistle and/or dandelion herbs to help with that. But if I could get some of this in him…

So, I planned it. I’d make the kvass then find something to mix it with. Sure enough, at my health food store I found Black Cherry Concentrate. It’s unsweetened, just pure juice. I know cherry helps with inflammation, something we both experience, so that’s a plus.

Today was the big day. My kvass was done and it was time to serve it up. I wanted to make six servings: two four-ounce servings, two eight-ounce servings and two servings of whatever was left over. I carefully measured out a cup into a two-quart pitcher. I took a small taste. Ooohee! Yeah, that needs some help. I added half a cup of cherry concentrate, and two and a half cups of water. Needed more cherry, still too much beet, so another 1/4 cup of concentrate went in. That was good, I thought, but a little concentrated still, so I added another two cups of water. Just right, I thought. I served the concoction over ice with popcorn, hoping the salt would make hesitant snackers thirsty enough to at least try it.

Here are the comments:
Rose: “Yummy! I’ll have that anytime! Can you make it less sweet next time, though?”
Christy: “Yeah, it was a little too sweet, but it was good.”
Kate: “Got any more!?!?”
John: “Ew, Mom, are you trying to kill me? Why can’t you just make Kool-Aid like a regular mom?”
Hubby: “I drank it, but I didn’t like it. It’s too much like tea, too watered-down.”

I’m thinking next time of trying it with pomegranate syrup, or a berry syrup that is more tart, and not adding that last two cups of water. Here’s how the final recipe worked out:

Can’t Beet a Kvass with Cherry
1 cup beet kvass
2/3 cups black cherry concentrate, unsweetened
4 1/2 cups water

Mix all together, serve over ice.

We had High Enzyme Salad made right out of the NT cookbook for lunch. It was heavenly! Dinner was apricot almond bread with butter and a big pot of vegetable soup made with just green beans, zucchini, celery and parsley in chicken broth. We are still trying to get over the bug that swept through the house, and I think a lighter dinner might help us sleep better and recover.