Beet Kvass

April 25, 2007

This is from the book Making Sauerkraut by Klaus Kaufmann:

It is not all that easy to ferment beets. Your best bet is to preserve them

together with white cabbage, onions and apples. If you do beets alone they

will produce a thick, slimy juice that , although very aromatic and tasty,

does not keep well. If you are going to try to preserve them alone, don't do

too many at one time.

He also states that room temperature is considered 64-68*F and to only keep

the beets at that temp for 2-3 days then to move to 64*F for no more than ten

days and finally store in a cool place.

I personally have tested my kitchen temperature (in SW Florida) between

72-77*F and have had no trouble fermenting cabbage, onions, carrots, and

garlic.

I believe that I read somewhere that beets have a lot of natural sugars and

this might contribute to the trouble with fermenting them.

Hope this is helpful for you! Blessings - Molly

************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com.

April 26, 2007

I am also in S. Fla, but have been able to ferment the kvass

successfully. It does often get a whitish scum on it, which Sally

Fallon says is harmless and to just remove it (in my experience, you

can remove some of it, but not all--but it doesn't seem to affect the

kvass). If everything was clean when you began and the container was

closed, it might not be mold. Is it fuzzy?

I leave mine AT LEAST 2-3 days on the counter, until it gets a bit

tingly as well as sour. Then I age it further in the fridge, until

its good and sour. It also gets thick and dark over time. It may not

look too pretty in the jar, but I just pour it out from under the

accumulated scum and taste it. It lasts for many months in the

fridge, though it doesn't make it that long around me! I also end up

eating the beets when I am done with the liquid--I make a salad with

feta, cucumbers and red onion. Yum.

You will be able to tell if it is bad, really! It tastes like really

beety, earthy pickle juice, though thicker (like milk is thicker than

water) I have definitely doubted batches in the past, even dumped

one early on(which in retrospect was probably fine). but have faith in

your sense of taste and smell.

Good luck exerimenting!

e

April 26, 2007

Thanks very much for the information regarding beets - I was unaware of

the difficulty in fermenting them. I am also in Florida - Central FL.

My kitchen stays at about 77 degrees (A/C on most of year). I found

the recipe for Beet Kvass in the Nourishing Traditions Text/Cookbook

by Sally Fallon. Apparently it is a drink or tonic and is not

fermented with other vegetables, although they do sound good. Do

you think it is not possible to make Beet Kvass properly in the

humid Florida climate? I can't get my kitchen temp down into the

60's. The mold really was un-nerving.....chunks of it floating

throughout the liquid. Also now that I think about it, a couple of

beets had floated to the surface of the liquid at the top of the

jar. Could that have contributed to the mold do you think? I am

definitely wanting to try other suggestions for fermenting veggies...

I was so hoping to make the Beet Kvass though because of the health

benefits (esp. liver support) with which Sally Fallon credits the

Beet Kvass. Thanks again so much. laura

April 26, 2007

On 4/26/07, bunnybinky55 <bunnybinky55@...> wrote:

> Do you think it is not possible to make Beet Kvass properly in the

> humid Florida climate? I can't get my kitchen temp down into the

> 60's. The mold really was un-nerving.....chunks of it floating

> throughout the liquid.

A few thoughts:

You could put the jar in a bowl of cool water to lower the temp a bit.

It's a great trick for summer fermenting even in moderate climates.

You probably already know this from the recipe you have, but grating

or finely chopping the beets can release a lot of sugar and make the

fermentation trickier to control, so bite-size chunks are best for

kvass.

You could shake the jar twice a day or so to redistribute the liquids

and prevent anything from sitting on the top too long. Of course you'd

screw a lid on relatively tight first! When I make kimchi in mason

jars I turn the jars upside-down and shake them every other day or so.

I've never used any kind of weight on the top or other trick to keep

the top submerged and I get good results consisently.

I've made some great beet kimchi with bite-size chunks of beet,

garlic, ginger, and unrefined sea salt. Really simple and after aging

for a month or so it's outrageously delicious, maybe the most

delicious thing I've ever made. I've also put beets in with cabbage,

carrots, etc in mixed pickle/kraut/kimchi. If you search the archives

of MN (using onibasu.com) you can find several substantial old threads

about fermenting beets.

Mike

April 26, 2007

Thank you very much for the great suggestions. I have been doing some

reading online and I think that perhaps using too little salt might

also have been suspect. Using the NT recipe, I only used 1 teaspoon

sea salt but I increased the whey from 1/4 c to 1/3 c. Perhaps that

was not enough. I am attempting a new batch with the proportions

specified in the NT recipe. It's not too warm here yet so I have

the jar in a cooler room (not the kitchen ). I will move things

around to make sure all liquid is distributed evenly, etc. I am

hopeful. I like the idea about immersing the jar in pan of cool

water in the summertime ALOT. I would never have thought of that.

I have heard about the harmless white scum on top of the beet kvass

liquid but this was different. The jar had patches of hairy,fuzzy

stuff floating through it....not just on top. I think I will put

all the 2 qt ball jars through the dishwashwer to be safe. Thank

you again. I sure hope this next batch is successful. Your

suggestions are greatly appreciated. laura

April 27, 2007

Mike, Where do you get your recipies for the kimchi and beet kimchi? Sounds

like a winner.

Brand new to the fermentation process and I just started some kombucha as

first try. Man that is some weird stuff when you don't know what to expect. I

would have thought it was bad and moldy but after it warmed up for a few days,

it just took off and I am now the proud

owner of a humungus baby kombucha. Can anyone recommend a good way to

decant/bottle the liquid without disturbing too much of the sediment?

Thanks folks, what a great Group! Jay (redkid333)

Anton <michaelantonparker@...> wrote:

On 4/26/07, bunnybinky55 <bunnybinky55@...> wrote:

> Do you think it is not possible to make Beet Kvass properly in the

> humid Florida climate? I can't get my kitchen temp down into the

> 60's. The mold really was un-nerving.....chunks of it floating

> throughout the liquid.

A few thoughts:

You could put the jar in a bowl of cool water to lower the temp a bit.

It's a great trick for summer fermenting even in moderate climates.

You probably already know this from the recipe you have, but grating

or finely chopping the beets can release a lot of sugar and make the

fermentation trickier to control, so bite-size chunks are best for

kvass.

You could shake the jar twice a day or so to redistribute the liquids

and prevent anything from sitting on the top too long. Of course you'd

screw a lid on relatively tight first! When I make kimchi in mason

jars I turn the jars upside-down and shake them every other day or so.

I've never used any kind of weight on the top or other trick to keep

the top submerged and I get good results consisently.

I've made some great beet kimchi with bite-size chunks of beet,

garlic, ginger, and unrefined sea salt. Really simple and after aging

for a month or so it's outrageously delicious, maybe the most

delicious thing I've ever made. I've also put beets in with cabbage,

carrots, etc in mixed pickle/kraut/kimchi. If you search the archives

of MN (using onibasu.com) you can find several substantial old threads

about fermenting beets.

Mike

---------------------------------

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Check outnew cars at Autos.

April 27, 2007

Jay,

I typically remove 2 cups of starter fluid from the batch before removing

the scoby to start my next batch by using a ladle to gently push down on the

scoby and remove from the top of the batch. Then I remove the scoby from

the jar and place it in the two cups of starter that I have removed (I

typically use a corning ware dish large enough to hold the scoby and keep it

covered with liquid). If I am bottling for myself, I typically just stir

the what is left and bottle (I don't mind the yeast ooglies etc.) but if I

am bottling for someone else who isn't crazy about the yeasty bits then I

pour through a fine sieve into a large measuring cup before pouring into the

bottles. Then I rinse the jar well with hot water, then distilled vinegar

and refill with tea, water and start my new batch.

On 4/27/07, redkid <redkid333@...> wrote:

>

> Can anyone recommend a good way to decant/bottle the liquid without

> disturbing too much of the sediment?

>

> Thanks folks, what a great Group! Jay (redkid333)

>

--

Live and Love Well,

Sandy (Jennings, FL)

http://www.dragondiscounts.com

April 27, 2007

On 4/27/07, redkid <redkid333@...> wrote:

>

> Mike, Where do you get your recipies for the kimchi and beet kimchi? Sounds

> like a winner.

Hi Jay,

No recipe! I just stick whatever in a jar with some sea salt and

wait! It's a matter of personal taste (and personal fun!) how much

garlic, ginger, chili, etc to use, if any. Pretty much any combination

works.

Mike

April 27, 2007

Sandy,

Thanks for the info. I started this batch in a 2.5 gallon glass jar (on

recommendation for a " wide " mouthed container). The diameter is about 11 inches

so that is a big Scoby. When I remove my Scoby, can I fold it in half

(quarters) to get it to fit into a moderately sized storage container? I am

going to wait 2-3 weeks before starting another batch.

Then there is the idea of a double ferment by adding ginger, raisins or

gojo's.

Any suggestions for the final product?

Thank you again Sandy. Let me know if this falls under a direct email if

un-appropriate foir the group.

Jay

Sandy <sandyemaillists@...> wrote: