Kvass

Introducing our Beet KVASS. Gluten Free - Keto Friendly and very low alcohol (< 0.05% is by definition non-alcohol)

Traditionally KVASS a Lithuania (Northern European) low alcohol beverage made with their traditional bread - Rye. They simply used the hard stale bread and naturally fermented it very similar to Kombucha.

It was often flavored with berries, fruits, herbs, or honey. 

Our Beet KVASS Starter Kit;

is simply the fermented liquid (starter liquid) with optional equipment. We offer a 30 day guarantee success. 

note: "Canning" is different than fermenting or pickling. We do recommend that one familiarize themselves with the canning procedure which you may discover very useful and a very safe method of preserving food. What our recipe calls  for the fermentation process to be the preservative. 

Simple Start Recipe

1. Wash the Beets and Par-Boil (quick low boil) to remove any microbes hanging around.

2. When cooled add the water and beets to a container. (leave room for the starter liquid*

the beets can be left whole, chopped or sliced.

or they may be juiced and only ferment the juice. 

or you can substitute any suggestions form our list below or just about anything really. 

option: measure the pH and Specific Gravity to determine the sugar levels 

3. Add the "starter liquid". The starter liquid*  is some of the previous ferment. This amount should be at least 10% of the total volume you are now going to ferment. For example your wish to ferment 100 ounces of Beet Kvass. Then you'll need to add 10 ounces of the previous ferment as your "starter liquid" . The actual amount of total liquid does not matter. it's a preference for a drink or for "pickled" fruit. But all the fruit must be covered by the liquid.

for more carbonation use an Airlock, Pickle Pipe, or plastic wrap to seal off the air. In this case leave only a small amount of air in the container. 

use a straining filter or tea ball to prevent little troublesome pieces getting into your drink. 

Cover with a cloth or paper towel and leave at least one inch of airspace.

4. Ferment

set at room temperature for a about a week. May go longer depending upon how tender you enjoy the fruit, or the flavor of the drink. This is a personal preference.

option: measure the pH and Specify Gravity. Use as a guide to know when ferment is complete. 

After your first successful ferment, save an amount to start your next ferment. Depending upon the pH the amount that you save should last at least for a month. Trat as you would any open food or drink. If you have any doubts or concerns text or email us. A picture and details will help us help you. 

What we have done is to harvest our over-fermented Milk Kefir WHEY, added some Kombucha Tea Starter and substituted Beets for the rye bread or other cereals they used.  You can use any of our recommended fruits, herbs, spices listed below and still maintain a Gluten Free - Keto Friendly and very low alcohol semi sweet, semi sour Probiotic refreshing slightly carbonated extremely healthy drink. Plus has a nice garnish of pickled beets, or your favorite side dish or appetizer. 

First BEETS are healthy for any diet and WHEY, although very sour and even more bitter and awful smelling, is a complete amino acid (containing all 9 amino acids), plus the beneficial Lactic Acid.  The whey is so strong, but extremely healthy that it's powdered and sold in almost all Heath Food Stores. But when whey is powdered you also lose the key benefit of lactic acid producing Lactobacillus. The Lactobacillus feed on carbs and sugars, multiplying and rebuilding a healthy intestinal flora just for you.  The downside is that this species of Lactobacillus also produces  alcohol. Depending upon the amount of carbs and sugars available Lactobacillus, may produce 3-4 % alcohol. To reduce the alcohol we introduced our Kombucha. We've been promoting Kombucha since I was an Acupuncturist (California LAc)  in 1997, and started the HappyHerbalist.com website.  Kombucha Tea is extremely healthy and easy to make at home. The main bacteria in Kombucha is the Acetobacter species. The Acetobacter is famous (or infamous if your into wines) for converting alcohol to vinegar via its acetic acid ability.  Acetic Acid is also an extremely beneficial acid. Additionally Lactobacillus and Acetobacter play very well together. Matter-of-fact they play exponentially better together than either separately.* One more exceptional beneficial acid is butyric. Thus we have all 9 amino acids, lactic acid, acetic acid, and Butyric all naturally produced by bacteria necessary for optimum health. 

Add Beets, or any of Gluten Free - Keto Friendly substitutes listed below and you are free to create fantastic drinks, a garnish, pickles, salad dressing, a marinate, a sauce,  and more... Importantly - your food is your medicine. 

You can use every part of the beet plant.  One cup of Beets contains 13 grams of carbs, 9.9 grams of sugar and 3.8 grams of fiber. This makes it possible to eat a cup of beets because your daily net carb limit is around 30 to 50 grams on keto. You can use every part of the beet plant.

Beet greens contain plenty of nitrates, which help lower blood pressure. Nitrates also improve oxygen levels in the body, which enhance exercise performance and athletic ability. Beet greens also help fight inflammation, improve digestive health, support brain health and contain anti-cancer properties 
high in iron with a higher iron count than spinach as well as vitamin K, B6, magnesium and potassium. They are also a great source of fiber

 note: In all cases if store bought you must read the label and avoid additional sugars and chemicals. 

Don't love BEETS !

Try

Coconut juice, or the meat or chips, hint;  toasting them for 10-15 minutes provide a richer, fuller coconut flavor compared to untoasted chips.

Strawberries

Blackberry

Raspberries 

Avocados

Lemons  great flavor enhancement (love Ginger + Lemon) 

Spices 
Ginger , cinnamon, turmeric, salt, peper, smoked paprika, basil, chives, cilantro, dill, oregano, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, sage, spearmint, tarragon Thyme. Garlic, onions, Cayenne, or any Hot Peppers 
Us the fermented Keto Water mixed with any combination of the listed spices here for a Keto-Friendly BBQ Rub and marinade.

 Our KVASS is a modification of Milk Kefir, Water Kefir, Water Crystal, Ginger Beer - which is principally a lactobacillus (Lactic Acid) ferment and/or Kombucha Mushroom Tea, principally an Acetobacter (Acetic Acid) ferment.  

Simply home testing for sugar levels and for pH.

A pH below 4.2 is recommended by the FDA for fermented foods to be considered safe and anti-pathogenic. 

pH equipment. 

Hydrometer or Refractometer  such as those used by Beer, wine and Kombucha brewers are used to determine sugar levels and potential alcohol levels. 

* Lactic acid bacteria: promising supplements for enhancing the biological activities of kombucha.

Nguyen NK1, Dong NT2, Nguyen HT3, Le PH1.

Specific research in Beijing, China found that adding Kefir (LAB) to Kombucha had a significant synergistic effect on the Kombucha in producing greater amounts of glucuronic acid and of key cancer fighters. Specifically DSL DSL was significantly increased and inhibited the acetaminophen-induced increase of alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, triglyceride and malondialdehyde, as well as facilitating the reduction of total antioxidant capacity. According to the study products fermented by LAB (e.g. yogurt, cheese, pickled cabbage, and even one isolated from kombucha) did not perform as well as the LAB species isolated from Milk Kefir Grains and then fermented in kombucha. There are literally hundreds of LAB sub-species. In the studies quoted above only 5 LAB sub-species were studied. 2 were isolated from pickled cabbage, 2 isolated from Milk Kefir and a 5 th (lac 3) was isolated from one LAB present in one of their Kombucha Mushroom cultures. The LAB (lac 3) did not perform as well as lac5, the LAB isolated from Milk Kefir. LAB (and Lactic Acid) is not always present in Kombucha. AAB (Acetic Acid Bacteria) are always present.

According to our own research and independent testing, found White Tea, and specifically Silver Needle White Tea, respected medicinal quality in its own rights in fighting cancer, dramatically increases the Gluconic Acid levels in Kombucha as compared to other teas we tested.(we tested black tea, green tea, rooibos tea and Silver Needle)

note: Lactobacillus population decreases with low pH over time. We recommend keeping the pH of your Kombucha Kefir Hybrid Ferment in the 3.5 range for optimum effect. A pH below 3 does affect the yeast and acetobacter as well. A low pH thwarts all their population growth.

The Starting pH of each new brew should be higher towards 5 optimally 5-6. Of course the higher pH has a tendency for mold (which also likes the optimum pH) so be sure to keep covered. Your ending pH should be around 3.5 You can raise the pH by using calcium carbonate, magnesium and/or potassium (often available as 3 in 1 capsules in over the counter vitamin stores. Also baking soda may be used. (overuse leaves a baking soda taste)

Although lactobacillus strains do survive in the GI tract (stomach acid pH 2) the time is less than 120 minutes.