Russian kvass + video

Have you ever tried Russian kvass? 

 Kvass or quass (Russian - квас) is a traditional Slavic fermented non-alcoholic drink beverage made from black or rye bread. It’s especially popular to drink kvass in summer, when the weather is hot. 
In Russian cities in summer you can see so called kvass-barrels ( like on the photo) where you can buy cold fresh kvass. Traditionally  these barrels are yellow with the word "Квас" on it.

Nowadays not all these barrels sell a tasty kvass, but during the Soviet times kvass was standardized and the quality and taste was everywhere the same. Anyway you should try it once.

Russian kvass

Wikipedia says that Kvass has been a common drink in Eastern Europe since at least the Middle Ages, comparable with other ancient fermented grain beverages including beer brewed. 

 The Russian word «квас» was first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle, in the description of events of the year 996, following the Christianization of the Kievan Rus’. 


How to   According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Oxford English Dictionary the first mention of kvass in an English text took place sometime around 1553. In Russia, under Peter the Great, it was the most common non-alcoholic drink in every class of society. William Tooke, describing Russian drinking habits in 1799, stated that "The most common domestic drink is quas, a liquor prepared from pollard, meal, and bread, or from meal and malt, by an acid fermentation. It is cooling and well-tasted.» 

 By the end of 15 century there were more than 500 different recipes of kvass in Russia.

 Apart from drinking kvass, Slavic families used it as the basis of many dishes they consumed. Traditional cold summertime soups of Russian cuisine, such as okroshka, botvinya and tyurya, are based on kvass.

How to make homemade kvass ? Watch video.