Classic birch kvass with raisins. How to make kvass from birch sap at home

Everyone is familiar with the slightly sweet taste of such healthy and pleasant birch sap! Fresh birch sap is available only in early spring, usually in April. But you can preserve its taste, benefits and unique composition of microelements and vitamins not only by preserving it in jars, but by preparing an equally wonderful product based on it - kvass.

Few people know that it can be prepared not only with bread, but also with birch sap; this makes the drink much softer, lighter, and therefore more refreshing, while retaining all the beneficial properties. And the options for preparing kvass with raisins and dried fruits, with barley and bread - give a variety of tastes from the classic sour yeast to the sweetish birch-fruit.

Kvass with barley

Making kvass from birch sap at home is not a troublesome task, as it may seem at first glance to inexperienced housewives. And preparing kvass from birch sap with barley will result in a taste most similar to the usual yeast kvass. To prepare you need only two ingredients:

  1. Birch sap (fresh, collected) must be filtered through several layers of gauze, removing possible mechanical impurities, wood chips, and bark. Cleaned, leave in a cool place for 1-2 days.
  2. Pour unpeeled barley grains into a frying pan and fry. If you fry it until golden brown, the kvass will have a more delicate and mild taste; if you fry it until it is dark, almost black, the kvass will have a bitter taste.
  3. Pour barley into birch sap. If you don’t want barley grains to float in a bottle of kvass, you can tie them in a gauze bag and throw them into the bottle like that.
  4. Kvass should be infused for at least 3-4 days in a warm room. Kvass should be stirred periodically. Over time, it acquires a darker color and a rich barley flavor.
  5. After a few days, the kvass can be strained and poured into glass bottles, which can be tightly sealed and can be stored for up to six months in a cellar or other cool room.

How to prepare birch kvass Very simply

This natural birch-barley kvass is an excellent solution for seasoning homemade traditional okroshka, because it has the freshness of birch sap and sourness with a bit of bitterness from barley.

Kvass with raisins and dried fruits

When cooked, kvass made from birch sap with raisins leaves a specific taste and sweetness. Raisins in kvass are the basis of fermentation. Dried fruits will help add a fruity note to the drink. So, to prepare kvass from birch sap with dried fruits and raisins you will need:

  • Fresh birch sap – 3 l;
  • Dried fruits – 0.6-0.8 kg;
  • Raisins – 200 g (1.5-2 cups).
  1. Fresh birch sap must be cleaned of all the slightest mechanical impurities by simply straining through several layers of gauze. After straining, the juice should be allowed to stand for 1-2 days in a cool place in a glass container.
  2. Rinse raisins and dried fruits thoroughly, remove dirt and debris.
  3. Place washed dried fruits and raisins in a container with birch sap, close the bottle with a lid with holes or several layers of gauze.
  4. We leave the future kvass to infuse in a warm place for at least 5-7 days, since we do not add sugar in the recipe and the kvass will ferment a little slower. If you add 3-5 tablespoons of sugar when mixing the ingredients, fermentation will occur faster, and as a result the kvass will have a richer taste and may lose the slight sweetness inherent in birch sap.
  5. The finished drink from a common bottle can be strained and poured into small glass bottles and in them, tightly closed, kvass from birch sap with dried fruits can be stored for up to six months in a cool, dark room.

Homemade kvass. Branded recipe from birch sap.

This drink will delight you with the pleasant spring taste of birch sap and provide the benefits of vitamins accumulated in dried fruits even in late autumn. Kvass made from birch sap with dried fruits can even be an interesting solution for a holiday table as a wonderful aperitif.

Kvass with bread

Having already seen how easy it is to make kvass from birch sap, housewives will probably wonder how to make kvass with the usual rye taste, but with the unique benefits of birch sap. The following recipe for birch sap kvass with bread will be an excellent choice in this case. To prepare you will need:

  • Fresh birch sap – 3 l;
  • Black bread (rye, Borodino, etc.) – 300g;
  • Sugar – ½ cup;
  • Optional: a handful of raisins, mint leaves, black currants, barley grains, coffee beans.

Preparation of bread kvass with birch sap:

  1. Strain fresh birch sap through several layers of gauze to get rid of microcontaminants: pieces of wood, specks. If the juice is freshly collected, before preparing kvass from it, it is better to let it stand for 1-2 days in a cool place.
  2. Cut the bread into small cubes and make crackers: Place and dry on a baking sheet in the oven or simply fry without oil in a frying pan.
  3. In a bottle (preferably glass) where the fermentation process will take place, place crackers and sugar on the bottom, fill with slightly warmed birch sap and stir well. You can add your favorite ingredient for taste: these can be blackcurrant or mint leaves - this will give a light berry-herbal aroma, coffee beans and barley will enhance the rye taste.
  4. Close the bottle with a loose lid or tie several layers of gauze instead of a lid and leave to ferment in a warm place for 3-5 days.
  5. After several days of fermentation, the kvass can be strained, poured into more convenient smaller containers and stored for up to six months in a cool place.

Traditionally, kvass is considered a bread drink. In fact, since the times of Ancient Rus', there have been a large number of recipes where the basis is birch sap. This kvass will decorate any table and fill the body with vitamins.

Whatever recipe becomes the basis for preparing the drink, you need to carefully select the ingredients to create it. After all, kvass must be moderately fermented, otherwise it is impossible to drink. If it contains unpleasant odors due to spoiled food, all the work will be in vain.

Kvass can protect against scurvy and other problems associated with a lack of vitamins. Also he:

  • eliminates the state of thirst;
  • improves digestion;
  • increases appetite;
  • saturates with carbohydrates.

Infused kvass should be used within 4–5 days. In this case, it should be placed in the refrigerator or cellar. If the recipe includes birch sap, then it must be strained. Regular gauze will do for this. Berezovitsa should be taken fresh, as it infuses faster.

Ambient temperature is important for fermentation of the drink. Too warm or cool air can ruin the drink. The kvass product must brew for 3 days. Exceeding the deadlines indicates a violation of technology. This is a drink worth throwing away.

Drink with dried fruits and birch sap

Kvass infuses with birch sap longer. The process takes about 2 weeks. It is better to check the degree of readiness by taking a sample. Adding yeast to any recipe will shorten the brewing time.

To make kvass from birch sap with dried fruits, you will need:

  • strained birch sap – 2 l.;
  • dried fruits (raisins, prunes, or dried apricots) – 100g;
  • container in which the drink will be infused.

It is allowed to use one type of dried fruit or a mixture of them. In the latter case, the drink will become more aromatic. The color of the kvass will also be unusual, so guests should be warned about this before serving.

The product creation process looks like this:

  • wash and dry the container for future kvass;
  • Place clean dried fruits on the bottom of the selected dish; there is no need to remove seeds from them;
  • pour in birch sap;
  • cover the container with thick gauze or a lid that allows air to circulate;
  • place the composition in a place where the temperature will not be lower than 25 degrees, avoiding direct sunlight;
  • after 9–12 days, filter the resulting product and pour it into a bottle;
  • Place the finished drink in a cool place.

If there is no special lid, then you can always make it yourself. It is enough to pierce the standard one in several places with a knife.

Birch kvass with yeast

A drink prepared with yeast causes excessive gas formation. This must be taken into account when choosing a recipe like this.

At home, adding yeast significantly speeds up the process. Those who have not previously prepared a kvass drink should try this recipe first.

You will need:

  • birch sap – 3 l.;
  • dried cherries, apricots, grapes – 200 g;
  • dry yeast – 10g;
  • granulated sugar – 5 tbsp. l.

You can change the sugar level at your discretion. It can be added when the kvass has already brewed.

The process of preparing birch sap and containers looks the same as in the previous version.

When dried fruits are poured with birch, you should add dry yeast. The drink should infuse for 2-3 days in a warm place. Don't forget about good ventilation. After all, the yeast product “moves” even more intensely, so the air should circulate easily.

If preference is given to raw yeast, then their quantity should be increased to 20 g. Some housewives believe that such a drink is more natural and lively.

Birch kvass on bread crusts

Those who are not ready to move away from the traditional bready taste of the drink can use the recipe with crusts.

To create such kvass you need to prepare:

  • raisins –200g;
  • birch sap – 2.5 l.;
  • rye bread crusts – 80g;
  • dry yeast – 5g.

Raisins can be replaced with prunes or dried apricots, but cherries or apples should not be used. Otherwise it will be too sweet.

Place dried fruits and mold-free bread crusts into a clean jar. If the crusts are pre-heated to a rich brown color in the oven, the color of the drink will be brighter. Pour birch sap over them, which you must not forget to strain first. Add dry yeast.

Kvass made from dried fruits should mature for no more than 2 days in a warm place. In winter, you can place the jar on the battery. If the kvass does not have time to brew, extend the time for another day. Then pour the resulting drink through cheesecloth into another container.

If you plan to consume kvass as a product, you should not add sugar. To prepare dishes based on it, you can add 3–4 tbsp. l. Sahara. It will highlight the taste of bread and dried fruits.

For those who like to experiment in the kitchen and surprise guests, creating such leavened masterpieces will become a favorite pastime. The main thing is to prepare birch sap on time.

The light, slightly sweetish liquid secreted by birch is odorless and has no pronounced taste. By preparing kvass with it, you will get a perfectly tonic soft drink. Traditional healers claim that if in any kvass recipe you just replace the water with birch sap, you can get a healing drink.

Kvass from birch sap - general principles of preparation

Both yeast and yeast-free kvass are prepared using birch sap, using specially prepared starter cultures or malt.

The technology for preparing the drink is simple and includes simple steps: preparation of raw materials, combining the main components with birch sap and further fermentation of the drink. It can last from a few hours to several weeks and depends on the recipe. After fermentation, the kvass is filtered and removed for cooling.

The raw material for such kvass can be any berries and fruits, not just fresh ones. The drink will be no less tasty and healthy if you prepare it with frozen or dried berries or fruits. Birch kvass is often prepared with grain (barley) or with brewed buckwheat flour, which can also be replaced with rye or oatmeal.

Despite the fact that the juice itself is sweetish, honey or sugar is added to any birch kvass to enhance the fermentation process. An exception to this rule is intoxicating birch kvass made with beer and a drink prepared with dried fruits.

Yeast-free birch kvass, as a rule, turns out to be less carbonated and therefore, after straining and bottling, several raisins are placed in it, which must be washed.

Properly prepared kvass on this basis perfectly quenches thirst, but, in addition, it is also used as a filling for okroshka and beetroot soup.

Refreshing birch kvass with barley and mint

Ingredients:

Ten liters of birch sap;

Two glasses of sugar;

Half a kilo of barley;

Dried mint – 100 gr.;

800 gr. black “Borodinsky” bread.

Cooking method:

1. Prepare crackers from bread. Cut it into small pieces, centimeter thick, dry it a little and fry in the oven.

2. Pour granulated sugar into a dry frying pan and, stirring constantly, heat until brown.

3. Separately, lightly fry the barley.

4. Pour the birch sap into a large enamel container, such as a bucket, and bring to a boil over low heat. Boil the juice for no more than a minute and remove from heat.

5. Then dip mint and roasted barley into it. Add sugar with breadcrumbs, and, after stirring well, leave for three days in a warm room.

6. Strain the finished drink through a thin sieve or filter made of gauze folded with 3-4 layers and pour into prepared containers. Refrigerate.

Simple kvass made from birch sap, without sugar with dried fruits

Ingredients:

3 liters of natural birch sap;

200 gr. dried fruits (dried apricots, prunes).

Cooking method:

1. Rinse dried fruits well, you can soak them a little.

2. Then fill them with birch sap. Cover the container with several layers of gauze and keep it warm for fermentation for two weeks.

3. After this, filter and cool well.

Yeast birch kvass with hops – “Golden”

Ingredients:

Natural birch sap – 3 liters;

30 gr. pressed alcoholic yeast;

Dark raisins – 25 gr.;

50 gr. Sahara;

A tablespoon of white flour;

300 gr. toasted rye crackers;

40 gr. hop cones.

Cooking method:

1. Pour 100 ml of birch sap into a small bowl and heat slightly.

2. In a separate bowl, crumble the yeast, add sugar and stir until the yeast is completely dispersed.

3. Add the yeast mixture to the warm juice, add flour and stir well.

4. Place the rye crackers in a large container. Add hop cones and raisins washed with water. Add three tablespoons of sugar and pour hot juice (3 liters) over everything.

5. Cool well and add the yeast mixture, stir. Place gauze over the neck of the container and place in a warm place for three days.

6. Strain and place the birch kvass in the refrigerator.

7. Add three tablespoons of granulated sugar to the remaining starter and pour in a new portion of juice.

Yeast-free kvass with birch sap – “Coffee”

Ingredients:

2.5 liters of freshly collected natural birch sap;

60 gr. dark raisins;

Refined sugar - half a glass;

Coffee beans - a small handful;

200 gr. crackers (rye).

Cooking method:

1. Fry the crackers well in the oven. You can simply take rye bread, cut it into small pieces and fry it in a toaster.

2. Place fried crackers in a clean three-liter jar. Add sugar, washed dried raisins and coffee.

3. Pour unboiled juice over everything and stir well so that the granulated sugar dissolves.

4. Put a rubber glove on the neck and place in a cool, dark place.

5. When the glove is filled with air, after about two days, the drink will be completely ready.

6. Strain and, after bottling, put away for another two days, but in the refrigerator.

Cherry kvass on birch sap with rye breadcrumbs

Ingredients:

Birch sap, fresh collection – 10 l.;

400 gr. sugar;

Fried rye crackers – 300 gr.;

350 gr. fresh or frozen cherries;

50 gr. dried dill stems;

Pharmacy oak bark – 100 gr.

Cooking method:

1. Place the crackers on cheesecloth, tie a bag and dip into the juice. Place the container in a dark, warm place.

2. After three days, add dried dill stems, oak bark and cherries. Transfer to a cool room for further infusion for fifteen days.

3. Then filter and use as intended. Enjoy as a chilled drink, or use as a topping for okroshka.

Birch kvass with raisins

Ingredients:

Twenty liters of natural birch sap;

Dark raisins – 100 berries;

One kilogram of granulated sugar.

Cooking method:

1. Place gauze folded in three layers into a funnel or sieve and strain the juice through it.

2. Add all the sugar and stir until the crystals dissolve.

3. Then pour in the raisins and leave for up to 4 days.

4. Strain the finished drink, pour into tightly sealed containers and place in a cool, dark place.

5. Kvass can be stored for up to 4 months, but is usually drunk faster.

Honey kvass from birch sap

Ingredients:

5 liters of birch sap;

Two large lemons;

50 gr. fresh baker's yeast;

100 gr. liquid honey;

Cooking method:

1. Crumble the yeast and dissolve in fifty milliliters of heated water.

2. Rinse the lemons and place them in hot water for two minutes. Then cut each one in half lengthwise, squeeze out the juice and strain it through a sieve.

3. Pour yeast diluted with water and strained lemon juice into the birch sap. Add honey and stir until it disperses well into the juice.

4. Pour the liquid into the bottle. Add five raisins and, tightly sealing, place in a cool place for several days.

Intoxicating birch kvass with beer

Ingredients:

500 ml light live beer;

2.6 l. birch, natural sap.

Cooking method:

1. Pour beer into a clean three-liter bottle and fill the volume to the neck with strained fresh juice.

2. Close tightly with a nylon lid and store for two months in a cool room or refrigerator.

3. After this time, the intoxicating birch kvass made from beer will be ready.

Kvass from birch sap on sourdough bread

Ingredients:

700 gr. rye crackers;

Two heaped glasses of sugar;

A tablespoon of bread sourdough;

A small piece of orange zest;

Ten liters of fresh birch sap.

Cooking method:

1. Place rye crackers on a roasting pan and dry in the oven.

2. Add all the sugar to the juice, stir well, and pour it over the dried crackers.

3. Add a tablespoon of bread sourdough, orange zest, stir again and leave in a warm place for 4 days.

5. After this short exposure, kvass from birch sap can be drunk.

Birch kvass with buckwheat flour malt and lemon

Ingredients:

One glass of powdered kvass malt;

Small lemon;

A tablespoon of honey (buckwheat);

A small handful of dark raisins;

A glass of buckwheat flour;

A handful of raspberry leaves;

Two liters of birch sap.

Cooking method:

1. Sift buckwheat flour into a bowl, pour in one and a half cups of boiling water, grind and stir, leave to cool completely.

2. Rinse the raisins well and grind with a meat grinder along with lemon. There is no need to cut the zest from the lemon.

3. Rinse the raspberry leaves, wipe dry and chop with a knife.

4. Mix the ingredients twisted in a meat grinder with raspberry leaves and honey.

5. Add steamed buckwheat flour and malt. Stir well and pour birch sap over everything.

6. Wrap the neck of the container with a bandage or gauze and put it in a fairly warm room for 4 days.

7. After this, drain the finished birch kvass from the sediment and strain.

8. The starter that remains at the bottom of the container can be reused.

Apple kvass on birch sap with ginger and mint

Ingredients:

Two liters of birch sap;

Five medium sized apples;

40 grams of fresh ginger root;

A teaspoon of light honey;

Three spoons of raisins;

Half a lemon;

Instant yeast – 0.5 tsp;

Eight mint leaves;

100 gr. sugar.

Cooking method:

1. Wash and sort the mint leaves, raisins and place everything on a towel.

2. Without peeling the apples, cut them into small slices, remove the seeds and pour birch sap. Place the pan with apples on low heat and boil for three minutes after boiling, then cool.

3. Dissolve the yeast in half a glass of warm broth. Add sugar (1 tsp) to the mixture, stir and place in a warm place for a quarter of an hour.

4. Pour the yeast into the cooled broth. Add the remaining sugar, honey and squeeze the juice from the lemon. Add finely grated ginger, chopped mint leaves and raisins.

5. Stir thoroughly, cover the top with several layers of gauze and leave for up to 12 hours.

6. Be sure to strain the drink and cool it well.

Kvass from birch sap - cooking tricks and useful tips

The sap secreted by the birch tree is collected in the spring, when abundant sap flow begins.

In the bark of an adult tree, the girth of which is more than 20 cm, a hole is made to a depth that allows you to reach the wood, and a tube is inserted into it. It is into this that the juice will begin to secrete.

The diameter of the hole must correspond to the diameter of the tube inserted into it, otherwise the juice will leak out.

For convenience, you can use a tube from a medical dropper. One end of it is inserted into a hole in the tree, and the other into a hole in a nylon lid, which is placed on a three-liter jar. When the container is full, it is replaced with another. The juice collected using this method is pure and free of forest debris.

Before preparing kvass, freshly collected juice must be filtered to remove any accidentally ingested debris.

Almost all of us have known the taste of birch sap since childhood. With a little sourness. A slightly sweet, pleasantly thirst-quenching drink given to us by nature itself. It is available fresh only in early spring, not earlier than April. You can preserve its benefits in order to enjoy a pleasant taste not only by preserving it, but also by preparing a wonderful drink from the juice, which is no less famous and also quenches thirst well - namely kvass.

But kvass itself is not only drunk, but also used for cold soups - okroshka or kholodnika. You can add any dried fruits - raisins, for example, or cereal crops - barley. Thanks to this, you can vary not only the strength of the drink, but also enrich it with additional minerals and trace elements. As a result, the taste will also change - from a delicate “honey” to a strong, sweet-sour, rich one.

Kvass using fresh juice can be prepared either without yeast or with the addition of yeast; you can use a special starter or malt for preparation.

  • The technology is very simple and includes only a few steps that any housewife can handle. Having prepared the raw materials, you need to combine all the ingredients and wait for the drink to ferment. The last stage can take from a couple of hours to several days - everything will depend on the chosen recipe. The finished kvass is carefully filtered from the wort and placed in the refrigerator for storage and cooling.
  • Any berries can be used as a raw material for kvass with birch sap - both fresh and dried or frozen. Of the cereals, not only barley is used, but also buckwheat, rye or oatmeal.
  • Despite the natural sweetness of birch sap, to prepare kvass it is necessary to add sugar or liquid honey. There are some exceptions - if dried fruits are added or intoxicated kvass is prepared with beer and birch sap, then there is no need to add sugar.
  • If kvass with birch sap is made without adding yeast, then it turns out slightly carbonated. Therefore, to add strength to the already bottled drink, you need to add 10 washed raisins.

Refreshing kvass made from birch sap with the addition of fresh mint and barley

The drink is perfect for quenching your thirst; kvass is light and can be enjoyed even by the smallest children. And mint gives an additional feeling of freshness and coolness. How to make kvass from birch sap with the addition of barley and mint?

  • 10 liters of birch sap;
  • 300 gr. granulated sugar;
  • 500 gr. barley;
  • 100 gr. fresh mint;
  • One and a half loaves of Borodino bread;
  • 10 pcs. raisins for every one and a half liters of drink (raisins are added after the finished kvass is poured into storage containers).

The process of preparing kvass with mint and barley:

  1. Borodino bread is better than yesterday's bread, cut into small pieces and dried in the oven, without adding sunflower oil. There is no need to add any spices; the bread already has a spicy and piquant aroma and taste.
  2. Pour granulated sugar into a thick frying pan, and without adding oil or water, heat until it turns caramel color.
  3. In another frying pan, heat the barley grains in the same way until it turns golden and a “nutty” aroma appears.
  4. Pour fresh, recently collected birch sap into a large saucepan, straining it through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Bring to a boil and boil for no more than 2-3 minutes.
  5. Chop fresh mint and add to juice. If there is not enough fresh mint, then you can use dry mint at the rate of up to 5 tablespoons per the above amount of ingredients.
  6. Now sugar, barley and cooled crackers are added to the pan. Let the mixture swell a little, the crackers will soften, and the sugar will dissolve in the meantime.
  7. Now all that remains is to mix everything well and leave the pan in a warm room for 2-3 days.
  8. Pour washed raisins into clean and dry bottles and pour the strained drink. Can be stored in the refrigerator for a week. The remaining liquid can be used to prepare a new batch of a healthy drink.

Average difficulty in preparing kvass.

Preparation time: preparation of ingredients - 30 minutes, infusion of the drink - 1-3 days.

Quantity – up to 10 liters of soft drink.

Yeast-free coffee kvass with birch sap

Coffee fans will really like this slightly invigorating cool drink, and birch sap will make the taste of kvass light and delicate.

To prepare you will need:

  • 3 liters of birch sap;
  • 75 gr. black raisins;
  • A glass of granulated sugar;
  • 80 gr. coffee beans;
  • 250 gr. black bread.

Preparing coffee kvass:

  1. Make crackers from black bread by cutting it into small pieces and drying it in the oven.
  2. Place the crackers in a clean and dry 3 liter jar. Also add granulated sugar and washed raisins, add coffee beans.
  3. Bring birch sap to a boil and pour in the prepared ingredients so that the crackers and sugar dissolve in the drink. After 5 minutes, mix everything using a large spoon for convenience.
  4. Now all that remains is to put a clean, sterile rubber glove on the neck of the jar and place the container in a dark, cool place.
  5. The glove should inflate, filling with air. This will happen approximately in 2-3 days, and then the drink can be considered almost ready.
  6. Strain the kvass through cheesecloth, pour into clean bottles and put in the refrigerator for a couple of days. After two days, the coffee kvass is ready for use.

You can’t make okroshka with it, of course, but the drink quenches your thirst and invigorates perfectly. Now you know how to make kvass from birch sap with coffee beans.

The difficulty of preparing the drink is average.

Preparation time: preparation of ingredients - 15 minutes, infusion of the drink - 36 hours, cooling and infusion of kvass - two days.

Quantity – up to 3 liters of soft drink.

Honey kvass with birch sap

The mild taste with a pleasant sweetness will pleasantly surprise you; besides, despite the presence of honey, kvass perfectly quenches thirst in the heat.

To prepare honey kvass you will need:

  • 5 liters of fresh birch sap;
  • 2 juicy lemons;
  • Half a packet of fresh yeast;
  • 125 gr. liquid honey;
  • A handful of black raisins.

Preparation of the drink:

  1. By any means, heat some boiled water and dissolve the yeast in it. In this recipe it is not recommended to use a dry product; you need yeast in the form of a soft paste.
  2. Rinse fresh lemons in water, dry them and roll them thoroughly on the table. During this manipulation, the internal partitions in the pulp will burst and more juice will be squeezed out. You can also boil the lemons for a couple of minutes in hot water, and to add an enhanced citrus flavor to the drink, you can add grated zest.
  3. Lemon juice, liquid honey and yeast diluted in water are added to the heated birch sap.
  4. After thorough mixing, the liquid is poured into clean bottles, adding a little washed raisins to each, and the container is put in the refrigerator to mature the drink for a couple of days.

The difficulty of preparing the drink is easy.

Preparation time – preparation of ingredients – 5 minutes, infusion of the drink – 36-48 hours.

Quantity – up to 5.5 liters of soft drink.

Useful tips for collecting birch sap for making kvass

  • Birch sap is collected only in early spring, around April and early May, when abundant sap flows in the trees.
  • In order to extract juice, you need to choose trees with a trunk volume of at least 20 cm. A hole is made in the trunk, a thin tube is inserted into it, through which the juice will flow. You can place any clean container on the ground so that the liquid flows freely into it. It is even better if instead of a straw you use a thin hose, for example from a clean, sterile dropper. Then one end of it can be inserted into the hole, and the other end can be placed on the bottom of the container. Not a drop of the healthy drink will go to waste!
  • Freshly collected juice must be cleaned of debris by filtering it through folded gauze or a fine sieve. To prepare kvass, birch sap is heated to a boil.

Step-by-step recipes for kvass from birch sap with bread and dried fruits, malt and honey, grain

2018-05-24 Marina Vykhodtseva

Grade
recipe

400

Time
(min)

Portions
(persons)

In 100 grams of the finished dish

1 gr.

0 gr.

Carbohydrates

11 gr.

51 kcal.

Option 1: Classic birch kvass with bread

Birch sap is a valuable drink with an amazing composition and pleasant taste. Moreover, it can be used as a base for kvass. This is a great way to locate a large amount of juice somewhere. Here is the simplest recipe for black rye bread. If there is less juice than required according to the list, then you need to reduce the amount of other ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 5 liters of birch sap;
  • 400 g rye bread;
  • 160 g sugar.

Step-by-step recipe for classic birch kvass

We take warm juice for kvass, but there is no need to heat it in advance. It's better to just leave it at room temperature. You need to wait a couple of days and let fermentation begin. Then pour the birch sap into a large saucepan, add sugar, and put it on the stove. Now we heat it up, but just a little. Make a pleasantly warm liquid, the sugar should dissolve.

Cut the dark rye bread into pieces of three or five centimeters. Place in the oven and dry. To obtain a milder taste, you can fry the pieces. Also, golden brown crusts will give the kvass a brownish tint.

Add rye bread croutons to the juice, stir and cover. It is best to use a cloth or napkin. We remove the drink for at least two days.

Let's check the kvass. Stir gently, trying not to break any pieces of bread. Let's try. If the acidity and taste are not enough, leave the drink for another day. We continue to keep at room temperature; in a cold room the fermentation process will slow down.

The next day, you need to strain the kvass from the bread and small crumbs. But there is no need to throw away the grounds. Add a new portion of warm birch sap and do not forget about sugar; for five liters of drink we use an average glass of sand. We pour the strained kvass from birch sap into bottles with lids, put them in the refrigerator or in the cellar for five hours.

You can cook bread for kvass not in the oven, but in the microwave. To do this, lay out the pieces and run for about eight minutes at medium power.

Option 2: Quick recipe for kvass from birch sap

Recipe for kvass with added malt. It can be purchased at the grocery store, the product is made from grains and usually comes in powder form. We take birch sap that has soured or has barely begun to ferment. To do this, you need to keep it for a couple of days at room temperature. This is a great way to identify a sour drink. The recipe is based on honey, but below there are amendments for using granulated sugar.

Ingredients

  • 2.5 liters of juice;
  • 3 pieces of bread;
  • 1 tbsp. l. malt;
  • 3 tsp. honey

How to quickly make kvass from birch sap

Mix birch sap with malt, add bee honey, stir and place on the stove. Heat the drink to thirty degrees. Pour it all into a jar.

While we are cutting and drying the bread. You can make very rosy, and even burnt crackers, the taste and color of the drink will change. Add the crackers to the jar with the warm liquid. Be sure to lower them so that they are quickly saturated with liquid and give off flavor.

Cover it all with a napkin and put it in a warm place. Kvass is fast, it will be ready in 4-5 hours if you used juice that has begun to ferment. In other cases it will take a little longer.

You can replace honey with regular granulated sugar in this recipe. In this case, we take approximately 50 grams of birch sap for this amount. Brown sugar is also suitable for kvass.

Option 3: Birch kvass with raisins and yeast

Recipe for delicious birch kvass with raisins. For preparation, we always take fresh pressed yeast in the specified quantity. They will ensure good fermentation of the drink, a sharp and pleasant taste.

Ingredients

  • 10 liters of juice;
  • 100 g raisins;
  • 30 g yeast;
  • 200 g honey;
  • 2 lemons.

How to cook

Dissolve fresh yeast and honey in a liter of warm birch sap. Stir and let them react. While you can wash the raisins, heat the remaining juice until warm.

Pour the raisins into the juice, add the yeast mixture with honey. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and mix it all.

Cover the container with the drink with a napkin and send it for fermentation. Let stand for two or three days until you get a sharp and sour drink. Strain and cool.

You can add not only citrus juice to this kvass, but also zest, it will give a wonderful aroma.

Option 4: Birch kvass with barley

A variety of delicious kvass made from birch sap. It is not only very useful, but also convenient, and has many advantages over similar drinks. This kvass can even be stored for future use; it does not lose its taste and beneficial properties. Just before this you need to master all the rules and subtleties of cooking.

Ingredients

  • 100 g barley;
  • 3 spoons of sugar;
  • 3 liters of juice.

Step by step recipe

Sugar is a controversial product in such kvass. Very often the drink is prepared without it, but sand significantly speeds up fermentation and gives the desired sharpness. Strain the juice, add sugar and heat a little.

We take unhulled barley, with husks. Wash and place in a dry frying pan. Turn on the stove and start roasting the grain. Stir regularly, bring until golden brown, trying not to burn. Turn off the stove and cool the barley.

Add roasted barley to sweetened or regular birch sap. Pour everything into a container suitable for fermentation. It is best to use large glass jars. Cover, but use breathable fabric or just gauze. Let the barley and juice ferment.

After three days you need to check the readiness of the kvass; you can increase the fermentation time. If the drink is already ready, then strain it from the barley, seal it with airtight lids, and put it in the refrigerator. For long-term storage, we put birch kvass in a cold cellar.

This version of the drink is made with barley, but there are also recipes with oats. It is important to pay special attention to the purity and quality of the grain before use. There should be no traces of mold or dark spots on it.

Option 5: Birch kvass with dried fruits

A fragrant and very pleasant version of birch kvass with dried fruits. Its taste will directly depend on the composition used. You can take prunes, apples, pears, dried apricots, dates. Mixing in any proportions is allowed, but be sure to measure the raisins separately.

Ingredients

  • 3 liters of fresh birch sap;
  • 0.7 kg of dried fruits;
  • 0.2 kg raisins.

How to cook

Strain the birch sap through a fine sieve or simply add several layers of gauze. Pour into a large jar or a clean enamel saucepan.

We wash the raisins and other dried fruits from dust and dirt. Shake off the water and pour it all into the juice. Cover with gauze or a lid with holes and leave in a warm place for 5-7 days. Since no refined sugar is added, fermentation will not proceed very quickly.

We check the kvass, filter it, and bottle it. In a cold place, this drink can be stored well for up to six months.

If you want to speed up the ripening of birch kvass with dried fruits, then simply add a handful of granulated sugar to it and stir. You can sprinkle in a few grains of dry granulated yeast.

Option 6: Birch kvass with raisins without yeast

Another version of kvass made from birch sap and raisins, but without the addition of yeast and other auxiliary ingredients. Sugar can be replaced with honey. We use raisins of any color.

Ingredients

  • 10 liters of birch sap;
  • 50 pieces of raisins;
  • 0.45 kg sugar.

How to cook

Soak the raisins in warm water and let them swell for half an hour. Strain the juice, heat it up a little and combine with granulated sugar. Let the grains dissolve. By replacing sugar with honey, you can reduce the amount.

We take the raisins out of the water, pour them into birch sap, cover the container and leave to ferment for three days. Then we check the kvass and, if necessary, add more time for maturation. Strain the finished drink and pour it into bottles with tight lids. You can throw a few fresh raisins into each, they will maintain the sharpness of the kvass.

If the kvass has reached the desired taste, it is immediately filtered and stored in a cold place. Otherwise, the drink will simply turn sour and spoil.