COLUMNIST: JANICE CLYNE
I have made many different types of kvass, and the process is the same whatever fruits or flowers you are using. The amount of sugar added depends on how sweet your fruit is and how sweet you want your finished drink to taste.
Any fruit, herbs, and edible flowers can be used to create a unique and delicious drink. Edible flowers include roses, chamomile, elderflower, nasturtiums, borage, lilac, pansy, viola, cornflower, and honeysuckle, to name a few.
Lemon balm, chamomile, mint, basil, rosemary, and lavender all add a lovely flavour but go easy with lavender which can be overpowering.
Use organic ripe fruit for the best fizz and always use flowers which have not been sprayed with chemicals. A few slices of ginger works well too!
There is no end to the combinations you can come up with, using summer fruits, berries, flowers, and herbs. And best of all, you do not need to leave your garden in order to find your ingredients. Use your imagination and get creative this summer.
Fill your glass jar 1/4 to 1/3 full with your fruit and flowers.
Add sugar, between 65g to 125g per litre, depending on how sweet the fruit is. Use the higher amount if you are only using flowers or herbs or sour fruits like rhubarb or gooseberries, then add filtered water to within an inch of the top of the jar. Or you can dissolve the sugar in the water, then pour that over the fruit or flowers. The amount of sugar required is personal taste and varies according to the sweetness of the fruit you are using. Bear in mind the sugar is a food source for the natural yeasts, and most of it will be metabolised into lovely fizzy bubbles, leaving the finished drink way less sweet.
I tend to use white sugar, but you can also use cane sugar, brown sugar, or maple syrup. Darker sugars will result in a cloudy appearance in your finished drink, but again this is personal taste. They also impart a different flavour, whereas white sugar is more neutral. Alternatively, a couple of tablespoons of raw organic honey can be used, which adds to the flavour and the health benefits of the finished drink.
Give it a good stir and cover with a cloth to keep fruit flies and dust out. Leave it somewhere warm.
Stir vigorously at least two or three times a day, with a long-handled spoon, almost creating a vortex. This prevents mould spores getting a hold and evenly distributes the fruit, which tends to float to the top of the jar.
When you start to see active bubbling, strain the kvass, compost the remaining fruit and flowers, and transfer the kvass into strong clip top or plastic bottles.
Leave at room temperature for another few days to develop some fizz, carefully opening the bottles over the sink to check for fizz.
Once you are happy with it, transfer the bottles to the fridge and drink within a week or so for the best flavour. (The yeast will continue to ferment the sugar, so if you leave it too long, your drink will taste less sweet).
Perfect for a summer sip!
As a qualified food scientist, gut health guru, supporter of plant-based locally sourced seasonal food, a fermentista, and foraging fanatic, Janice Clyne is passionate about inspiring, informing, and motivating change in health and eating habits - delivering vibrant good health, through her Wellness Hub and 'Nourished by Nature' skills, expertise, and experience.