Post by Bonobo on Dec 1, 2019 21:37:16 GMT 1
Today I had paella to which I drank a bottle of Latvian-made original kvass.
I have always liked it, even tried to make my own at home with rather poor results.
Bread kvass is OK, however, I still prefer my red beetroot kvass. Much more powerful!
Wiki says Polish tradition of kvass is substantial while I associated it with Russia or Ukraine.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvass
Kvass (see List of names below) is a traditional fermented Slavic and Baltic beverage commonly made from rye bread,[1] which is known in many Central and Eastern European and Asian[2][3] countries as "black bread". The colour of the bread used contributes to the colour of the resulting drink. Kvass is classified as a "non-alcoholic" drink by Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian, Polish, Hungarian, and Romanian standards, as the alcohol content from fermentation is typically low (0.5–1.0% or 1–2 proof).[4][5] It may be flavoured with fruits such as strawberries or raisins, or with herbs such as mint.[6]
Kvass is especially popular in the successor states of the East Slavic Old Rus, today's Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.[7] In Russia, the drink is more popular than Coca-Cola.[8] It is also known in Poland, in the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, in the South Slavic countries of Serbia and Montenegro, in Mongolia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia.[9] Kvass is also popular in Harbin and Xinjiang, China,[10] where Russian culture has had an influence.
Poland
Varieties of natural Polish kvass
Kvass may have appeared in Poland as early as the 10th century mainly due to the trade between the Kingdom of Poland and Kievan Rus'.[26] The production of kvass went on for several hundred years, as recipes were passed down from parent to offspring. This continued in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was at first commonly drunk among peasants who worked on the fields and eventually spread to the szlachta (Polish nobility). One example of this is kwas chlebowy sapieżyński kodeński, an old type of Polish kvass that is still sold as a contemporary brand.[27] Its origins can be traced back to the 1500s, when Jan Sapieha – a magnate of the House of Sapieha – was granted land by the Polish king. On those lands he founded the town of Kodeń. He then bought the mills and 24 villages of the surrounding areas from their previous landowners.[27] It was then that the taste of kvass became known among the Polish szlachta, who used it for its supposed healing qualities.[27] After the last Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Poland ceased to be an independent state. Throughout the 19th century, kvass remained popular among Poles who lived in the Russian Empire, especially the inhabitants of rural areas.[27]
Production of the beverage in Poland on an industrial scale can be traced back to the more recent interwar period, when the Polish state regained independence as the Second Polish Republic. In interwar Poland, kvass was brewed and sold in mass numbers by magnates of the Polish drinks market like the Varsovian brewery Haberbusch i Schiele or the Karpiński company.[28] Kvass was exceptionally popular in Eastern Poland,[29] partly due to the plentiful numbers of Belarusian and Ukrainian minorities that lived there. However, with the collapse of many prewar businesses and much of the Polish industry during World War II, kvass lost popularity following the aftermath of the war. It was reintroduced industrially after the formation of the Polish People's Republic as a satellite state of the USSR, though much like in other Slavic and Baltic countries it lost favour upon the introduction of Coca-Cola onto the Eastern European market and once again during the economic crisis of the 1980s in Poland. The collapse of the Soviet Union between 1989–1991 was followed by the arrival of other Western soft-drinks in former Eastern Bloc countries.
Although not as popular in Poland nowadays as it is in Russia or Ukraine, kvass can still be found in many supermarkets and grocery shops throughout the nation where it is known in Polish as kwas chlebowy ([kvas xlɛbɔvɨ]). Commercial bottled versions of the drink are the most common variant, as there are companies that specialize in manufacturing a more modern version of the drink (some variants are manufactured in Poland whilst others are imported from its neighbouring countries, Lithuania and Ukraine being the most popular source).[30] However, recipes for a traditional version of kvass exist; some of them originate from Eastern Poland.[31][32] Although commercial kvass is much easier to find in Polish shops, Polish manufacturers of more natural and healthier variants of kvass have become increasingly popular both within and outside of the country's borders.[33] Street vendors selling fresh kvass also appear from time to time, especially during summer in cities like Zakopane, where tourists sometimes crowd the streets seeking refreshment on a hot day.
I have always liked it, even tried to make my own at home with rather poor results.
Bread kvass is OK, however, I still prefer my red beetroot kvass. Much more powerful!
Wiki says Polish tradition of kvass is substantial while I associated it with Russia or Ukraine.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvass
Kvass (see List of names below) is a traditional fermented Slavic and Baltic beverage commonly made from rye bread,[1] which is known in many Central and Eastern European and Asian[2][3] countries as "black bread". The colour of the bread used contributes to the colour of the resulting drink. Kvass is classified as a "non-alcoholic" drink by Ukrainian, Russian, Lithuanian, Polish, Hungarian, and Romanian standards, as the alcohol content from fermentation is typically low (0.5–1.0% or 1–2 proof).[4][5] It may be flavoured with fruits such as strawberries or raisins, or with herbs such as mint.[6]
Kvass is especially popular in the successor states of the East Slavic Old Rus, today's Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.[7] In Russia, the drink is more popular than Coca-Cola.[8] It is also known in Poland, in the Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, in the South Slavic countries of Serbia and Montenegro, in Mongolia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Armenia.[9] Kvass is also popular in Harbin and Xinjiang, China,[10] where Russian culture has had an influence.
Poland
Varieties of natural Polish kvass
Kvass may have appeared in Poland as early as the 10th century mainly due to the trade between the Kingdom of Poland and Kievan Rus'.[26] The production of kvass went on for several hundred years, as recipes were passed down from parent to offspring. This continued in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was at first commonly drunk among peasants who worked on the fields and eventually spread to the szlachta (Polish nobility). One example of this is kwas chlebowy sapieżyński kodeński, an old type of Polish kvass that is still sold as a contemporary brand.[27] Its origins can be traced back to the 1500s, when Jan Sapieha – a magnate of the House of Sapieha – was granted land by the Polish king. On those lands he founded the town of Kodeń. He then bought the mills and 24 villages of the surrounding areas from their previous landowners.[27] It was then that the taste of kvass became known among the Polish szlachta, who used it for its supposed healing qualities.[27] After the last Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Poland ceased to be an independent state. Throughout the 19th century, kvass remained popular among Poles who lived in the Russian Empire, especially the inhabitants of rural areas.[27]
Production of the beverage in Poland on an industrial scale can be traced back to the more recent interwar period, when the Polish state regained independence as the Second Polish Republic. In interwar Poland, kvass was brewed and sold in mass numbers by magnates of the Polish drinks market like the Varsovian brewery Haberbusch i Schiele or the Karpiński company.[28] Kvass was exceptionally popular in Eastern Poland,[29] partly due to the plentiful numbers of Belarusian and Ukrainian minorities that lived there. However, with the collapse of many prewar businesses and much of the Polish industry during World War II, kvass lost popularity following the aftermath of the war. It was reintroduced industrially after the formation of the Polish People's Republic as a satellite state of the USSR, though much like in other Slavic and Baltic countries it lost favour upon the introduction of Coca-Cola onto the Eastern European market and once again during the economic crisis of the 1980s in Poland. The collapse of the Soviet Union between 1989–1991 was followed by the arrival of other Western soft-drinks in former Eastern Bloc countries.
Although not as popular in Poland nowadays as it is in Russia or Ukraine, kvass can still be found in many supermarkets and grocery shops throughout the nation where it is known in Polish as kwas chlebowy ([kvas xlɛbɔvɨ]). Commercial bottled versions of the drink are the most common variant, as there are companies that specialize in manufacturing a more modern version of the drink (some variants are manufactured in Poland whilst others are imported from its neighbouring countries, Lithuania and Ukraine being the most popular source).[30] However, recipes for a traditional version of kvass exist; some of them originate from Eastern Poland.[31][32] Although commercial kvass is much easier to find in Polish shops, Polish manufacturers of more natural and healthier variants of kvass have become increasingly popular both within and outside of the country's borders.[33] Street vendors selling fresh kvass also appear from time to time, especially during summer in cities like Zakopane, where tourists sometimes crowd the streets seeking refreshment on a hot day.
