Kvas can be fermented tart or super sweet like a cola, says chef Bonnie Frumkin Morales. Photo by Leela Cyd.

“The most basic form of kvas comes from having stale bread around and not wanting to waste anything,” says chef Bonnie Frumkin Morales of Kachka in Portland. People would take bread ends and toast to prevent mold, then cover them in water with sugar, raisins, or honey, and a natural fermentation process would begin. Kvas was developed, as most fermented beverages did, as a safer way to drink water.

“There’s a huge range of flavors and looks,” says Frumkin Morales. “Some kvas will be super hazy and golden colored, to something more malty and medium amber. It can be clear too, it has to do with process. Just like with beer, you can have beer that is super light or viscous.”

Coca-Cola owns a variety of kvas brands in Russia, but Frumkin Morales shares a home fermentation recipe in her book, “Kachka.”

Kvas is a bread-based, mildly fermented drink that has been around for centuries — back when drinking low-pH kvas was safer than drinking questionable water. Both of my parents have fond memories of lining up in summer for the kvas truck — a sort of tank on wheels serving ice-cold kvas for a few kopeks from a shared cup.

Unfortunately, most of the kvas you find in stores today is not the real deal. Instead of creating a live beverage out of heels of bread, yeast, and some time, commercial kvas can be a disappointing mix of caramel coloring and far too much sugar. Do yourself a favor, and mix up a batch of real kvas. You were wondering what to do with that leftover brown bread from your zakuski party anyways, right?

“Just like with beer, you can have beer that is super light or viscous.” Chef Bonnie Frumkin Morales shares a home fermentation recipe in her book, “Kachka.” Photo courtesy of Flatiron Books.

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