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kvass-msg - 12/13/13

 

Russian drink made from bread or grains. Recipes.

 

NOTE: See also the files: beer-msg, beverages-msg, p-bottles-msg, wine-msg, rice-msg, grains-msg, bread-msg, brewing-msg, fd-Russia-msg.

 

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NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with separate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make  no claims  as  to the accuracy  of  the information  given  by the individual authors.

 

Please respect the time  and  efforts of  those who have written  these messages. The copyright status  of these messages  is  unclear  at this time. If information  is  published  from  these  messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

   Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                         Stefan at florilegium.org

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From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Kvass and Reconstruction in the SCA

Date: 29 Nov 1993 16:12:58 GMT

Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

 

Greetings from Balderik,

 

I must agree with Solveig, and add that I would be VERY

surprised if Kvass (as described in the recipes I've seen)

was the common drink in Medieval Russia.

 

I don't have any documentary evidence regarding brewing practices in

Russia during this period, so this is my *opinion*.

 

The recipes for Kvass that I've seen strike me as being quick and

dirty recipes for a light alcoholic beverage.  They rely on sugar

as their chief source of fermentable sugars.  I think it's safe to

say that sugar, if available, would have been reserved for other

purposes in medieval Russia.  Of course, honey could be substituted.

 

The bread involved

would provide starch, flavour, and some trace nutrients for the

yeast. The starches would not be fermentable by brewing yeast.

In period, it is conceivable that the fermentation would include

microorganisms capable of breaking down the starches, but in that

case, the flavour of the beverage would be *radically* different

from what we would obtain using brewers yeast.  The kvass recipes

I've seen look like nothing so much as attempts to simulate a

rye beer when you don't have the materials (malted rye), equipment,

or time to produce a 'real' beer (no insult intended).

 

The whole point of beer was that malted grain was a relatively cheap

source of fermentable sugars.  The trouble is that you have to 'mash'

it to convert the starch in the grain to fermentable sugars.  This

requires a certain amount of equipment, knowledge, time, etc.  Soaking

bread in hot water to extract a bit of flavour (as per kvass recipes)

is a poor use of the grain by comparison (especially since you have to

make the grain into bread in the first place).  If you can't make beer

from grain, but have rye bread and cheap sugar/honey available, it

may be a viable option.  

 

While I have only seen Finnish recipes for Rye beers, I would not be

surprised if similar Russian recipes exist (anyone got any?).

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that without some sort of evidence

otherwise, there are strong reasons to question that Kvass (as described

in modern recipes) was a common drink in medieval Russia.

 

Cheers, Balderik  

 

 

From: mcs at unlinfo.unl.edu (M Straatmann)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Kvass and Reconstruction in the SCA

Date: 29 Nov 1993 22:43:10 GMT

Organization: University of Nebraska--Lincoln       

 

cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin) writes:

>Greetings from Balderik,

 

>I must agree with Solveig, and add that I would be VERY

>surprised if Kvass (as described in the recipes I've seen)

>was the common drink in Medieval Russia.

 

The title _Bread and Salt_by Smith and Christian (see complete

reference below) goes into length about the role of Kvas in period.  

(quote) "The other common drink of Kievan times was Kvas, a very

lightly fermented, almost non-alchoholic beer.  Home-made kvas is made

nowadays from malted rye, barley or wheat and rye, wheat or buckwheat

flour or from pastry, bread, or rusks; sugar, honey, and various

fruits, berries, and herbs are used to flavor it. A twelth-century

manuscript mention 'much drink and Kvas' It is this which seems to be

referred to by Tedaldi, even though the drink he mentioned in 1581

was made with oats: 'water mashed with oatmeal, then cooked, is the

general drink; the oats relieves the badness of the water and makes

the men fat." (p.74) (end quote)  

Kvas seems to have been very prevalent within medieval Russia, the

"day-to-day drink of most peasants in Russia" (p. 78)

 

>I don't have any documentary evidence regarding brewing practices in

>Russia during this period, so this is my *opinion*.

These are solid ideas with a logical basis (some I disagree with, but

hey :-)

 

>The recipes for Kvass that I've seen strike me as being quick and

>dirty recipes for a light alcoholic beverage.  They rely on sugar

>as their chief source of fermentable sugars.  I think it's safe to

>say that sugar, if available, would have been reserved for other

>purposes in medieval Russia.  Of course, honey could be substituted.

The general impression that I have received is that honey was used for

just that.  It seems to have been exceedingly common, given the

numerous references to honey meads.  

 

>The bread involved

>would provide starch, flavour, and some trace nutrients for the

>yeast. The starches would not be fermentable by brewing yeast.

>In period, it is conceivable that the fermentation would include

>microorganisms capable of breaking down the starches, but in that

>case, the flavour of the beverage would be *radically* different

>from what we would obtain using brewers yeast.  The kvass recipes

>I've seen look like nothing so much as attempts to simulate a

>rye beer when you don't have the materials (malted rye), equipment,

>or time to produce a 'real' beer (no insult intended).

 

>The whole point of beer was that malted grain was a relatively cheap

>source of fermentable sugars.  The trouble is that you have to 'mash'

>it to convert the starch in the grain to fermentable sugars.  This

>requires a certain amount of equipment, knowledge, time, etc.  Soaking

>bread in hot water to extract a bit of flavour (as per kvass recipes)

>is a poor use of the grain by comparison (especially since you have to

>make the grain into bread in the first place).  If you can't make beer

>from grain, but have rye bread and cheap sugar/honey available, it

>may be a viable option.  

 

I am not much of a brewer, but most of the recipes for kvas that I

have made that tasted any good were ones which started with rye flour

and not rye (or other type) bread.  

Beer was also an option, however.  

"Beer is mentioned from the eleventh century onwards. . . .Malt for

the tax-collector, or justice, at the rate of seven buckets a week

was specified in part of Russkaya Pravda, the old Russian law, dated

to the 1030's."

 

I believe that Kvas was made not because beer couldn't be made, but

that it was cheaper and easier to make.  It seems to have been more of

a commonly available drink.  

 

 

>While I have only seen Finnish recipes for Rye beers, I would not be

>surprised if similar Russian recipes exist (anyone got any?).

 

Which I did!  

 

>I guess what I'm trying to say is that without some sort of evidence

>otherwise, there are strong reasons to question that Kvass (as described

>in modern recipes) was a common drink in medieval Russia.

I am not quite sure which recipes you have, but I think that it was

quite a common drink.  The actual recipes we have are not from period

(as near as I can find), but some seem to come a lot closer than

others.

>Cheers, Balderik

 

Mikhail Nikolaevich

mcs at unlinfo.unl.edu

  

 

From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Kvass and Reconstruction in the SCA

Date: 30 Nov 1993 20:22:39 GMT

Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

 

First off, thanks to Mikhail Nikolaevich for his

informative reply.

 

I think I goofed in assuming that the recipes for Kvass

that I'm familiar with are the same ones that everyone

else has seen.

 

From what I've seen in Complete Anachronist, rec.crafts.homebrewing,

homebrew-digest, and here on the Rialto, I was under the impression

that Kvass was made strictly from bread, not from (malted) grain.

 

I thought (incorrectly it would appear), that Kvass was distinct

from beer in that it was a light beverage made from bread.  It looks

like 'Kvass' is just the Russian word for 'small beer', and includes

a wide range of beers made from different grains and flavoured with

an assortment of ingredients.  The bread based recipes would only be

for one type of Kvass (sort of a quick and dirty counterfeit?).

If Kvass is the generic term for such a wide range of small beers,

then I don't doubt that it was the common drink.

 

So, I suppose my argument would be that granted that Kvass was a

staple drink in Medieval Russia, Kvass made from bread (as per some

of the recipes I've seen) would probably have been less common

than Kvass made from malted grain (rye, oats, etc.).  

 

Mikhail, you mention making kvass from 'rye flour'.  Are you sure

it's rye *flour*?  How did you make it from the flour?  From my

understanding of brewing, this shouldn't work. You would have to

use malted rye, which you would then mash to convert the starch to

fermentable sugar.  On the other hand, if it was extract of malted rye

(which could be purchased as a flour-like powder), you would simply

dissolve it in water and proceed.

 

From what I've heard, in areas where there is a large Finnish population,

one can sometimes find stores that sell rye malt and/or rye malt extract.

(for making sahti and other Finnish rye beers).

Some american mailorder homebrew suppliers offer them as well.

Up this-a way, the homebrew suppliers don't know from malted rye.

While one could make a barley malt based beer and include some unmalted

rye (using the enzymes from the barley to convert the starches in

the rye, as is done in *some* wheat beers and oatmeal stouts), I have

been lead to believe that this won't give the right results as

malted rye is quite different from unmalted rye.  Furthermore, you

would have to use at least 50% barley malt to attain complete conversion,

so the flavour profile would be skewed towards the barley beer side of

the spectrum.

 

Thanks for straightening that out!

Cheers, Balderik

 

 

From: mcs at unlinfo.unl.edu (M Straatmann)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Kvass and Reconstruction in the SCA

Date: 1 Dec 1993 18:06:24 GMT

Organization: University of Nebraska--Lincoln       

 

Greetings unto the Rialto and especially unto Balderick!

 

cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin) writes:

>Mikhail, you mention making kvass from 'rye flour'.  Are you sure

>it's rye *flour*?  How did you make it from the flour?  From my

>understanding of brewing, this shouldn't work. You would have to

>use malted rye, which you would then mash to convert the starch to

>fermentable sugar.  On the other hand, if it was extract of malted rye

>(which could be purchased as a flour-like powder), you would simply

>dissolve it in water and proceed.

 

Sorry about the unclear wording (I need to proof my posts better!!!!!)

The recipe that I am most fond of (with no date, unfortunately!) is as

follows.

"To make it one puts a pailful of water into an earthen vessel, into

wich one shakes two pounds of barley meal (or rye), half a pound of

salt, and some honey, more or less according to the wealth of the

family. This is placed in the evening in the oven with a moderate

fire and stirred.  In the morning, it is left for a time to settle,

the clear liquid is poured of, and it is ready to drink in a few

days."

 

I think that the important thing to remember about kvas is it's

weakness. The records are much better for mead and vodka than for

kvas, its alchohol content was so low that it's production was seldom

recorded for taxation and the like.  

 

I will have to try the malted barley (or rye).  I have till this point

used rye flour, and the product has turned out, at all stages of

production, as described in

all the processes which I have read (not as many as I would like :-)

This is not to say of course, that it is correct.  

My applied knowledge of brewing is rather minimal (and quite limited to

kvas). Could you suggest other improvements/variations I might try?  

 

>From what I've heard, in areas where there is a large Finnish population,

>one can sometimes find stores that sell rye malt and/or rye malt extract.

>(for making sahti and other Finnish rye beers).

>Some american mailorder homebrew suppliers offer them as well.

>Up this-a way, the homebrew suppliers don't know from malted rye.

>While one could make a barley malt based beer and include some unmalted

>rye (using the enzymes from the barley to convert the starches in

>the rye, as is done in *some* wheat beers and oatmeal stouts), I have

>been lead to believe that this won't give the right results as

>malted rye is quite different from unmalted rye.  Furthermore, you

>would have to use at least 50% barley malt to attain complete conversion,

>so the flavour profile would be skewed towards the barley beer side of

>the spectrum.

 

>Thanks for straightening that out!

>Cheers, Balderik

 

In curiousity,

Mikhail

 

 

From: fnklshtn at AXP3.ACF.NYU.EDU

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Kvass and Reconstruction in the SCA

Date: 2 Dec 93 02:16:12 GMT

Organization: New York University, NY, NY

 

cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin) writes:

>First off, thanks to Mikhail Nikolaevich for his

>informative reply.

>I think I goofed in assuming that the recipes for Kvass

>that I'm familiar with are the same ones that everyone

>else has seen.

>From what I've seen in Complete Anachronist, rec.crafts.homebrewing,

>homebrew-digest, and here on the Rialto, I was under the impression

>that Kvass was made strictly from bread, not from (malted) grain.

>I thought (incorrectly it would appear), that Kvass was distinct

>from beer in that it was a light beverage made from bread.  It looks

>like 'Kvass' is just the Russian word for 'small beer', and includes

>a wide range of beers made from different grains and flavoured with

>an assortment of ingredients.  The bread based recipes would only be

>for one type of Kvass (sort of a quick and dirty counterfeit?).

>If Kvass is the generic term for such a wide range of small beers,

>then I don't doubt that it was the common drink.

 

Hold it, hold it!

Someone's Russian dictionary sucks!

(and it's not mine since I learned by living not by going to classes)

The word for beer is Pivo. This includes beers from all sorts of grains.

Kvas is a non-alcoholic beverage (or, if alcoholic, it has less alcohol than

toothpaste) made from bread.

SCA Kvas tastes nothing like real Kvas.

Why am I speaking so certainly?

Because I lived in the USSR as a small boy. Kvas was what we drank on hot summer

days. We drank big mugs on empty stomachs and never even got tipsy. Further,

contrary to popular belief, alcohol is illegal to sell to children in USSR

while Kvas was sold by government salesmen in government stores to children.

 

Incidentally, if you wanna try the real thing go to your closest Russian

comunity. I know they make and import it in Brighton Beach (in New York).

 

I wonder if the SCAdian brewers ever tasted the real Kvas.

I wonder how many of the other things we do are just as unrelated to their

originals.

 

Nahum

 

 

From: cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Kvass and Reconstruction in the SCA

Date: 2 Dec 1993 14:53:18 GMT

Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd.

 

fnklshtn at AXP3.ACF.NYU.EDU writes:

|> In article <2dga2f$bjo at bmerha64.bnr.ca>, cav at bnr.ca (Rick Cavasin) writes:

 

...stuff deleted...

 

|> Hold it, hold it!

|> Someone's Russian dictionary sucks!

|> (and it's not mine since I learned by living not by going to classes)

|> The word for beer is Pivo. This includes beers from all sorts of grains.

|> Kvas is a non-alcoholic beverage (or, if alcoholic, it has less alcohol than

|> toothpaste) made from bread.

|> SCA Kvas tastes nothing like real Kvas.

 

You mean SCA Kvas tastes nothing like real (modern) Kvas.  I don't think

we can say very much conclusively about the taste of real medieval kvas.

 

|> Why am I speaking so certainly?

|> Because I lived in the USSR as a small boy. Kvas was what we drank on hot summer

|> days. We drank big mugs on empty stomachs and never even got tipsy. Further,

|> contrary to popular belief, alcohol is illegal to sell to children in USSR

|> while Kvas was sold by government salesmen in government stores to children.

 

Perhaps modern kvas is deliberately made non-alcoholic precisely so that it

can be legally sold in this way.

I would not base my definition of a medieval ginger ale on the 'ginger ale'

we find being sold to children today (wow, that may just be a perfect analogue).

 

|> Incidentally, if you wanna try the real thing go to your closest Russian

|> comunity. I know they make and import it in Brighton Beach (in New York).

 

But would it be like real medieval kvas?  I'm not saying that it wouldn't be,

I'm asking.  Mikhail's references would seem to indicate that today's Kvas

may not be the same as the Kvas of days gone by.  If you went to Burton-on-Trent

you could probably get some wonderful British Ales.  But would they be

representative of medieval British Ales?  I would guess not, but never having

tasted a medieval British ale, or even conducted any extensive study of medieval

brewing techniques, I can't say for certain.

|> I wonder if the SCAdian brewers ever tasted the real Kvas.

 

Next time you crack a bottle of 1050 vintage Kvas, give me a call. I'd be

genuinely delighted to taste it ;).  

 

|> I wonder how many of the other things we do are just as unrelated to their

|> originals.

 

Which 'originals'?  Modern Russian Kvas may be just as far removed from

medieval kvas as SCA kvas (not that I have good things to say about the

SCA kvass recipes I've seen).  This is precisely the question we're trying

to answer.  What was medieval Kvas like?  Can we safely assume that it

resembles modern kvas in anything more than a superficial manner?

Mikhail's references seem to indicate that there were many ways of making

kvass so trying to pin down a narrow definition might be futile.

 

To answer your question, I would guess that alot of what we do in the SCA

is unrelated to the 'originals', and it's often because we assume that modern

things are interchangeable with their medieval counterparts:

 

Modern leather is the same as medieval leather

Modern steel is the same as medieval steel

Modern Ale is the same as medieval ale

Modern cloth is the same as medieval cloth

 

but hey, that horse is little more than a pile of bleached bones at this point,

so I won't molest it any further.

 

Cheers, Balderik

 

 

From: mcs at unlinfo.unl.edu (M Straatmann)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: kvas reference

Date: 29 Nov 1993 22:46:24 GMT

Organization: University of Nebraska--Lincoln       

 

In my last post discussing kvas with Balderik, I promised the

reference and then promptly forgot to include it.  Here it is:

 

Bread and Salt

A social and economic history of food and drink in Russia.

R.E.F. Smith and David Christian

Cambridge University Press 1984

ISBN - 0 521 25812X

 

Good book,

misha

 

 

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 13:01:08 -0400

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass

 

Mark Harris wrote:

> Earlier today, Monday, May 12, Adamantius said:

> >I, for one, will stick to my kvass!

>

> I have heard a little about this drink but not since it was last discussed

> on the Rialto several years ago. I think at that time there was an

> argument about whether it was made of bread or grains.

>

> I would love to hear more about this drink or your recipe(s).

 

I don't have my recipe in front of me, but I remember it fairly well. It

is fairly modern, but the impression I get is that the idea of making

kvass from bread is sort of the "bathtub gin" method. Also, in spite of

the fact that some people do use toasted rye bread today, it could be a

misunderstanding of the mashing process described in the more detailed

recipes.

 

The recipe I use calls for ground barley malt to be mixed with rye flour

and water to make a thick porridge or dough. This gets heated in an

extremely low oven for eight to twelve hours, which will give the

outside of the loaf a crust of sorts, but will not really cook the

middle. This allows the malt and the rye to mash, since the internal

temperature never gets above 150∞F or so. This loaf is then crumbled and

dissolved in water. Meanwhile some more water is boiled, to which cane

sugar, dried mint, and a chile pepper or two are added. You combine

these two  mixtures, and when the temperature has reached an appropriate

level, you add your yeast and ferment the whole thing without straining.

A primary fermenter, such as is used with English ales, is helpful here,

or you'll almost certainly clog the airlock and explode!

 

After a week or two you rack the kvass from the copious sediment and

bottle it with two or three raisins in each bottle. Wait another ten

days to two weeks and drink through clenched teeth, like the court of

Richard II is rumored to have done. If you actually wait a couple of

months, it will become reasonably clear and rather like a pretty good

small ale. Final gravity should be quite low, so it is quite refreshing

on a hot day, if a bit on the potent side. Kind of like Budweiser

without the rice (blechh!), which, if they wouldn't insist on calling it

beer, wouldn't be too bad.

 

If anybody actually feels they need more details than this, I'll try to

find the recipe. Don't all speak at once!

 

> Stefan li Rous

 

Adamantius

 

 

From: Philip E Cutone <flip+ at andrew.cmu.edu>

Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 15:40:31 -0400 (EDT)

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass

 

Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com> writes:

> Mark Harris wrote:

> > I have heard a little about this drink but not since it was last discussed

....

> It is fairly modern,

 

On this, i must object!  In my copy of "Domestroi", which originally

was written in 17th cent (I think... perhaps early 18th) kvass is

talked about. (and I believe a description for making it was given as

well) Ok, not period, but not "modern" :)  (you may have been refering

to the recipe, rather than the drink, in which case, I apologize.)

 

Modern day Kvass is more like Period Ginger ale or root beer, according

to some friends from Ukraine and russia.  They say it comes in big

tanker trucks you go up to (supplying your own cup) and pay for a

fill. Kids, adults, etc all drink it, which leads me to believe the

alcohol content is minimal. They say it's best when it's "fresh" (a

couple days old) which also leads me to believe it's more like a soft drink.

 

My attempt at making it produced a very strong drink which wasn't all

that bad... of course, i made it without knowledge of any proportions

etc, so the finished product knocked my Ukranian friend in the

proverbial... well, never mind.   Lets just say it was more like kvass

wine, rather than root beer.

 

It involved some rye bread, honey, sugar, mint, rasins, and a couple

other things i forget... (ok... so i brew like i cook... ;)  My

version was also aged, which meant it was more like a mead/wine.

 

I believe the domestroi version calls for honey, which would make the

drink more like a weak braggot...

 

I'll look up my references if there is interest.

 

In Service to the People of the Society,

Filip of the Marche

 

 

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 16:50:32 -0400

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass

 

Philip E Cutone wrote in response to me:

> Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com> writes:

> > It is fairly modern,

>

> On this, i must object!  In my copy of "Domestroi", which originally

> was written in 17th cent ( i think... perhaps early 18th) kvass is

> talked about. (and i believe a description for making it was given as

> well) Ok, not period, but not "modern" :)  (you may have been refering

> to the recipe, rather than the drink, in which case, i apologize.)

 

Yes, the recipe I used probably dates from the late 19th, early 20th

century. Specific quantities were given on things like malt, sugar,

etc., so I think that the level of alcohol I ended up with was what the

original author intended. What I got, as I say, was along the lines of a

small ale, roughly 2 - 3% alcohol.

>

> Modern day Kvass is more like Period Ginger ale or root beer, according

> to some friends from Ukraine and russia.  They say it comes in big

> tanker trucks you go up to (supplying your own cup) and pay for a

> fill.  Kids, adults, etc all drink it, which leads me to believe the

> alcohol content is minimal. They say it's best when it's "fresh" (a

> couple days old) which also leads me to believe it's more like a soft drink.

 

My recipe also says you should drink it pretty quickly. I found that it

was OK after being in the bottle about 4 days, and deteriorated after

that, and then got interesting again after two or three months.

 

Adamantius

 

 

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 18:35:27 -0400

Subject: Re: SC - kvas

 

Mark Harris wrote:

> >A primary fermenter, such as is used with English ales, is helpful here,

> >or you'll almost certainly clog the airlock and explode!

>

> What is a “primary fermenter”? I’ve made mead but not beer or ale.

 

A primary fermenter is usually a sort of bucket with a snap-on top. Some

modern English recipes call for doing the first fermentation, which

produces a lot of gunky foam which generally dries to the consistency of

concrete, in such a fermenter, often topped with some kind of plastic

wrap, before going to the standard secondary fermenter, which is usually

a glass carboy with a water-filled airlock fitted to it. If you don't

watch it carefully, and do a primary fermentation in a carboy, there's a

chance the airlock will get clogged with dried foam, and some sort of

explosion might result. For our batch of kvass we used a wide-mouthed

glass demijohn, formerly used for making wine. It has a snap-on top with

a pinhole punched in it, to relieve excess gas pressure. Had there been

any problems with clogging, the top just lifts off, and you can go in

with something like a stainless-steel spoon to remove the crud.

 

Adamantius

 

 

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

To: Mark Harris, Uduido at aol.com

Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 09:33:25 -0400

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass

 

Here's the kvass recipe, which is clearly modern. It may be describing

some variant on an older process, but I hjave no way of knowing the date

of the recipe quoted in Andre L. Simon's "A Concise Encyclopedia of

Gastronomy", pub. Harcourt, Brace, 1952, reprinted 1981, Overlook

Press, Woodstock, NY. This is from the section on wines (there are beer

references and cocktail references too), and attributed to a source

"R.C.B." Who or what that may be is not clear. Royal College of Butlers?

Bartenders? Rollo Charmondelay Blitherington?

 

"KVASS

 

A very refreshing Russian beverage which is made in many Russian

households about once a week.

 

'With eight quarts water take 1 1/2 lb. malt, 1 lb. rye flour, 1 1/2 lb.

sugar, 1/8 of a lb. mint leaves, half pepper pod, and half cake of

yeast. Mix the malt and flour with boiling water and make a thick dough.

Put into barely warm oven, and leave for the night. Next day dilute

dough with eight quarts boiling water and pour into a wooden tub. Let

stand for 12 hours, then pass through a cloth. Pour one quart into an

enamel saucepan, put on fire, add 1 1/2 lb. sugar, and an infusion made

with the mint leaves (resembling weak tea). Boil once, then take off

fire, cool until just warm, and add the yeast previously diluted with

one cup of this same warm liquid. Let stand in warm place until it

begins to ferment; then pour it into the rest of the kvass in the wooden

tub, and let stand until bubbles appear. Prepare clean bottles, putting

one malaga raisin into each; pour in the kvass, cork the bottles, tie

the corks with string to the necks of the bottles, and keep in a warm

place for a day or two. Then put in a cold cellar.' --- R.C.B."

 

As I've mentioned, I have made kvass using this recipe and it wasn't

bad, although it was best either when just a few days old, and then

again when about three months old. I believe the quarts mentioned are

Imperial quarts (roughly 38 1/2 ounces), which wouldn't matter except

that not all the measuring units are quarts volume.

 

I haven't posted this to the list, simply because it seems we are

getting away from the food topic on this one. Please feel free to

forward this to the list if you feel strongly that it belongs there.

 

Adamantius

 

 

From: Philip E Cutone <flip+ at andrew.cmu.edu>

Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 11:55:54 -0400 (EDT)

Subject: SC - Domostroi/Kvass Farily long

 

It seems i may have been incorrect about the domostroi being just out

of period:

http://www3.traveller.com/chess/trivia/r.html has:

>In 1549 the Protohierarch Sylvester wrote his Domostroi (Houshold Government).

 

and from http://coral.bucknell.edu/departments/russian/chrono1.html:

>1560's          Edition of Domostroi, a book of principles of family life

 

so it seems that it is at least 40 ish years in period.

 

here is the bib info from rialto clothing archive:

   The Domostroi

   Carolyn Johnston Pouncy

   Cornell University Press, Ithaca 1994

   0-8014-2410-0

   culture, Russian

   Rules for Russian households in the time

   of Ivan the Terrible

   (essentially the Medieval Home Companion for Russia)

 

The domestroi is a pretty cool book.  It's fairly sexist, but then,

that was the norm then.  If you dig through, you can find quite a few

recipies and menu's for various tiimes of year.

 

(from what i remember from the translated version)

To make Ordinary Kvass:

you add one part honey to five parts water and a soft rye loaf. let

sit a while, strain and bottle up.

 

When i remember to bring it in, i'll type in the translated sections.

 

 

here are other reverences i've found online:

 

Travelers yellow pages online http://www.infoservices.com/stpete/94.htm

has this to say about it:

>Kvas is a traditional lightly fermented drink made from rye bread and

>raisins, once sold from tank trailers on every street corner. Now two

>beverage manufacturers," Polyustrovo" and "Bavariya", have begun to

>bottle kvas in 0.33 l bottles, while another beverage factory

>n.a. Razin, also produces kvas on draught.  

 

 

http://hubris.engin.umich.edu:8080/Beer/Threads/Threads/thread.829083082.html#71:

> As several persons have noted, kvass is made from rye,

>while kumys or kumiss is made from fermented mare's milk.  John

>Braue, though, is incorrect in suggesting in HBD #1913 that the

>making kvass from rye bread is a prison varient.  It's actually

>the most common way to make kvass: soak dry, toasted rye bread in

>water with sugar and lemon (if possible), let ferment slightly

>and drink while still fermenting.  I've also had it made from rye

>flour. Prepared properly, it's tart, effervesent, and quite

>refreshing, especially after a hard morning spent planting

>potatoes. It's the base of several traditional Russian soups.

>        Commercially-prepared kvass was considerably sweeter,

>rather insipid, and almost flat.  It was traditionally served

>direct from large tanker trailers.  The saleswoman had three

>mugs, usually, which she would take back from customers and rinse

>in a pail of filthy water before serving her next customer.

>Before perestroika, this was the most common way of selling beer

>as well, though by 1990 these mugs were in short supply, and beer

>drinkers generally brought their own containers.  I well remember

>standing with a couple of strangers draining a three-liter jar of

>beer outside a kiosk in Moscow in early '91.

>        Alas, kvass production is now down something like 98% in

>Russia: Russians prefer western soft drinks.

 

http://hubris.engin.umich.edu:8080/Beer/Threads/Threads/thread.825014283.html#64

is the intro to the above, but gives little information

 

http://hubris.engin.umich.edu:8080/Beer/Threads/Threads/thread.832942925.html

mentions that kvass contains a lactic fermentation as well.  It almost

surely did in period.. :)

 

 

http://hubris.engin.umich.edu:8080/Beer/Threads/Threads/thread.832884837.html#34:

>Posting 34: Extracted from file:  1914

>Date: Mon, 18 Dec 1995 13:53:59 -0800 (PST)

>From: eurquhar at sfu.ca (eric urquhart)

>Subject: kwass

>I found this recipe on my hardrive from an old HBD.

>Subject: Kvass/Kwass

>From: duncan at vt.edu

>Date: Mon, 10 Jan 94 10:35:28 -0500

>Sounds like an interesting experiment - was the product drinkable at all?

>For the sake of comparison, here's a recipe for "Kwass" taken from "The

>Compleat Anachronist Guide to Brewing" (Compleat Anachronist #6),

>published by the Society for Creative Anachronism:

> ---------begin quote-----------

>Kwass

>(Yield: 6 cups)

>1 lb. day-old black bread or Danish pumpernickel

>1 cup sugar

>2 tbsp. dry yeast

>1/4 cup lukewarm water

>2 tbsp. mint leaves or 1 tbsp. dry mint

>2 tbsp. raisins

>Dry the bread and then chop it into coarse pieces. The add the bread to six

>quarts of boiling water, remove from heat and cover with a towel. Set aside

>for eight hours. Then strain the mixture through a fine sieve into another

>large pot, extracting as much liquid from the bread as possible. Discard the

>bread. Add the yeast and 1/4 tsp. sugar to the lukewarm (110-115 F [43-46 C])

>water and stir thoroughly. Set this aside for about ten minutes in a warm

>place and then add the yeast mixture, the remaining sugar, and the mint [to

>the 6 quarts of bread-water], cover again with a towel, and set aside for

>about another 8 hours. Strain the mixture again and bottle in a gallon jug

>or several quart-size bottles. Fill the bottles 2/3 full, then divide the

>raisins evenly among the bottles. Cover each bottle with plastic wrap

>secured with a rubber band. Place in a cool spot for three to five days, or

>until the raisins rise to the top and the sediment sinks to the bottom.

>Carefully decant the clear amber liquid [picking out the raisins?] and

>rebottle in clean bottles. Refrigerate until ready to drink.

> ----------end quote--------------

>Sounds interesting, although I've never tried it. "Dry yeast"? I suppose

>bread yeast (yech!) would suffice, but I'd use ale yeast in my own typical

>overkill manner. Evidently, this version is not meant to be served

>carbonated, but in a second recipe the author directs you to bottle the

>mixture as soon as you see gas bubbles rising from the fermentation (of

>course, he also complains of the bottles building up so much pressure that

>the corks were extruded throught the wire cage - can you say "kwass

>grenades"? I knew you could). Further recipes on the making of Kumiss

>(fermented milk) <shudder> and Kefir (fermented buttermilk - which I have

>tried to make and do not recommend for the weak of stomach). Basic beer,

>mead and winemaking information is also included.

>The CA Guide to Brewing, Compleat Anachronist series #6 is available

>for $3.00 from:

>Society for Creative Anachronism

>Stock Clerk

>P.O. Box 360743

>Milpitas, CA  95035-0743  USA

>Regards, and happy brewing!

>Tom Brady

>(known occasionally as Lord Duncan MacKinnon of Tobermory)

>duncan at vt.edu

>Eric Urquhart, Centre for Pest Management,

>Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University,

>Burnaby B.C. CANADA V5A 1S6

>e-mail: eurquhar at sfu.ca

 

 

there is also a goodly amount of discussion in the rialto archives:

http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/rialto/kvass-msg.html

 

which provides some references...

 

 

Cat's meow has a recipe for mint kvass at

http://alpha.rollanet.org/cm3/recs/12_47.html:

>Mint Kvas

>Classification: kvass, rye, bread, mint kvass

>Source: Dave Vaness (vaness at bowler.dacc.wisc.edu), r.c.b., September

>22, 1995

>The following quotation and recipe are from "Russia" of the Time-Life

>Foods of the World series.

>"For drink the peasant diet had kvas, which was much like the 'small

>beer' of Western Europe. It could be made from grain and malt, but was

>often made from leftover dark bread soaked in hot water and allowed to

>ferment for a few hours; sugar, fruit or honey was customarily added

>as a sweetener. The finished brew could be drunk on the spot or

>bottled for later use; in some households a part of the brew served as

>a fermented stock for soups. Homemade kvas is somewhat effervescent

>and only slightly alcoholic. It has never enchanted many non-Russians,

>but it had an important place in the peasant diet. It was cheap and

>the yeast suspended in it, like the vegetables in shchi [cabbage soup]

>or borshch (beet soup), formed a nutricious supplement to a limited

>diet."

>Ingredients: (for 6 cups)

>       1 pound day-old black bread or Danish pumpernickel

>       2 tablespoons active dry yeast

>       1 cup sugar

>       1/4 cup lukewarm water (110 - 115F)1/4 cup lukewarm water (110

>- 115F)

>       2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves or 1 tablespoon crumbled dried

>mint

>       2 tablespoons raisins

>Procedure:

>Preheat the oven to 200F. Place the bread in the oven for about 1

>hour, or until it is thoroughly dry. With a heavy knife, cut and chop

>it coarsely. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in an 8-quart casserole

>and drop in the bread. Remove from heat, cover loosely with a kitchen

>towel, and set it aside for at least 8 hours.  Strain the contents of

>the casserole through a fine sieve set over another large pot or bowl,

>pressing down hard on the soaked bread with the back of a large spoon

>before discarding it.

>Sprinkle the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon of the sugar over the 1/4 cup of

>lukewarm water and stir to dissolve the yeast completely. Set aside in

>a warm, draft-free spot (such as an unlighted oven) for about 10

>minutes, or until the mixture almost doubles in volume. Stir the yeast

>mixture, the remaining sugar and the mint into the strained bread

>water, cover with a towel, and set aside for at least 8 hours.

>Strain the mixture again through a fine sieve set over a large bowl or

>casserole, then prepare to bottle it.  You will need 2 - 3 quart-sized

>bottles, or a gallon jug. Pour the liquid through a funnel 2/3 of the

>way up the sides of the bottle. Then divide the raisins among the

>bottles and cover the top of each bottle with plastic wrap, secured

>with a rubber band. Place in a cool -- but not cold -- spot for 3 - 5

>days, or until the raisins have risen to the top and the sediment has

>sunk to the bottom. Carefully pour off the clear amber liquid and

>re-bottle it in the washed bottles. Refrigerate until ready to

>use. Although Russians drink kvas as a cold beverage, it may also be

>used as a cold-soup stock in okroshka (chilled vegetable soup with

>meat) or botvinia (green vegetable soup with fish).

 

I love the net... ;)

 

In Service to the People of the Society,

Filip of the Marche

 

 

Date: Wed, 14 May 1997 09:33:25 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

To: Uduido at aol.com, mark_harris at quickmail

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass

 

Here's the kvass recipe, which is clearly modern. It may be describing

some variant on an older process, but I hjave no way of knowing the date

of the recipe quoted in Andre L. Simon's "A Concise Encyclopedia of

Gastronomy", pub. Harcourt, Brace, 1952, reprinted 1981, Overlook

Press, Woodstock, NY. This is from the section on wines (there are beer

references and cocktail references too), and attributed to a source

"R.C.B." Who or what that may be is not clear. Royal College of Butlers?

Bartenders? Rollo Charmondelay Blitherington?

 

"KVASS

 

A very refreshing Russian beverage which is made in many Russian

households about once a week.

 

'With eight quarts water take 1 1/2 lb. malt, 1 lb. rye flour, 1 1/2 lb.

sugar, 1/8 of a lb. mint leaves, half pepper pod, and half cake of

yeast. Mix the malt and flour with boiling water and make a thick dough.

Put into barely warm oven, and leave for the night. Next day dilute

dough with eight quarts boiling water and pour into a wooden tub. Let

stand for 12 hours, then pass through a cloth. Pour one quart into an

enamel saucepan, put on fire, add 1 1/2 lb. sugar, and an infusion made

with the mint leaves (resembling weak tea). Boil once, then take off

fire, cool until just warm, and add the yeast previously diluted with

one cup of this same warm liquid. Let stand in warm place until it

begins to ferment; then pour it into the rest of the kvass in the wooden

tub, and let stand until bubbles appear. Prepare clean bottles, putting

one malaga raisin into each; pour in the kvass, cork the bottles, tie

the corks with string to the necks of the bottles, and keep in a warm

place for a day or two. Then put in a cold cellar.' --- R.C.B."

 

As I've mentioned, I have made kvass using this recipe and it wasn't

bad, although it was best either when just a few days old, and then

again when about three months old. I believe the quarts mentioned are

Imperial quarts (roughly 38 1/2 ounces), which wouldn't matter except

that not all the measuring units are quarts volume.

 

I haven't posted this to the list, simply because it seems we are

getting away from the food topic on this one. Please feel free to

forward this to the list if you feel strongly that it belongs there.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Subject: kvas (from Stephanie Dale)

Date: Fri, 30 Jan 98 16:52:27 MST

From: Stephen Dale <sdale at mail.tqci.net>

To: "Mark.S Harris" <rsve60 at msgphx1>

 

I just found this nifty little book that has period recipes from Russia.

By Leslie Chamberlain, it's called _The_Food_and_Cooking_of_Russia. Not

all the recipes are period, however. I posted info about period noodles

from it on Rialto today. Chamberlaine says that kvas was the national

drink from the 1500's. She gives a recipe that she claims is similar to

hard cider, and she makes it herself.

 

               1 tbsp dried yeast

               5 0z malt extract

               12 oz rye flour

               3 1/2 oz buckwheat flour

               3 1/2 oz wheat flour

               4 1/4 pts water

               1/2 tbsp dried mint

 

Add yeast and one tbsp of flour to 1/4 c. warm water. Mix the flours

together. Dilute the malt in some hot water, then add to the flour with

two pints of the water above. Stir well, getting out all the lumps.

Allow to stand 5 hours. Then blend in the rest of the water, the yeast

and the mint. Allow to ferment for twelve to twenty-four hours then

strain and bottle. She suggests that the corks be put on loosely, and

that the brew be served chilled.

 

Aislinn Columba of Carlisle

aka Nadya Petrovna Stoianova

 

 

Date: Wed, 15 Jul 1998 17:53:36 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass.

 

Michael F. Gunter wrote:

> Um. I don't have the recipe on hand right now. Does anybody else have this

> recipe handy?

> Gunthar

 

>From Andre L. Simon's "A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy", Harcourt,

Brace, New York, 1952, the section on wines and other beverages:

 

"KVASS

A very refreshing Russian beverage which is made in many Russian

households about once a week.

 

'With eight quarts water take 1 1/2 lb. malt, 1 lb. rye flour, 1 1/2 lb.

sugar, 1/8 of a lb. mint leaves, half pepp-er pod, and half cake of

yeast. Mix the malt and flour with boiling water and make a thick dough.

Put into barely warm oven, and leave for the night.Next day dilute dough

with eight quarts boiling water and pour into a wooden tub. Let stand

for 12 hours, then pass through a cloth. Pour one quart into an enamel

saucepan, put on fire, add 1 1/2 lb. sugar and an infusion made wioth

the mint leaves (resembling weak tea). Boil once, then take off fire,

cool until just warm, and add the yeast previously diluted with one cup

of this same warm liquid. Let stand in warm place until it begins to

ferment; then pour into the rest of the kvass in the wooden tub, and let

stand until bubbles appear. Prepare clean bottles, putting one malaga

raisin into each; pour in the kvass, cork the bottles, tie the corks

with string to the necks of the bottles, and keep in a warm place for a

day or two. Then put in a cold cellar.' -- R.C.B"

 

Note that the initials R.C.B., in keeping with the style for attribution

and documentation used elsewhere in the book, should be included in the

source key at the end of the book, but aren't, unless there is a

typographical error. I couldn't even begin to guess at the date, apart

from saying it resembles, stylistically, English recipes anywhere from

the mid-to-late 19th century, possibly as recent as the 1930's or 40's.

 

I've made this stuff, and it's better than it sounds. Kinda like a small

wheat beer with mint instead of hops. In spite of what the recipe says,

I found it at its best at around two weeks of age. Much more aging than

that would be a problem given its low gravity. Lacking an oven that

would maintain a low enough temperature to mash the mixture without

killing the enzymes in the malt (below 158 degrees F.), I put my dough

into a crockpot on the lowest setting, stirring frequently. I also used

a brewers's yeast, probably Munton and Fisson's Ale Yeast.

 

Oh, and don't be alarmed by the fact that the raisins will more or less

turn back into grapes and become completely spherical!

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 08:03:36 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass.

 

Varju at aol.com wrote:

> A little bit of trivia. . .when I was taking Russian in college my professor

> said that when he was in Russia Kvass was made from rye bread, malt and yeast

> and mint and was often used as a hangover remedy. . .

> Noemi

 

I'd often heard of kvass being made from rye bread, but never actually

seen a recipe in English except the one I posted. I have seen one other,

apparently in Russian, but, oddly enough, in the Roman alphabet. Polish

perhaps?

 

I'd just assumed that the idea it was made from bread was a distorted

description of the process of forming the mash into loaves and putting

it in a warm oven.

 

However, a friend of mine, a former NCO in the USCG, spoke to the cook

on board a Russian frieighter, and he was told that making it from bread

was sort of the cheater's way to do it, but actually much more common.

They were actually drinking kvass on board the ship at the time, with

their lunch...

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 18:27:58 EDT

From: melc2newton at juno.com

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass.

 

On Wed, 15 Jul 1998 17:53:36 -0400 Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

writes:

 

>>From Andre L. Simon's "A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy",

>Harcourt,

>Brace, New York, 1952, the section on wines and other beverages:

>"KVASS

>A very refreshing Russian beverage which is made in many Russian

>households about once a week.

<recipe snipped>

>Note that the initials R.C.B., in keeping with the style for attribution

>and documentation used elsewhere in the book, should be included in the

>source key at the end of the book, but aren't, unless there is a

>typographical error. I couldn't even begin to guess at the date, apart

>from saying it resembles, stylistically, English recipes anywhere from

>the mid-to-late 19th century, possibly as recent as the 1930's or

>40's.

 

Here is some documentable stuff on Kvass from the Domostroi, which is a

household rulebook from 16th C. Muscovy:

 

In chapter 29:  Similarly, she (the wife) should know how they (the

servants) make beer, mead, vodka, weak beer, kvass, vinegar, and sour

cabbage - every liquid normally used in cooking and breadmaking.

 

In chapter 36: A women should drink either weak beer or kvass, both at

home and in public.

 

In chapter 42: In a well-ordered home you can find (animal) feed in

either summer or winter: dregs of beer, vinegar, kvass, and sour cabbage

soup.....

 

In chapter 52: The steward should measure and record amounts of bread,

rolls, beers, vodka, ale, kvass, sour cabbage, vinegar, siftings, bran,

dregs of any kind, yeast, and hops.

 

In chapter 54: (titled How to Preserve Food in the Cellar and the

Icehouse)

There you should also store cucumbers, pickled and fresh cabbage,

turnips, other vegetables. . . apple kvass, bilberry juice, Rhenish wine,

vodka, mead, fermented and unfermented beer, and ale.

 

In chapter 65: Ordinary kvass. To brew ordinary kvass, Take four parts

honey and strain it until it is clear. Put it in a jar and ferment it

using an ordinary soft loaf, without additional yeast. When it is done,

pour it into a cask.

 

In chapter 67: (wedding rituals) {setting up the groom's and bride's

room} A sideboard stands nearby, holding a dozen mugs containing

different drinks made from mead and kvass.

 

Little bits and pieces, I know, but the book was handy (i.e. I knew where

it was) and decided to share. BTW, the Domostroi I have is edited and

translated by Carolyn Johnston Pouncy, published by Cornell University

1994 ISBN 0-8014-2410-0

 

beatrix

 

 

Date: Fri, 17 Jul 1998 09:57:47 -0400

From: "Harold Tackett" <htackett at eagnet.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Kvass.

 

Your comments hit something's in my memory, I thought that I had seen a

recipe in one of my cookbooks. I found it. From "A Taste of Russia, A

Cookbook of Russian Hospitality" by Darra Goldstein, ISBN 006973854.

 

Black Bread Kvass

1 1/2 pounds stale black bread, cubed

1 1/2 tbs. dried mint

1 small lemon, cut into chunks

10 cups boiling water

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. cream of tartar

1 package active dry yeast

8 grains of white rice

 

Place the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast in a 325 degrees oven for

about 20  minutes, or until dry. Transfer to a large crock. Sprinkle the

mint over the toasted cubes. Add the lemon. Pour the boiling water over

all, and cover the crock tightly. Let stand 5 to 6 hours.

Strain the liquid through cheesecloth, pressing down on the bread with the

back of a spoon in order to extract as much liquid as possible, but with

out pushing sediment through. To the liquid add the sugar, the cream of

tartar and the yeast, which has been dissolved in a little of the liquid.

Stir well to mix. Cover the container, let stand undisturbed for 8 hours.

The next day, strain once more through cheesecloth and pour into a 1-quart

bottle. Add the 8 grains of rice. Seal. Let stand for 8 hours more at room

temperature. Then strain once more through cheesecloth into a clean bottle

and refrigerate until ready to use.   Yield : I quart

 

Dinah bint Ismai'l

 

 

Subject: Kvass recipes

Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 11:08:19 -0400

From: "Stephen and Stephanie Dale" <sdale at mx00.us.hsanet.net>

To: <stefan at texas.net>

 

Some history about kvas from _The Art of Russian Cooking_ by Nina

Nicolaieff.

 

Distilled liquor beverages came to Russia fairly late, for they learned the

art of distilling from the Genovese living in the Crimea in the 14th century.

Before that time, going back to the Kievan period, the drinks of chioce were

kvass and med (mead). Both are noted in an early 5th century account of a

Byzantine envoy who was going to visit Atilla the Hun. Mead came to Kievan

Russia from the Vikings. Documents exist that show St. Vladimir ordering 300

kettles of mead for a new church opening, and that a prince in the 1100's

had 500 casks of mead in his cellar. At funerals the Russians drank a

combination of mead, beer, wine and rum, called Trisna, which was passed

around and used to toast the departed. Kvass is documented back to AD 100.

 

The recipes come from _Folk Wines, Cordials and Brandies_ by M.A. Jagendorf.

 

Slavic Bread Wine

1-2 gal water

2 lemons

raisins

spices (different kinds, but not too much)

1-2 lbs sugar for each gallon of water

2 -3 lbs black bread for each gallon of water

 

Put the water in an enamel pot. Add the peels (zest) and juice of the

lemons. Cut up the raisin and add those. Put the spices (cloves, coriander,

caraway, a few peppercorn, and any others you favor) into alittle cloth bag

and put into the pot. Bring to the boil. Add sugar. Slice bread and toast

it, being careful not to burn it. Or you can use stale, hard bread. Pour the

hot water over the bread in a crock. Cover the crock and set it in a warm

place. If you have used good black bread, it will start fermenting very

quickly. Stir it with a wooden spoon daily. When it has ceased fermenting,

let it rest for a few days to let the bread settle. Then siphon it off and

clear it.

 

It is best to but the wine into strong bottles and cork it and wire the

corks on. You may get a powerful, bubbling champagne , which will force out

any ordinary cork or even explode the bottle.

Bread wine matures quickly, but it is best to let it rest for a year.

 

Kwass

 

The author mentions that the kwass in Bukowina, Austria, was made with

apples. Small whole apples were put in the water before boiling it, and then

put into each glass of kvass as it was served. He has modified this recipe a

bit from the original, which was made in a monastery in NY state and was

very sour. The original contained no raisins and very little honey.

 

3 lbs stale, well-baked rye bread

5 gal water

3 lbs. raisins

2 lbs honey

2 packages yeast (he uses baker's yeast)

1 tbsp. whole wheat flour

 

Cut the bread into small pieces and put then into a crock or barrel. Boil

the water and pour it over the bread. Add the raisins, cut up. Cover the

crock with a cloth and let liquid stand until it cools. Filter through a

napkin or cloth, but do not squeeze it. Add the honey to the liquid, and mix

thoroughly. Dissolve the yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Pour it in and add the

flour.

 

Cover and place in a warm room (65 -70 degrees). Let the must stand until it

starts fermenting, then filter it. Pour it into bottles, adding two raisins

to each bottle. After a few days, it should be good to drink. Alcohol

content is around 6%.

 

I will read the kumiss file too and see if I can add anything to it. The

time-life book of Russian cooking has a couple of pages of history of kumiss

which also descibes how it is made out on the steppes.

 

BTW, the author of the cookbook also has a recipe for Kvass almost exactly

like Jagendorf's. She suggests putting the bottles immediately in the

refrigerator to keep them from bursting.

 

Aislinn

 

 

Date: Mon, 13 Sep 1999 02:16:34 -0500

From: "Chris and Trish Makowski" <roecourt at mindspring.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Russian embassy meal

 

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

>Jenn/Yana wrote:

>> >No time to let it get bubbly, and I can't find any of the concentrate

>> >around here that would be ready in time.

>Um, what concentrate would that be? I've seen kvass made from malt and

>cane sugar, bread and cane sugar, honey, but concentration was never

>really part of things, especially after drinking kvass...would you mind

>perhaps sharing a recipe and explaining about the concentrates involved?

 

It's a concentrate avaliable commercially in stores that cater to the

Russian emigree community.  It's made in Russia, therefore the can is

labelled such. Translated to  western script it's basically:

 

Kontsyentrat kvasnogo soosla

 

Directions for reconstituting: for 1 qt, dilute 2 tablespoons of concentrate

into 1 qt warm water (100-110 F) add 1/3 cup sugar, 1/4 of a yeast  cake,

and cover top with cheesecloth. keep in warm place (90-95 F) for 18-20

hours. Is ready when it becomes transparent and tickles the tongue. Cover

tightly, cool, and keep refridgerated.

 

For Adamanitus and other Yankees:

Is probably avaliable in NY at Fish Town on Brighton Beach Ave, and at Gold

Star Smoked Fish on Smith Street as both these shops cater  to the emigree

community. Also Shop and Save in Trenton NJ.

 

Anya

 

 

Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 15:33:05 -0600

From: Jenn/Yana <jdmiller2 at students.wisc.edu>

Subject: Re: SC - Fw: [TY] recipe question

 

>I am looking for a recipe, modern or period, that involves fermenting

>fruit. The recipe I used to have had something to do with various types

>of canned fruit, that was added with sugar over several days.   When the

>fruit was used, more was to be dumped into the container.  If this sounds

>familiar, please send me your recipe.

>I also want to find out how far back this type of fruit compote dates.

>Are there any period references to fermenting fresh fruit in this way?

>Melandra of the Woods

 

I haven't found any solid period references, but a similar process is used

to make kvas in Russia.  Kvas is a beverage rather than something you would

eat with a spoon.  Curiously, the Russian <kompot> is a beverage made from

soaked and mashed fruits.  "Moscow kvas" may be similar to what is known as

<mors> in the "Domostroi" (16th cen Russian household book).  This recipe

is translated by Liudmila from the Slavic Interest Group and is from a

Russian cookbook, early 20th century.  It doesn't end up very alcoholic at all.

 

**************************************

Moskow kvas can be made out of pretty much any fruits and berries, such as

apples, raspberries, red currants, cherries, mountain ash berries (riabina),

strawberies, or pears.  Strawberries and raspberries require small wooden

barrels and a somewhat complicated procedure -- ask me later if you want.

The rest can be made in large glass jars. Fill out your jar completely with

fruit or berries (uncut, I think) and add cold boiled water to fill.  Place

the jar in a cold place and wait about three days, when you can drink it with

sugar added right in the glass if you want.  Apple and red currant kvas are

good with lemon rind in the jar.  Note that one jar lends lots of kvas sinse

you are supposed to refill it with cold boiled water as long as there is

flavor left.  It is essential that the berries and the fruit be absolutely

unblemished since any damage may result in fermentation.

 

 

Date: Sat, 03 Jun 2000 22:02:03 -0500

From: Jenn/Yana <jdmiller2 at students.wisc.edu>

Subject: SC - Kvas

 

>>>All of this kind of reminds me of a trip I took to Russia some years back. While there, especially in Moscow, there were drink machines at various locations, which dispensed glasses of kvass, which, if memory serves, was a lightly fizzy, probably light in the alcohol department and very tasty.  Is kvass period?  If so, (or even if not) can it be made easily and does anyone have a recipe?

Kiri <<<

 

Yes, kvas is period.  As Stephen posted, you can find some more info in the

Florilegium. And your recollection is correct, kvas is lightly fizzy and

has a little bit alcohol in it (although native Russians will swear on

their mother's grave that it has no alcohol whatsoever).  There are no

period recipes, but there are mentions of different types of kvas in the

Domostroi (16th cen) and other SCA-period Russian sources.  I use a modern

kvas concentrate to make mine, but only because I don't like the taste of

kvas (sorry) and I don't want to make huge quantities of it.  I am sure the

real way is better, but even the Russian cookbooks say to use the

concentrate. This summer I will try to make real kvas and I'll let people

know how it goes.  I would also like to invite you (and anyone else who is

interested) to come to the Slavic and Eastern European Party at Pennsic and

try some kvas.  I made a gallon last War and it went over very well, so

I'll probably make more this year, maybe even the Real Stuff (TM).  Various

modern recipes follow.

 

- --Yana

 

 

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.05

     Title Kvas

Categories Kazakh, Soup, Ethnic, Russian, Sidedish

     Yield 6 Servings

     1 lb Stale black bread

          - or -

     1 lb Pumpernickel bread, stale

     1 c  Sugar

     2 tb Raisins

     2 tb Mint leaves, fresh

          - or -

     1 tb Dried mint leaves

     2 tb Active dry yeast

   1/4 c  Luke warm water

**NOTE** Water must [not?] be hot as it will kill the yeast. Oven must be

preheated to 200 degrees F. Cube bread then spread on a cookie sheet and

place in oven for 1 hour. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil and drop in the

bread.. Remove from heat, cover with a towel, & allow to sit at room

temperature for 8 hours. Strain through a fine seive by pressing the

moistuire from the bread. Sprinkle the yeast & 1/4 teaspoon of sugar over

the cup of lukewarm water and stir to dissolve the yeast completely. Set

aside in a warm place covered by a towel for approx. 10-12 minutes or

until. mixture doubles in volume. Add the mint leaves, and remaining sugar,

stir well then re-cover with the towel and set aside for 8-12 hours more at

room temperature.

 

Again strain the mixture through a fine seive. Pour into a 1 gal.

container, add the raisins, cover the top with plastic wrap, secure with a

rubber band, and place in cool NOT cold, spot for 4-5 days or until the

raisins are floating and the sediment has sunk to the bottom. Pour off the

clear amber liquid and rebottle in a clean jug or bottles. refrigerate

until ready to use. In Russia this is a beverage as well as cold soup stock.

 

ORIGIN Dr. Sergei Betschonov, Uralsk-Kazakhstan, circa  1995

From Dr. Donald Houston

MMMMM

 

 

From the Russian cookbook of the Time-Life series

 

Ingredients: (for 6 cups)

1 pound dayold black bread or Danish pumpernickel

2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup lukewarm water (110  115F)1/4 cup lukewarm water (110  115F)

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves or 1 tablespoon crumbled dried mint

2 tablespoons raisins

 

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 200F. Place the bread in the oven for about 1 hour, or

until it is thoroughly dry. With a heavy knife, cut and chop it coarsely.

Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in an 8-quart casserole and drop in the

bread. Remove from heat, cover loosely with a kitchen towel, and set it

aside for at least 8 hours. Strain the contents of the casserole through a

fine sieve set over another large pot or bowl, pressing down hard on the

soaked bread with the back of a large spoon before discarding it.

 

Sprinkle the yeast and 1/4 teaspoon of the sugar over the 1/4 cup of

lukewarm water and stir to dissolve the yeast completely. Set aside in a

warm, draftfree spot (such as an unlighted oven) for about 10 minutes, or

until the mixture almost doubles in volume. Stir the yeast mixture, the

remaining sugar and the mint into the strained bread water, cover with a

towel, and set aside for at least 8 hours

 

Also, here is a recipe [from a modern Russian cookbook] for "Peter the

Great's kvas" -- a recipe that is claimed to have originated around Peter's

time:

 

This recipe is for 5 liters of kvas.  Slice some rye bread thinly and dry the

slices in your oven till they are brown.  You will need 800 grams of these

"sukhari." Cover them with 4 liters of boiling water and leave for 2 hours.  

Strain the liquid.  Then, add 20-25 grams of yeast and sugar to taste (500

grams suggested).  The resulting kvas needs to ferment for 5 to 6 hours.  

When it is ready, add 100 grams of grated horseradish mixed with 100 grams of

honey. If desired, spices and dried mint can be added to taste.  The kvas

has to be kept refrigerated.

 

[also modern] "Moskow kvas" can be made out of pretty much any fruits and

berries, such as apples, raspberries, red currants, cherries, mountain ash

berries (riabina), strawberies, or pears.  Strawberries and raspberries

require small wooden barrels and a somewhat complicated procedure [which my

source did not include] Fill out your jar completely with fruit or berries

(uncut, I think) and add cold boiled water to fill.  Place the jar in a

cold place and wait about three days, when you can drink it with sugar

added right in the glass if you want.  Apple and red currant kvas are good

with lemon rind in the jar.  Note that one jar lends lots of kvas since you

are supposed to refill it with cold boiled water as long as there is flavor

left. It is essential that the berries and the fruit be absolutely

unblemished since any damage may result in fermentation.

 

 

Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 22:19:14 -0500

From: Jenn/Yana <jdmiller2 at students.wisc.edu>

Subject: SC - RE: kvas

 

>Do you know of any mail order sources for this kvas concentrate?

 

Nope, sorry (I checked the web anyway).  The stuff I use is made by "Amros"

in Somerset, NJ; 908-846-7755.  Maybe you can call them?  When you get

some, I see that in your Florilegium you already have the translated

directions for using it under "BEVERAGES/kvass-msg.html".  :-)

 

- --Yana

 

 

Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 22:35:14 -0500

From: "Morgan Cain" <morgancain at earthlink.net>

Subject: SC - Kvas

 

Does the kvas-concentrate recipe use raisins to test the fermentation?  I

have one in a translated-from-Russian cookbook (starts with toasted or

dried-out black bread) that included three raisins in the ingredients.

Curious, I read on, and learned that when the bubbles are strong enough to

float them, the kvas is considered ready to drink.

 

   ---= Morgan

 

 

Date: Sun, 4 Jun 2000 23:54:11 EDT

From: WyteRayven at aol.com

Subject: SC - RE: kvas

 

Cat's Meow has several recipes listed for Kvas.  Here is the Url for them.

http://www.brewery.org/brewery/cm3/recs/12_toc.html

 

Ilia

 

 

Date: Mon, 05 Jun 2000 23:04:24 -0500

From: Jenn/Yana <jdmiller2 at students.wisc.edu>

Subject: SC - Kvas

 

>Does the kvas-concentrate recipe use raisins to test the fermentation?  I

>have one in a translated-from-Russian cookbook (starts with toasted or

>dried-out black bread) that included three raisins in the ingredients.

>Curious, I read on, and learned that when the bubbles are strong enough to

>float them, the kvas is considered ready to drink.

 

Nope. It only took overnight to get bubbly, so the raisins were not

needed. I mixed up the kvas after dinner, set it in a warm place and let

it ferment overnight until a few hours before party-time the next evening.

We cooled it down (warning--do not stick the open gallon jug of sun-warm

kvas in a cooler full of ice water unless you want a kvas fountain) and

served it.  The native Slavs at the party said it was just like babushka

used to make.  :-)

 

One of the other reasons that I haven't made real kvas is that I can't seem

to find a recipe for black bread that doesn't use a darkening agent like

cocoa, molasses, or coffee. Even the modern Russian recipes call for at

least one of these ingredients.  I think we discussed this here once

before, but if anyone has any new ideas...

 

- --Yana

 

 

Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 06:55:13 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

Subject: Re: SC - Kvas

 

Stefan li Rous wrote:

> If I remember correctly, the skins on grapes and raisins are a good source

> of yeasts. It may simply be that adding a few raisins was a good source

> of yeast. Of course nowadays since we can buy dried yeasts the raisins

> would not be needed for this.

 

It's possible. FWIW, both the Plat Bottle Ale recipe and the kvass

recipe I used did call for other yeast sources for primary fermentation.

It _is_ possible, I suppose, that you get a different product,

flavorwise, with the addition of a small amount of a more wine-like

yeast, but I don't see it as necessary for either the main fermentation

or carbonation in a bottled product.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2000 07:32:20 EDT

From: CBlackwill at aol.com

Subject: Re: SC - Kvas

 

> If I remember correctly, the skins on grapes and raisins are a good source

> > of yeasts. It may simply be that adding a few raisins was a good source

> > of yeast. Of course nowadays since we can buy dried yeasts the raisins

> > would not be needed for this.

 

Malolactic fermentation in the bottle, acheived by adding fruit to the

yeast-rich beer , will certainly produce a different flavor than simply

adding another dose of "priming sugar" or yeast.  I think this may be the

reason for adding the raisins, rather than the yeast they may or may not

provide. The world famous Lambic beer out of Belgium uses malolactic

fermentation (in the fermenting tank, I believe), as well as a strain of wild

yeast specific to the general area, to produce one of the most uniquely

flavored ales in the world.  If you have never tried a Belgian Lambic, I

would highly reccommend (are there too many letters in that word?  Or is it

just really late?) it.  It is, in my opinion, the true "champagne" of beers.  

Sour, sweet, and highly fruity, with a fine bubble very similar to champagne.

Lindemanns Lambic is available in the US, and is a quality product.  of

course, it is not cheap...try $3-4 per bottle.

 

Balthazar of Blackmoor

 

 

Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 07:52:00 -0400

From: Elaine Koogler <ekoogler at chesapeake.net>

Subject: Re: SC - Kvas

 

I discussed this recipe last night with my lord, who is a much more experienced

and accomplished brewer...and coincidentally bakes wonderful breads.  He said

that the bread that is included in most of the kvass recipes is the additional

source of yeast for the fermentation.  Of course, that's not to say that the

raisins are there for the same purpose.  What I remember of the kvass I drank in

Russia is that it had a slightly fruity taste, which could have been the result

of the addition of the raisins.

 

Kiri

 

 

Date: Tue, 06 Jun 2000 15:28:47 -0500

From: Jenn/Yana <jdmiller2 at students.wisc.edu>

Subject: SC - Re: Kvas (was Bounced message from Philip Lewis)

 

>I took some boiling water and added some pnkl bread and honey.  when

>it cooled i added a couple mint leaves, and pitched the yeast.

>i let it ferment and fed it honey over several weeks...

>Straining it was a pain, let me tell you.. ;)

>I mentioned I had some to a ukrainian friend who agreed to try it.  He

>said it was definatly kvas, but *extreamly* strong... apparently it

>was more of a kvas wine.. ;)

 

Good gods, I'll say!  LIGHTLY fermented, lightly fermented!  No more than a

few days, please!  After all, most Russians give this stuff to their

children as a summertime beverage and specifically call it a non-alcoholic

beverage (it only has a teeny little bit of alcohol when it is ready).

 

Most of the Russian recipes for bread kvas I've seen call for the bread to

be dried first.  The finished rusks are called "sukhari", which translates

directly to "dried things."  I know some recipes toast the bread, but since

the prepared bread (in the Russian recipes, anyway) is usually called

"sukhari" and not "grenoki" (toasted/grilled breads), I'm not sure toasted

bread would be right for making kvas, at least not this variety (there are

lots, after all).  Just theorizing here, I have no proof.

 

- --Yana

 

 

Date: Wed, 05 Sep 2001 10:24:17 -0400

From: Philip & Susan Troy <troy at asan.com>

To: sca-cooks at ansteorra.org

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Kvas

 

Nicolas Steenhout wrote:

> When I made Kvas, I didn't know I was about to make lethal weapons!

> Granted, it's likely more the mistakes of an over enthusiastic brewing 20

> year old than kvas' fault...

> I actualy put the raisin in, then capped...

> Within a week or so, I heard bombs go off in the cool storage where my

> brews were stored.  I didn't dare go in there for another few days, as

> they kept on exploding and making mean sounds.

> When I went in, I had glass debris all over, some stuck to the ceiling,

> some to the walls, with dried up kvas, and in some places, I could identify

> left over raisin!

> None of the other brews I did turned out that way...  <shrug>

 

I suspect that the kvass itself wasn't finished fermenting before

bottling. When I tried this, using raisins (which turned back into

grapes in the process), I think we had one buster, and the others were

fine. The single explosion we had may have been a fault in the bottle,

or extra-sweet raisins, something like that.

 

I found that the stuff was drinkable, but not that good, after about ten

days in the bottle, excellent after two weeks, and then downhill from

there. But yes, very different from beer. More like a mint-flavored

small ale.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:35:29 -0500

From: "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius" <adamantius1 at verizon.net>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] OT/OOP Kvass Recipe

 

"KVASS

 

"A very refreshing Russian beverage which is made in many Russian households about once a week.

 

" 'With eight quarts water take 1 1/2 lbs. malt, 1 lb. rye flour, 1 1/2 lbs. sugar, 1/8 of a lb. mint leaves, half pepper pod, and half cake of yeast. Mix the malt and flour with boiling water and make a thick dough. Put into barely warm oven and leave for the night.

 

" ' Next day dilute dough with eight quarts boiling water and pour into a wooden tub. Let stand for 12 hours, then pass through a cloth. Pour one quart into an enamel saucepan, put on fire, add 1 1/2 lb. sugar and an infusion made with the mint leaves (resembling weak tea). Boil once, then take off fire, cool until just warm, and add the yeast previously diluted with one cup of this same warm liquid. Let stand in a warm place until it begins to ferment; then pour into the rest of the kvass in the wooden tub, and let it stand until bubbles appear. Prepare clean bottles, putting one malaga raisin into each; pour in the kvass, cork the bottles, tie the corks with string to the neck of the bottles, and keep in a warm place for a day or two. Then put in a cold cellar.' --R.C.B."

 

I can't find R.C.B. [Russian Cookery Book? -- just a guess] listed in the bibliographical source appendix, but this is published in Andre L. Simon's "Concise Encyclopedia Of Gastronomy", Harcourt, Brace, New York, 1952, ISBN 0-87951-134-6

 

My recollection of actually making this stuff was that we had a couple bottles explode, and it was really, really good at about two weeks old, then dropped in quality fairly rapidly.

 

On the other hand, it's a really good recipe to start with if you're playing around with infusion mashes and just wrapping your head around the concept of throwing boiling water over grains, which many people assume won't work or will destroy the grain. Which it can, but this assumes that "no thermometer = uncontrolled, random conditions," which is not necessarily a valid assumption.

 

Adamantius

 

 

Date: Tue, 23 Feb 2010 08:44:17 -0500

From: Johnna Holloway <johnnae at mac.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] OT/OOP Kvass Recipe

 

There appears to be a good rundown on making Kvass in the SCA at:

http://jducoeur.org/Carolingia/orlando_kvass.html

 

Johnnae

 

 

Date: Sun, 6 May 2012 20:39:55 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>

To: <yaini0625 at yahoo.com>,    "Cooks within the SCA"

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] American Substitution and Translation

 

<<< I have a new cookbook that have many recipes requiring quark and kvass.

What is quark called in the United States? I don't want to use cottage

cheese. Any ideas for substitutions or recipes? >>>

 

Try looking for "farmer's cheese," a white colored cheese made without

rennet.

 

<<< As for kvass, the book calls it "bread soup" but I also know it as an

alcohol drink. Any ideas what this could be or use as a substitute?

 

Aelina the Saami >>>

 

Unless your liquor store can get kvass from the Beaver Brewing Company of

Beaver Falls, PA, try using a wheat beer.  While kvass is commonly made from

rye bread, it is also made from wheat bread, so a wheat beer will probably

give you the closest match OTC.

 

Bear

 

 

Date: Mon, 7 May 2012 12:21:27 -0500

From: "Terry Decker" <t.d.decker at att.net>

To: <yaini0625 at yahoo.com>,    "Cooks within the SCA"

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] Hildegard's recipes wasRe: American Substitution

        and    Translation

 

If this is From St. Hildegard's Kitchen, then the recipes are modern

(potatoes, tomatoes, choclate, etc.).

 

It is worth noting that the term "kvass" shows up in Russian around mid-16th

Century according to one source. However, the oldest recipe (sort of) for

beer made from barley bread is Sumerian, about 3500 years old (IIRC).

 

Bear

 

<<< I am unsure of the date on the actual recipe but it is in a cookbook

collection that has been modeled on the writings of Hildegard of Bingen.

The date given is 1098-1179. Her biography states that she wrote on the

connection between nature, folk remedies and the use of food to balance the

humors.

Aelina >>>

 

<<< Do we actually have period recipes for it, or are you reconstructing a

plausible guess at how they did it in period based on how it was done

later?

--

David/Cariadoc >>>

 

 

Date: Mon, 07 May 2012 11:35:13 -0700

From: David Friedman <ddfr at daviddfriedman.com>

To: yaini0625 at yahoo.com, Cooks within the SCA

        <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] American Substitution and Translation

 

Checking an English translation of Hildegard's Physica, I find several

references to rye but none to rye soup, none to fermenting it, and none

to kvass. Mostly it's being used in medical/magical contexts, to cure

things.

 

I don't know what the collection you are referring to is, but if it's

modern I would not count on the recipes being period unless it actually

quotes the original. There's a widely circulated recipe for what claim

to be Hildegard's spice cookies that has almost nothing in common with

the real thing.

 

There is a reference in Hildegard to the use of hops in beer, apparently

the first such reference--is it possible that that's what your source is

refering to?

 

<the end>



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