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Kvas
– the bread based sweet beverage. The most popular original
beverage in Russia. Kvass (Russian: êâàñ) (Ukrainian: êâàñ)
("leaven") is a fermented non-alcoholic or mildly
alcoholic beverage popular in Russia, Ukraine other Eastern
European countries.
Kvass has been a common drink in Russia since ancient times.
It has been both a commercial product and homemade. It is
consumed widely in Ukraine, and in almost every city there
are kvas vendors on the street.
It is made by the natural fermentation of whatever vegetable
product is available. Fruits and berries were probably the
first for this use. A notable raw material for kvass is birch
sap, collected in the early spring. Grain suits well for this
purpose, for example, wheat, rye, or barley (common or table
kvass).
For modern homemade kvass, most often black or rye bread is
used, usually dried or fried beforehand, with the addition
of sugar or fruit (e.g. apples), and with yeast added for
fermentation.
In strength kvass can be almost non-alcoholic and at its strongest
is only around 2.2%. It can often be flavoured with other
fruits or herbs such as strawberries or mint.
Russians also use kvass for cooking special summer cold soup
- "okroshka".
In urban Russia, Kombucha (a beverage that became popular
in Russia since the start of 20th century) is sometimes referred
to as "tea kvass" or (incorrectly) simply as "kvass",
although these two drinks taste different.
Medovuha – the honey based sweet alcohol
beverage
Kompot - boiled water with fruits and sugar,
served cold
Prostokvasha – the milk based acid beverage,
served cold
Sbitten
Samogon – home
made vodka, with the strong smell
Vodka is the
national drink of Russia. The basic types of vodka have no
additional flavouring but the Russians like to flavour their
vodka with cranberries, lemon peel, pepper or herbs. When
you are drinking vodka in Russia you must eat something along
with it such as sour cucumber, pickled mushrooms, black bread
or salt herring.
Beer is as popular in Russia as it is in
Europe. Russian beer is still made by the traditional home
brewing methods and are of a very high standard. Kvas is a
summer drink made from fermented rye bread. It is a very light
beer and has a licorice taste with a low alcohol content.
Tea (Chai) and Coffee. Russia are one of
the three top tea drinking nations along with Britain and
Japan. Tea is mostly drunk black and sugar and lemon can be
added for taste. Tea is kept in a samovar which is a portable
water boiler and when the tea is needed, it is made in a small
teapot. In Russia people drink tea as often as possible with
a sweet cake and a small dish of fruit conserve. Coffee is
a common drink in Russia but is not popular. Most people still
drink tea though there are still quite a few coffee drinkers
in Russia today.
Wine. Russia is the world's third largest
wine producer, with more than three million acres of vineyards
in the south of the country. People that live in the northern
regions of Russia like to drink vodka but they also drink
fortified wines, like port, sherry and madeira, but these
are sweetened with sugar. Most of the wine produced in Russia
stays in the country but some that are transported include
red sparkling Tsimlanskoye Champanskoe and Anapa Riesling.
The popular white wines are Tsinandali and Gourdzhuani. The
heavy reds are Mukuzani and Saperavi. The classic summer wines
are Aligote and Riesling while Cabernet and Romanesti are
the types of traditional wine that can be laid down to age
and are kept for special occasions. All the wine growing areas,
produce excellent brandy as well.
Beer is as popular in Russia as it is in
Europe. Russian beer is still made by the traditional home
brewing methods and are of a very high standard. Kvas is a
summer drink made from fermented rye bread. It is a very light
beer and has a licorice taste with a low alcohol content.
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