SC - Kvas

[Stefan li Rous]

Kiri said: 
> 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.

I was going to say that I thought there were only a few raisins put in
the Kvas, so I didn't see that it could be there for flavoring so it
had to be something else, which is why I was thinking it might be for
the yeast. But when I looked back at the recipe just given from Time-Life
I notice that it calls for 2 Tablespoons of raisins for 5 liters of Kvas.
So if the other recipes give similar amounts then I guess the raisins
could be there for flavoring.

I do question though whether raisins would have been used in this drink
in Russia, at least by the peasants. Isn't it too cold in Russia to
grow grapes? I imagine the nobility could have imported raisins, but
would they have used imported raisins this way?

- -- 
Lord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
Mark S. Harris             Austin, Texas           stefan at texas.net
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****