Kvas, Kisel, and Morse

Hi my beautiful students! This is my next article about Russian drinks including Kvas, Kisel, and Morse. Hope you will be more active and share with us in comment section below your favorite Russian drink.

Kvas

 My mom makes this drink because my father and bro adore it. I am not a fan of Kvas. Although I admit that this drink perfectly quenches thirst in the summer.

My ancestors cooked traditional dishes on the basis of kvass. It takes a minimum of 1 week to prepare kvass. The kvasnik (a person who made a kvass) profession was very popular in Russia. Every kvasnik had a specialization and produced some particular kvass. There were kvasnik barley, apple, and pear. At the same time, the kvasnik had the right to sell the drink only in its own region. Violation of this rule led to serious consequences.

How is kvass cooked? First, we have to prepare a liquid dough  consisting of water, malt, rye and barley flour. Then this dough will be fermented and again diluted with water. But this is not pure water. It contains honey, sugar, molasses, yeast and flavourings  and afterwards it will be fermented. The flavouring additives that are most often used are fruit and berry juices, for example: raspberry, cherry, currant, lingonberry, apple, pear, and lemon juices. Sometimes we add ginger, raisins, and/or mint. In the times of my ancestors, kvass was prepared in every home. This is a vital drink which contains B vitamins, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus. In many trading cities of Russia,  fairs and  festivals could not be conducted without Kvass. Moscow was famous for its kvass rows.

However, people suffering from gastritis should avoid this drink.

Kisel

 For a long time, kisel (jelly) was the most popular sweet Russian drink. But the jelly didn’t look so tasty. It had a brown color, as it was prepared using rye, wheat or oat broths. The consistency of the kisel  was like aspic, and it had a sour  taste. It was boiled in large quantities throughout Russia. In Moscow, for example, there were the Bolshoy and Maly Kiselny lanes, where the kissel makers worked.

Over time, jelly turned into a dessert, which began to be served after dinner. To make it sweet we add honey, berry syrups or jam.  Today, jelly briquettes can be bought everywhere. But I do not like chemical ingredients, so I would rather cook it on my own.

Morse

The basis of this fruit drink has always been berry juice, mixed in various proportions with water, and infused to a light degree of fermentation. In modern Russia, the most common are fruit drinks prepared from fresh fruit or berries with the addition of boiled water, natural honey or sugar syrup. Mors can be consumed hot, especially in winter, and in the form of soft drinks in summer.This drink is full of vitamins and can improve immunity.

As you can see initially Russians had many drinks which were so tasty and so healthy. Unfortunately nowadays, most of us drink coffee and tee. But I hope that tradition to drink our original drinks will get back soon.

P.S For Russian language learners -welcome to the course page.