Russian Food & Recipes - Beverages

Russians like authentic beverages, like vodka or mors (a berry drink). Also, coffee and tea (with sugar and lemon) are popular.

Russian vodka Gzhelka

Beverages:
Kvas – the bread based sweet beverage. The most popular original beverage in Russia. Medovuha – the honey based sweet alcohol beverage
Kompot - boiled water with fruits and sugar, served cold
Prostokvasha – the milk based acid beverage, served cold
Samogon – home made vodka, with the strong smell
Vodka – most popular Russian brand
Beer – Russian beer in general a bit acid

Beverage Recipes:
Abbreviations: ea - Each, tb - Table spoon, sm - Small, c - Cup, ts - Tea spoon, lg - Large. Recipes coutesy of RusCuisine.Com

Rye Kvas
Ingredients : 1 cup boiling water , 1 cup rye flour, 1 tsp sugar ,1/4 cup lukewarm water , 1 pkg dry granular yeast (7g), 4 quarts boiled water,cooled to lukewarm.
Method:
Pour boiling water over the flour and stir briskly until smooth. Cool to lukewarm. Dissolve the sugar in the lukewarm water, sprinkle the yeast over it, and let stand for 10 minutes. Combine the cooled batter, cover and let it rise until light and double in bulk. Stir in 4 quarts of boiled water, cooled to lukewarm. Cover and let it stand in a warm place for 3-4 days. When liquid is clear and tastes mildly sour, pour it off carefully with disturbing the sediment. Cover and keep in the refrigerator.

Kvas recipe
Ingredients : boiled water - 4 l., yeast - 20-25 gr., sugar - 500 gr., rye bread - for 800 gr. crackers , mint - 25 gr., raisin - 50 gr.
Method:
Prepare 9-10 bottles for Kvas, they must be very clean. If you don't want so much this beverage, reduce the number of ingredients. Cut rye bread into thin pieces and put it in the oven until they get brown. Put 800 gr. crackers into a pan or a small barrel, then pour 4 l hot boiled water. Leave this extract for 4 hours. Then filter it and add yeast, sugar (put sugar on your taste, if it is not enough, you can always add some sugar before drinking) and mint. Cover the pan with napkin and leave for fermentation during 5-6 hours. When Kvas begins to foam, filter it again and then pour it in the bottles (put on the bottom of bottles some raisins) and cork up very very good. After that fasten the corks with a rope. Put the bottles in a cool place and lay them aflat. Kvas will be ready in 2-3 days.

Sbitten recipe
Ingredients : 500 g honey , 700 g treacle , 10 g spices (cinnamon, cloves, hops, mint) , 6 l water .
Method:
Boil water and add all ingredients and boil for 30 minutes.
Sbitten is served hot with cakes and biscuits.

The recipes above are taken from the website RusCuisine.Com.