Kvass
A mug of kvass
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| Alternative names | Квас, kwas chlebowy or хлібний квас (bread kvass), gira, dzira, kali, kvas |
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| Type | Fermented non-alcoholic or low alcohol drink |
| Course | Beverage |
| Place of origin | Eastern Europe |
| Region or state | Eastern Europe, North Caucasus, Post-Soviet states, Xinjiang, Heilongjiang |
| Serving temperature | Cold or room temperature |
| Main ingredients | rye bread, water, sourdough, yeast, sugar |
| Variations | flavoured with fruit |
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Kvass is a traditional Slavic and Baltic fermented beverage commonly made from rye bread, known in many Eastern European countries and especially in Russia as black bread. The colour of the bread used contributes to the colour of the resulting drink. It is classified as a non-alcoholic drink by Russian standards, as the alcohol content from fermentation is typically low (0.5–1.0%). It may be flavoured with fruits such as strawberries and raisins, or with herbs such as mint.
It is especially popular in Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, and Estonia, but also well-known throughout Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Armenia. Many kvass vendors there sell the drink in the streets. Kvass is also popular in Harbin and Xinjiang, China, where Russian culture has had an influence.
The word kvass is derived from Old Church Slavonic from Proto-Slavic ('leaven', 'fermented drink') and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European base . Today the words used are almost the same: in Belarusian: квас, kvas; Chinese: 格瓦斯/克瓦斯, géwǎsī/kèwǎsī; Latvian: kvass; Polish kwas chlebowy ('bread kvass'); Russian: квас, kvas; in Ukrainian: квас/хлібний квас/сирівець, kvas/khlibny kvas/syrivets. Non-cognates include Lithuanian gira ('beverage', similar to Latvian dzira) and Estonian kali.
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