Rhubarb Kvass: Day One {My Hungry Scientist}

My Precise Kitchen Elf read a recipe for a fermented fruit drink and decided that that was his birthday present for Daddy - rhubarb beer. Okay. At least I get to try it, too. Can't wait! Actually, I just read the recipe and it's a kvass, identified as "a lightly alcoholic beverage, similar to some of the lambic-style beers of Belgium." He's calling beer.

He found this recipe in The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes,Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies by Patrick Buckley and Lily Binns. It's his favorite cookbook of all time.

Ingredients

1 lb rye bread, staled*
16 C hot water
2 T active dry yeast
1/2 C organic cane sugar
5 T water
1 bunch organic mint + 1 leaf (keep separate)
strip of lemon zest from an organic lemon
1 C raisins
1 stalk rhubarb, chopped

*To stale bread, lay it on a cookie sheet. Place it in a 170 degree oven till it's dried.

Procedure
Place the bread in a large pot and cover it with hot water. Let stand for 4 hours.

Strain the liquid out though a cheesecloth.

Squeeze out as much of the liquid from the bread as you can. [I actually woke him up at 11 pm to do this part...he didn't want to miss any of the steps! He did a pretty good job for being a sleep-walking zombie.]

Stir together the yeast, sugar, and water in a jar or measuring cup. Let it bloom for 5 minutes.

Add the yeast mixture to the strained liquid. Toss in a bunch of fresh mint. Cover and let stand overnight, or 8 to 10 hours.

Stay tuned for Day Two's instructions...

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