a simple real food recipe :: orange kvass

When life hands you a lemon you make lemonade – right?

Well when life hands you an awful apple season in one of the best apple picking states there is, and oranges from Cali are cheaper than apples from your own state what do you make?!

Orange Kvass!

We have been swimming in oranges in the last couple weeks because citrus prices are so good. I feel super bad for our Michigan apple farmers but I do have a budget to stick to, and when an orange is that much cheaper than an apple, we are eating us up some oranges.

Here is a fun way to get your probiotics in a fantastic tasting drink that the whole family can enjoy. I make lemonade kvass most weeks but have never tried making an orange one. It was very good – very tropical! Don’t be scared away from the “whey” ingredient – it is as simple as buying some whole yogurt and dripping off the liquid over night – super easy! And FULL of inexpensive probiotic goodness for the tummy!

I will be making this up again next week for a fun orange Halloween drink!

You’ll need:

Juice from 2 oranges (about 1 cup)

¼ cup organic cane sugar

¼ cup homemade whey

Filtered water

1. Put the orange juice, cane sugar, and whey in a quart mason jar or something similar (even an empty jar of spaghetti sauce!)
2. Add filtered water to fill the rest of the quart mason jar to a ½ inch or so below the lid.
3. Put the lid on tightly, give it a gentle shake for a minute, and set on the counter for 2 days.
4. After 2 days, refrigerate and serve. It gets better with time and lasts months in the fridge 🙂

Kitchen Tips:

1. You can do this recipe x4 and it will make a gallon size container if you are feeding a crowd.
2. Do NOT use raw honey, maple syrup, or stevia instead of the raw cane sugar – the probiotic bugs need the real sugar to feed on grow. It does not turn out as sweet as you think it is going to be since the probiotic buggies eat up all the sugar 🙂 You could use sunacat (raw sugar) if that is all you have – because of it’s more brown color the color of the orange drink will not be as bright orange though.
3. This also works with other fruit – add apples or berries to the jar and have a fun new fruit drink full of probiotic goodness!
4. You will note some fizziness to the drink if it really gets to feed well! You can improve this with more fruit to feed on and a warmer environment to ferment. I set my jar next to my chicken stock that was simmering in the crockpot for a couple days so it stayed nice and cozy 😉
5. This would make a very yummy Popsicle!
6. HERE is a link to another kvass drink I posted this summer!

YOUR TURN!

What are you doing with the fantastic citrus season? Let me know how you like the kvass if you try it!

This post was shared at Divine Health’s Healthy Halloween Link Up, Real Food Freaks Freaky Friday, Too Many Jars At My Kitchen’s Fill Those Jars Friday, Butter Believer’s Sunday School, and Real Food Forager’s Fat Tuesday!