Recipe(tried): UKRAINIAN RYE KVAS BORSHCH

An old-time borshch like this one is seldom made in Canada. The recipe should be preserved, however, for the benefit of those who still favor it. Serve it on a scorching hot day.

4 cups Rye Kvas
1 cup cooked, cold diced meat
2 to 3 small cucumbers, diced
1/4 cup sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 tablespoon chopped green dill
Salt and pepper
2 hard cooked eggs, chopped

Combine all the ingredients except the eggs. the onion and dill may be slightly crushed with a wooden spoon for a richer flavor. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill the soup thoroughly before serving it. Add the chopped eggs when ready to serve. Some crushed ice may be put into the soup to keep it ice-cold.

RYE KVAS:

Rye kvas is a mildly tart liquid made by fermenting a yeast-raised batter diluted with water. It is used as a base in a number of chilled soups or as an acidulant in borshch in place of beet kvas.

1 cup boiling water
1 cup rye flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1 package dry granular yeast
4 quarts boiled water, lukewarm.

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 it stand for 10 minutes. Combine with the cooled batter, cover, and let it rise until light and double in bulk. Stir into it 4 quarts of boiled water cooled to lukewarm. Cover and let it stand in a warm place for 3 to 4 days. When the liquid is clear and tastes mildly sour, pour it off carefully without disturbing the bottom layer. Cover and keep the kvas in a refrigerator. Use it in borshch or as a base in chilled soups.

Beet kvas is a liquid of fermented beets popularly used in borshch for tartness. It imparts a pleasant mellow flavor to borshch unattainable with any other acid. Ukrainian Canadian homemakers of the younger generation seldom, if ever, make, but this old-fashioned recipe is worth preserving.

Wash and pare 10 to 12 medium beets, then cut into eighths. Put into a stone crock or any earthenware container and cover with boiled water, cooled to lukewarm. To hasten fermentation, place a slice of sour rye bread among the beets. Cover and keep at room temperature for a few days. When the liquid is sour, pour it off the beets into the sealers; cover, and keep in the refrigerator. The kvas is added to borshch in the final stage of cooking. Pour a small quantity of kvas into the borshch and bring to a boil. Overboiling fades the color of kvas.