Introduction: The history of Russian drinks originates in deep antiquity.
If we look into the history of Russian cuisine, we will see that traditionally Russian drinks have always been considered kvass, hot winter drink sbiten, fruit drink mors, various vegetable brines, honey-based alcoholic beverage medovukha, as well as cherry or lingonberry water. Some have a warming effect (spicy teas, honey, sbitеns) and therefore were consumed mainly in the winter, others (kvass, fruit drinks) have a cool tonic effect in the hot day.
Let’s look at some of these recipes.
1. Kvass is a drink that was so loved by our great-great-grandfathers and great-great-grandmothers that they even composed many proverbs about it: “Drink kvas and forget about your plight”, “Kvass is not a strong thing; you can drink even half a bucket.” What is kvass in our understanding? In ancient Russia, they could not imagine a day without a mug of kvass. They drank it in its pure form, and also prepared okroshka and other dishes based on it. It was also used to make more stronger drink for more fun. A barrel of kvass always stood even in the poorest house.
You can find this soft drink in street trade and supermarkets in any Russian city. But the best one is the kvass which is made in accordance with home recipes. When Russian hear the word “kvass” he involuntarily swallow a lump of saliva in his throat, since this particular drink is the most desired in the summer heat.
Cranberry juice is a tasty and healthy drink. Humans have known about the power of cranberry for a very long time. It contains many vitamins and especially vitamin C. It is worth to be used for cold prevention and treatment. One has to bear in mind, however, that heat treatment destroys the vitamins contained in the berry.
Morse can truly be called one of the most ancient drinks in Russia. One can find references to it even in Domostroye (Russian set of household rules, instructions and advice). Although it is most likely that this drink was brewed even earlier, because wild berries have always occupied a significant place in Russian cuisine. For the preparation of fruit juice, they used forest berries — lingonberries, cranberries, guelder rose, raspberries, and blueberries. But other options are possible, for example, using garden berries and even vegetables.
3. Mead is a low-alcohol drink with a pleasant aroma and mild taste, which is prepared from water, honey, various flavors, seasonings, roots, berries, herbs with the addition of fruit mash, hops, yeast (the latter components allow you to prepare the drink faster by accelerating fermentation processes).
This drink is relatively young. Although, without a doubt, it is very closely connected with the history of ancient Russian honey drinks and owes to them by its birth. As in classical ancient recipes, the main component of mead is a honey.
Honey drinks differ from each other, they are prepared and consumed in different ways and each of them deserves special attention. But all honey-based drinks are extremely healthy, tasty, help to combat with diseases and fatigue, tone up and strengthen immunity.
Ending: All Russian drinks have always been original and useful, because they were prepared from the bounty of our land. These drinks were refreshing, tonic and couldn’t be better in a hot day or to quench thirst in a Russian bath.
