Fermented Beverages Consumed in European Countries

 Fermented Beverages Consumed in European Countries

First of all, we would like to tell you what fermented drinks & beverages are? In many cultures, there’s been a concept of fermented beverages and food for a very long time. People fermenting food and beverages both for centuries for health benefits.

Fermentation has been utilised to conserve old liquids and make some modern beverages out of them with better texture, aromas and nutrition quality.

There are two types of fermentation techniques of liquids we see in the modern era. Both of these categories are distinct from each other and have unique traditional uses.

  • LAFB (Low Alcoholic Fermented Beverages)
  • NAFB (Non-Alcoholic Fermented Beverages) 

We are going to elaborate on both classifications to reveal their benefits and other relevant factors. Fermented beverages are usually prepared by using

  • Fruit fluids
  • Black tea
  • Green tea
  • Washed grains
  • Spices/Herbs

These ingredients are pure sources of prebiotics and helpful yeast and bacteria. They also have great antioxidants and phytonutrients.

Fermented stuff is relatively popular nowadays. There is a large list of fermented drinks, so we are going to put some of them. These drinks are becoming famous because of their probiotic content. And these micronutrients can boost your health in many ways.

Classic Kombucha
Image Credits ‘Pexels’

Classic Kombucha

Kombucha is known to be a classical sweet fermented tea. We have seen it’s a lot of benefits for health. Also, in some cultures, people call it Kombucha mushroom tea

It is prepared from black and green tea, along with sugar, yeast, and some use of herbs, spices and fruits to enhance the taste. China is its origin and its traditional drink there which is made of Scoby Kombucha. People enjoy its flavours and even prefer to try again.

If you are consuming it for the first time, try to strain it, nobody wants to have large pieces of ingredients in it, it feels gross when you try it. Some makers add extra sugar or some fruit juices if you don’t like the taste. There’s a use of Alcohol in this drink, which is around 0.5% ABV, and it is very minimal.

But if you make Kombucha at home, you can increase the ABV of it. It claims to treat Anorexia, Atherosclerosis, Aging etc. It is known to be one of the best remedies if you are facing any of these health diseases. It even treats Aids.

European Whiskey

Whiskey is known to be the outstanding beverage of Scotland, formulated by using fermented grains mash. You must have heard the name of Bourbon and Irish Whiskey!

These are the popular ones to try! It has several types which differ according to the country and fermentation processing.

Whiskey is high in polyphenols, so it maintains heart health. Studies have shown that it decreases bad cholesterol LDL and increases good cholesterol HDL

European Whiskey
Image Credits ‘Unsplash’

You should try this one out! You can also buy whiskey online from many retailers there. And try some other European spirits and beverages!

Tibicos/ Water Kefir

It is a fermented beverage that was formulated in the late 1800s using water kefir grains, these grains consist of bacteria and yeast.

The other names of Water Kefir are California Bees. You can add different spices, herbs and juices to change and enhance the taste. You can use coconut water as a base for it.

It is different from Regular Kafir. This water kefir is prepared using water rather than milk. Since water doesn’t have any flavor nor calories, it’s simple and easy to consume as a probiotic drink.

Water Kefir is completely dairy-free, you can try making a versatile recipe named Cherry Water Kefir.

It is considered a non-alcoholic beverage because the amount of ABV in Water Kefir is 0.05% only. It is completely NAFB. It prevents your enzymes, benefits your oral health and cellular health. Try this out now!!

We will recommend you some European Fruit Fermenters Drinks too.

Mexican Tepache

Let’s talk about the popular Mexican fermented beverage Tepache. The fermentation process takes some days, and brewers use spices, pineapple and jaggery to prepare this.

It has a sweet flavoursome of pineapple and sugarcane. Usually, the Water Kefir is added to this beverage to start its fermentation process.

Mexican Tepache
Image credits ‘Pexels’

Brewers serve this as a causal and soft drink. But if you want some unique taste, beer can be added to this. If you keep fermenting it for long, it will become pineapple vinegar.

Do you see? The fermentation process changes the beverages in days. This drink contains a lot of vitamins and minerals that help digestion

Typical Wine

Who doesn’t want to try Wine and Spirits? Everyone is familiar with wine, but some of them don’t understand what exactly it is!

We have been discussing other LAFB, it depends on the fermentation process. The quantity of alcohol can be enhanced by extended fermentation.

So, the wine has many health benefits, additionally, it is one of the most popular beverages in Europe and all over the Globe.

It is manufactured by specific fermented grapes and yeasts and has many variations. You might hear of red wine, white wine, sparkle wine and rose wine. These all are wine varieties.

Wine is rich in antioxidants, keeps your heart health maintained, lowers cholesterol levels, makes you slim, keeps sugar levels maintained and has some other health effects. 

But make sure to use it on minimal levels to enjoy! All wines have diverse ABV in them.

Typical Wine
Image credits ‘Pexels’

Korean Makgeolli

Makgeolli is a popular Koran Alcoholic Beverage. It is also traditionally called Makkoli and is another type of Korean Rice Wine.

The ABV is around 6-19%, prepared by incorporating rice, yeast and some sugar. It gets fermented and matured in bottles and the taste you will discover in this is delightful, a bit of tangy and sweet.

But if the Makgeolli is unpasteurized it expires rapidly and has a low shelf life. Its appearance is white milky and fizzes like a beer but somewhat it’s high in carbohydrates.

If we tell you its benefits, you would love to try this! The amount of Vitamin B and C is too high, also it’s high in fibre. 

Korean Makgeolli
Image Credits ‘Unsplash’

Try out these Fermented European Beverages and let us know which one you liked!

Dom Charlie

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