One of the oldest fermented tonics in Eastern European traditional medicine — a daily liver and digestive support preparation taken as a small glass before meals. Three ingredients, three days, one of the most nutritionally dense traditional ferments there is.
Ingredients (makes 1 quart)
- 2 medium beets (about 1 lb), scrubbed, not peeled
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Filtered water, to fill the jar
Method
- Cut beets into rough 1/2-inch cubes — larger pieces ferment more slowly and cleanly than grated beets.
- Pack into a clean quart jar, add salt, and fill with filtered water, leaving 1 inch headspace.
- Stir to dissolve salt. Cover with a cloth secured with a rubber band.
- Leave at room temperature (65 to 75°F) 2 to 3 days. Taste after 2 days — it should be earthy and mildly sour.
- Remove beet pieces, cap, and refrigerate. Drink a small glass (3 to 4 oz) daily, ideally before a meal.
Beets are rich in betaine, which supports the liver’s methylation pathway — a 2003 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found betaine supplementation reduced liver fat in patients with fatty liver disease. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
This recipe is one of twenty in The Forgotten Apothecary — our full digital cookbook of pharmacy-counter tonics, switchels, oxymels, and healing syrups.