Rejuvelac is a kind of grain water that was invented and promoted by
Ann Wigmore
Ann Wigmore (March 4, 1909 – February 16, 1994) was a Lithuanian–American holistic health practitioner, naturopath and raw food advocate.
Influenced by the 'back to nature' theories of Maximilian Bircher-Benner, she maintained that plants co ...
, born in Cropos,
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. The beverage is closely related to a traditional
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
drink, called
borș, a fermented wheat bran that can be used to make a sour soup called
ciorbă
Chorba ( ; ) or shorba ( ; ) is a broad class of stews or rich soups found in national cuisines across the Middle East, Algeria, Maghreb, Iran, Turkey, Southeast Europe, Central Asia, East Africa and South Asia. It is often prepared with added in ...
or as the basis for vegan cheeses.
Rejuvelac is a
raw food
Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the diet (nutrition), dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is cooking, uncooked and processed food, unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and resu ...
made by soaking a
grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached husk, hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and ...
or
pseudocereal
A pseudocereal or pseudograin is one of any non-grasses that are used in much the same way as cereals (true cereals are grasses). Pseudocereals can be further distinguished from other non-cereal staple crops (such as potatoes) by their being pr ...
(usually
sprouted) in water for about two days at room temperature and then reserving the liquid. A second batch can be made from the grain/pseudocereal, this time requiring only about one day to ferment. A third batch is possible but the flavor may be disagreeable.
['' Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods'', Sandor Ellix Katz, 2003, page 121] The
spent grain
Brewer's spent grain (BSG) or draff is a food waste that is a byproduct of the brewing industry that makes up 85 percent of brewing waste. BSG is obtained as a mostly solid residue after wort production in the brewing process. The product is ...
/pseudocereal is usually discarded afterward.
References
{{reflist
Bacteriology
Dietary supplements
Fermented drinks