Classic Borscht Recipe (VIDEO) (2024)

FAQs

What is traditional borscht made of? ›

Borscht Ingredients

Vegetables: You'll need beets, carrots, baking potatoes, cabbage, and an onion. Canned tomatoes: Use drained diced tomatoes and canned tomato paste. Vegetable oil: Cook the onion in oil. Water: You'll need almost nine cups of water for this big-batch soup.

Cooking Time and Temperature: Beets can lose their vibrant red color if they are overcooked or cooked at high temperatures for too long. If you cooked the beets for an extended period or at a high temperature, it could cause them to lose some of their color intensity, resulting in a more orange appearance.

The Polish word barszcz means borscht, but this soup is slightly different. Whereas traditional borscht is an opaque purple and commonly includes meat, tomatoes, and cabbage, barszcz is more of a basic beet broth that is somewhat translucent, whether red or white in color.

Although borscht is important in Russian and Polish cuisines, Ukraine is frequently cited as its place of origin. Its name is thought to be derived from the Slavic word for the cow parsnip, or common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), or from a fermented beverage derived from that plant.

Borscht is a popular soup in Russia and many Russians do indeed love it. It is made with beets, cabbage, potatoes, and other vegetables, and often served with sour cream and bread.

You can serve borscht with sides like Pumpernickel or rye bread, garlic toast, meat, salads, dairy, pickled foods, pierogi, grains, potato pancakes, mashed potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, deviled eggs seasoned with paprika or dill, gluten-free options, and accompany it with fermented Slavic beverages and Santa Carolina ...

The anthocyanins and betalains in beets are responsible for their scarlet hue, and are also immune-supporting antioxidants. Interestingly, beets contain natural nitrates, which can help increase blood flow to muscles for athletes and also help with lowering blood pressure.

Serve the borscht with plenty of chopped dill, some sour cream on the side, and some good-quality bread for dipping. The soup will taste even better the next day.

Its sweetness comes from the beets, onions, and cabbage, and its tartness from tomatoes and vinegar. Some meat can be added for richness. For a better borscht experience, many people enjoy adding sour cream, yogurt, or fresh herbs. It's warm, sweet, full of umami, and sour all in one bowl.

The vegetables most commonly added to borscht are beetroots, white cabbage, carrots, parsley root, potatoes, onions and tomatoes.

Should I peel beets for soup? ›

Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.) You can also pickle cooked beets.

Its Ukrainian-ish Origins

A commonly accepted theory is that the word borscht comes from the Slavic “borschevik,” which means “hogweed.” In early Slavic cuisine, hogweed stems, leaves and flowers were often cooked into a soup or fermented, yielding something akin to sauerkraut.

Borscht can also be eaten hot or cold. It's become a beloved holiday meal in many Eastern European Jewish homes, eaten on Passover, Shavuot and Shabbat. For many Jews, Passover wouldn't feel complete without beet borscht.

Exactly when and where borscht appeared is something of a mystery; but it was probably first made in what is now Ukraine, somewhere between the fifth and ninth centuries AD.

According to Mikoyan's recipe, standard borsch contains meat, beetroot, cabbage, root vegetables, onions, tomato paste, vinegar and sugar, while “Ukrainian” borsch contains meat, cabbage, potatoes, beetroot, tomato paste, carrot, parsnip, onion, bacon, butter, vinegar and garlic, garnished with sour cream and chopped ...

Ukrainians began making a dish known as borsch from sour-tasting hogweed sometime between the fifth and ninth centuries CE. By the 15th century, the soup had spread widely across Eastern Europe.

While “cultured” Americans are likely to spell it with a 't' (Borscht) and describe it as “a beet soup served chilled”, with a little detective work we learned that during the long Russian winters, Borshch is served piping hot and is spelled without the 't' (Borshch).