Borscht

Borscht (also borsch or borshch) is a vegetable soup, usually including beet roots, which gives it a strong red color. Among English speakers, the word is pronounced as a single syllable, including the "t". As some speakers find this difficult, many drop the "t" and pronounce it "borsh."

Hot and cold borscht

There are two main variants of borscht, generically referred to as hot and cold. Both generally are based on beets, but are otherwise prepared and served differently.

Hot borscht, the kind most popular in the majority of cultures is a hearty soup with many common optional ingredients, depending on the cuisine, including various vegetables (beans, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, potatoes, onions, or tomatoes), mushrooms, and meats (chicken, pork, or beef). It is more akin to a stew than most soups, and may be eaten as a meal in itself, usually with thick bread.

Cold borscht exists in a number of cultures, is the kind most commonly eaten by Ashkenazi (European-heritage) Jews, and is the only kind readily available commercially in markets in the U.S. Cold borscht is most often a simple sweet soup, consisting of sliced or diced beets cooked in their broth, optionally with lemon juice, minced onion, and sugar to produce the desired sweetness. It is served as a thin chilled broth with the beet pieces, sometimes with a single boiled potato, and usually with sour cream, which creates a contrast to the soup's sweetness. The sour cream is not mixed into the soup, but placed by the diner in the middle of the soup, to be scooped into the spoon with the liquid and beets.

Origins and cultures

Borscht is widely believed to be originally from Ukraine, but is a part of the local culinary heritage of many Eastern and Central European nations. The soup is called barščiai in Lithuanian, is often given as Borschtsch in German (however in East Prussia where the dish was native it was called Bartsch), barszcz in Polish, borshch in Russian and Ukrainian, and borş in Romanian.

Recipes

There are local variations in the basic borscht recipe:

In Russian cuisine, it always includes beets, meat, and cabbage and optionally potatoes.
In Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish cuisine, the beets are standard, in addition to tomatoes. Potatoes and cabbage are both optional. It is usually served with sour cream, little bread buns and garlic.
In East Prussia beef and sour cream (Schmand) was served with the Beetenbartsch (lit. beetroot-borscht).
In Lithuanian cuisine, dried mushrooms are often added. There is also a cold borscht (šaltibarčiai) which has a very different taste and appearance.
In Romanian cuisine, it is the name for any sour soup, prepared usually with fermented wheat bran (which is also called borş). In fact, the Romanian gastronomy uses with no discrimination the words ciorbă (Turkish), borş or, sometimes, zeamă/acritură (Romanian descriptives)
In Hong Kong-style western cuisine, it includes tomatoes instead of beets, and also beef, cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.
In Mennonite cuisine, borscht just a generic term for soup.

Borscht can be prepared and served either hot or cold. It is also often accompanied by sour cream (like East European smetana) or whipping cream.

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Hot and cold borscht

Origins and cultures

Recipes

See also

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