Borscht Recipe (Beet Soup) (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between Ukrainian and Russian borscht? ›

It's standard for Ukrainian cooks to use pork in their Borscht and top it off with sour cream, whereas Russian cooks are more likely to use beef. Furthermore, Ukrainians will offer buns with their bortsch, and Russians will offer a native bread known as “black bread.”

Barszcz is closer to a beet broth, while borscht is traditionally thicker, often containing extra ingredients like meat, root vegetables, or cabbage, served with a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill.

Borscht is typically made with red meat. For a heart-healthy version, choose ground turkey, double the beans or use tofu. Tomatoes, parsnips and potatoes add potassium, which can help lower blood pressure.

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.

Most often, borscht is served with sour cream, the East European version of which, known as smetana, is runnier than its American counterpart.

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.

Red beets: These are crucial for both color and nutrition, a good source of Vitamin C. Pork butt: This adds meaty depth and texture. Potato, cabbage, and lima beans: These veggies add heft and balance. They provide Vitamin B9, which is essential for overall cell health, and potassium to help maintain blood pressure.

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.

Borscht soup typically has a rich and hearty consistency, with a combination of chunky vegetables like beets, carrots, and potatoes. The broth is usually flavorful and can range from slightly thick to a more liquid texture, depending on personal preferences and regional variations.

Make at least one of your daily vegetable servings a dark leafy green like arugula, cabbage, kale or spinach for potentially greater blood pressure benefits. A serving of leafy greens is 1 cup of raw greens or ½ cup cooked greens.

What are the symptoms of beetroot poisoning? ›

The primary symptom of beeturia is discolored urine or stools. Urine appears red or pink after eating beetroot or foods and juices containing extracts or pigments of beetroot. The extent of discoloration varies from person to person and depends on what you ingested.

Beet is POSSIBLY SAFE for most people when taken by mouth in medicinal amounts. Beet can make urine or stools appear pink or red. But this is not harmful. There is concern that beets might cause low calcium levels and kidney damage.

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 ...

We make this green version for as long as sorrel is available and save the red for when fall and #winterishere (sorry, I had to). So, yes, we Russians do love and eat a lot of borscht—just not always with beets.

borscht, beet soup of the Slavic countries. Although borscht is important in Russian and Polish cuisines, Ukraine is frequently cited as its place of origin.

This Ukraine's rich cultural heritage is reflected in the different versions, such as white borscht vs red borscht, which are popular in different regions. In this article, we shall explore the differences between two popular types of borscht: white borscht and red borscht.

Borscht is a beet soup that's warm, sweet, and sour all in one bowl. It has the umami and complexity of a well-developed chicken soup but the beets add a whole different flavor profile. Its sweetness comes from the beets, onions, and cabbage, and its tartness from tomatoes and vinegar.

What distinguishes Russian borscht from barszcz is that borscht is often made with meat, served with sour cream, and can be served cold, whereas barszcz does not usually include sour cream and is most often served hot. That being said, there is a version called barszcz zabielany that is creamed and served cold.

The name 'borscht' comes from the Old Slavonic 'borsht', meaning 'hogweed', an ingredient in the soup's earliest recipes. The Ukrainian version of borscht, distinguished by its use of red beetroots, cabbage, potatoes, meat or bone stock, and a variety of other vegetables and seasonings, is particularly renowned.