The first time I ever heard the word “borscht” was on an old episode of “That Girl.” The boyfriend tastes something, says, “Borscht,” and Marlo Thomas reacts to it. “No, really!”
Today, a friend took me to a Ukrainean restaurant. Borscht. Dag nab! It’s GOOD! I had somehow expected something like biting into a beet. Nuh uh! Subtle, rich, engaging, a whole bunch of fun flavors.
I think there may have been some tomato in it too… Does Ukrainean borscht use tomato?
Fun to get to be my age and still make wonderful discoveries like this!
There are a number of borshch recipes. Like Hungarian gulyás, it seems every housewife has her own version.
If I were to make “Ukrainian” borshch, I’d use chicken broth, tomato paste, and lots of cabbage. “Moscow” borscht I would make with beef, lots of beet, and maybe some cut up hunter’s sausage. Carrots and potatoes are also commonly used. I season mine with parsley, dill, and basil.
One good way to make either kind is to grate the veg so that it almost dissolves as the soup simmers. My ex, who is Russian, makes it this way. The last time I was in Moscow, I used pureed vegetables (actually cartons full of a health juice blend from my local supermarket), and it was delicious. Chunky veg is considered a sign of peasant food.
Oddly enough, the first time I ever had borshch was at a Jewish deli in Minneapolis. It was cold, full of cabbage, and served with a dollop of sour cream.
The product Don tried, BTW, was a soft drink called “Pop.” Ann was hired as the spokesmodel (♫ “Stop! And have a Pop with me!” ♫), and the commercials were never aired because they were too violent.
Borscht is one of my favourite childhood memories. Growing up, it was a staple both in the summer and in the winter.
The summer borscht was vegetable based and contained:
2 or 3 beets cut into large chunks
2 or 3 potatoes cut into smaller chunks
Onion, rough chopped
Cabbage, rough chopped
Parsnip, whole or chopped
Carrots, whole or chopped
Water, salt & pepper to taste.
Cook until the root vegetables are done but not mushy. Cool on counter, then chill in the fridge over night. Serve cold with dollop of sour cream, chopped dill, diced fresh cucumbers, maybe a cut up hard boiled egg. Surprisingly refreshing.
The winter version contained all the same ingredients but you started with cooking some cheap cuts of beef with bone in. Let the meat cook through and skim before adding the vegetables. Sometimes people would add a crushed or fresh tomato. Not much. A little tomato paste can be used as well. Serve hot garnished with sour cream and chives. You don’t put dill, cucumber or hard boiled egg in this version. Hearty and warming.
I actually made Ukrainian borscht (from all the end-of-season odds and ends of my farm share like carrots, cabbage, rutabega, and of course beets) and it was quite tasty. However I was unclear on what exactly made it “Ukrainian” borscht.
Growing up my parents would buy the Gold’s jarred borscht and that was pretty much pure soup of beets (I wasn’t a big fan). Ukrainian Borscht seems to have more and different veggies – is that what makes it “Ukrainian” style? the additional non-beet veggies?
I think you’ll find as many variations as Ukrainian oblostys (counties). And that’s ignoring the many other eastern european variations on a theme. But yeah, the one I described is “authentically” ukrainian in as much as that’s where my family is from and that’s what I grew up eating.
I see many contemporary recipies call for things like celery and celery root and various spices like cloves, etc. These were not available (to my knowledge) in the Ukraine of the 70’s. I’m sure it’s very different now and recipies have evolved over time.
Definite evidence of variability! Mine was hot, no cabbage…but did have the little smudge of sour cream.
Remarkably yummy!
(Vaguely funny: it was a tiny little strip-mall restaurant, and their menus had a typo, at one point, saying “Ukrianian.” So I not only discovered a new cuisine, but a whole new country!)
In my experience, yes. Not surprising, since Ukraine has always been the region’s breadbasket.
The Jewish borshch I had was remarkably sweet and definitely loaded with tomato. Quite good, actually.
There’s another cold summertime soup that’s made with kvas (rye bread–based near beer) called okroshka. It contains finely chopped meat (baloney will do) or chicken breast, boiled egg, fresh cucumber, green onion, and dill; maybe some boiled potato and sliced radish. Serve al fresco with sour cream.
My Ukrainian roomie taught me to make it when I was studying in Russia. I’d never seen borsch with meat in it before, so I think that’s part of it, too.
Was that Rocky And Bullwinkle, right alongside the Irish Stew song?
“The potatoes are old and the meat is a fright,
it’s all left over from Saturday night,
we sweep it all up and put it in a pot,
and tell you it’s real Irish Stew that you’ve got.”
Lucky! I got my MA from Middlebury when they were still sending people to the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. Leningrad was actually my first choice, but noooooooooo…!
