What is the difference between hodgepodge and pickle: difference, cooking features and recipes

The names of such dishes of Russian cuisine as "hodgepodge" and "pickle" are of the same root. Therefore, it is not surprising that they are prepared using the same ingredient - pickled (pickled) cucumbers. But the rest of the dishes are different in composition of the ingredients, and in taste, and in appearance. In addition, under the name "hodgepodge" hides another independent dish of Russian tavern cuisine. It is cooked in a pan, in the oven or in the oven, and more closely resembles stewed cabbage, known to everyone. In our article, we will tell you how the hodgepodge differs from pickle. Be sure to compare these dishes with each other and imagine step-by-step recipes for preparing each of them.

What is the difference between hodgepodge and pickle: ingredients

To see the difference between these dishes, you need to figure out what they are prepared from.

Pickle is a soup whose essential ingredient is pickles. In addition to them, cucumber pickle can be added to the dish. Pickle can be meat and vegetarian. The broth is cooked, as a rule, from offal. The most commonly used are beef or pork kidneys. Potatoes, pearl barley or rice groats, various spicy spices to taste and herbs are added to the pickle. The taste of pickle is slightly salted and quite pleasant.

Solyanka also refers to dishes of Russian cuisine. One of the ingredients in this dish is also pickles. In addition, lemon, olives and capers are added to it. But the main thing that distinguishes pickle soup from hodgepodge soup is taste. By adding lemon and spices, it turns out to be more saturated, at the same time salty, and sour, and spicy. The hodgepodge combines the ingredients of cabbage soup and pickle. When preparing meals, different types of meat or fish are used.

In Russian cuisine, there is another dish called "hodgepodge". But this is not soup, but stewed cabbage with the addition of meat, fish, pickles or mushrooms.

What is the difference between hodgepodge and pickle. Cooking features

As mentioned above, to cook both of these soups, you will need pickles. Otherwise, each dish has its own cooking features:

1. The broth for hodgepodge is cooked well in advance. It should turn out to be cool and saturated. The basis for it is lamb or beef. In addition, various types of sausages or smoked meats are added to the soup. The more meat ingredients added, the tastier the soup. Broth for pickle should be less saturated and greasy. Prepare it from offal.
2. Cucumbers for hodgepodge and pickle are recommended not pickled from the can, but pickled, barrel. Then the taste of the dish is more saturated. For hodgepodge, they are cut into cubes, and for pickle they are grated.
3. Optionally, you can cook pickle (as opposed to hodgepodge), with or without tomato. Solyanka is always prepared on the basis of tomato dressing.

Hodgepodge recipe

Step by step this popular dish is prepared in the following sequence:

1. Pour 3 liters of water into the pan and put pork (300 g) in it. Bring water to a boil, remove foam, reduce heat. Cook the meat until cooked for 1 hour, then remove it, cool and cut into small pieces.
2. Delicatessen meat (700 g), such as smoked meats, hunting sausages, cut into strips and fry in a pan without oil for several minutes.
3. Dice the onion and chop pickled cucumbers (150 g) into strips. Fry the ingredients in vegetable oil for 5 minutes. This stage is repeated in the recipes of hodgepodge and pickle.
4. After that, put 50 g of tomato paste to onions and cucumbers. Cook the dressing for ten minutes and then add it to the hot broth.
5. Then 100 ml of cucumber pickle are poured into the hodgepodge and meat delicacies are laid out.
6. After another 5 minutes, 50 g of olives and capers are added.
7. Slices of lemon and green onions are laid in plates directly at serving.

Solyanka as a second dish

In Russian cuisine since imperial times, this name was applied to cabbage, fresh or pickled, stewed with smoked meats or pickled mushrooms. Sometimes barrel cucumbers were added to the dish to make its taste even more piquant. If we compare the difference between the hodgepodge and pickle, then the difference is obvious. In the first case, we are talking about the second dish, which is completely self-sufficient and served without a side dish. But the pickle is a soup, as noted above.

Preparing such a hodgepodge as follows:

1. 50 ml of oil is poured into a large pan. As soon as it warms up, finely chopped cabbage (1.5 kg) is laid out here, and after another 5 minutes, chopped onion is added.
2. After 15 minutes, tomato is poured, or rather, tomatoes in their own juice (500 ml), crushed by a blender to a puree state.
3. After 5 minutes, smoked ribs are laid out in a pan with cabbage. Sprinkle them with cabbage, then cover the dish with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Next add the sausages and sausages, cut into washers. The dish needs to be salt and pepper. After 5 minutes, the hodgepodge can be removed from the heat. Serve hot.

Solyanka with sauerkraut and mushrooms in Russian

This dish was served in almost every tavern in pre-revolutionary times. It is prepared from sauerkraut. And this is the main thing that distinguishes the hodgepodge from pickle. A dish can be meat if it is added meat delicacies and smoked meats, and lean if it is prepared from mushrooms.

The process of making pickled cabbage hodgepodge is as follows:

1. Pour the cabbage (1 kg) with water and leave for half an hour. Then drain the liquid, and discard the cabbage in a colander.
2. In cast iron (gooseberry), heat vegetable oil, put cabbage and simmer for 35 minutes.
3. Cut and pass the onions and carrots separately in vegetable oil.
4. Fry frozen forest mushrooms or champignons (500 g).
5. Combine cabbage with mushrooms, onions and carrots. Salt, add pepper and bay leaf. Stew for 15 minutes.
6. Put the dish in the baking dish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and send to the oven (180 °) for 10 minutes. Garnish with lemon and olives.

A classic kidney pickle recipe

When cooking this dish, you must follow a certain sequence of steps:

1. Soak pork or beef kidneys (350 g) in cold water for at least 2 hours.
2. After that, pour them with clean water and cook for 30 minutes, not forgetting to remove the foam.
3. Cut carrots and parsley root (10 g) into strips and sauté in butter.
4. Fry chopped onion in vegetable oil in a separate pan. Once it becomes soft, add julienne pickles (250 g). Stew them with onions for 10 minutes. A similar action is provided in the recipe for both hodgepodge and pickle.
5. To the kidneys in a saucepan add chopped potatoes (200 g), fried carrots with parsley and onions with cucumbers. Next, pour pearl barley (50 g), presoaked overnight.
6. After 15 minutes, pour the brine from the cucumbers into the soup. Add salt and pepper. Cook the soup for another 10 minutes.

Tomato pickle

This dish is prepared as follows:

1. 3 l of water is poured into the pan and the meat is laid on the bone (pork or beef).
2. As soon as the broth is boiled, barley is added to it (4 tbsp. L.). Grain can be preliminarily not soaked.
3. When the barley reaches half-preparedness, potatoes (500 g) are chopped into small pieces.
4. Meanwhile, a fry is prepared from onions, carrots and grated cucumbers (150 g). After 10 minutes, tomato paste (2 tbsp.) Is added and brine (100 ml) is poured.
5. Ready toast is added to the soup. Salt with pepper is added to taste. After 10 minutes, the pickle will be ready.

Enjoy your meal!