🔍 🤸🏼 ✊🏿 Real Ukrainian borsch: recipe, cooking features and reviews 👨🏽‍🌾 🌟 👨‍🏭

It is difficult to find a dish that is associated with Slavic culture more than borsch. This word is unpronounceable for a foreigner and is known for and does not require translation in most countries. People hear the word "borsch" and immediately represent distant Russia. True, the phrase “Ukrainian borsch” is more often used in Russia itself, and if one follows historical objectivity, this is more true.

History

Borsch is a close relative of another legendary Slavic soup, cabbage soup. However, cabbage soup was eaten mainly in the northern and central regions of Russia, where cabbage grew in abundance, and beets were reluctant to take root in a cool climate. But beetroot, the Ukrainian name for beets, gave excellent harvests on the Ukrainian black soil. It was the Ukrainians who began to use it in borsch, and then the soup spread throughout Russia, Poland, the Baltic states, and Romania.

There is no exact information when the original recipe for classic Ukrainian borsch was invented. The first mention of the soup dates back to the sixteenth century, it is described in the famous Domostroy. In Poland, a variation of soup called borschak appeared only in the eighteenth century.

Etymology

Scientists argue not only about the dating of the first recipes of Ukrainian borsch, but also about the origin of the name. The most believable and popular are two versions.

The word "borsch" appeared on the basis of two independent Old Slavonic words: "drill" or "bar" (red, brown) and "cabbage" (acid). So began to call red from beetroot and sour from fresh or sauerkraut soup.
The name was given to the dish by the hogweed plant, its leaves were used by the Slavs for food, the stew was cooked from them, which became the forerunners of Ukrainian borscht recipes.

Varieties

More than a hundred official varieties of borscht, as a rule, they are given names from the area where they were invented. The differences relate to a set of products, methods of heat treatment of beets, combinations of types of meat. Moreover, among Slavs, the ability to cook good borsch is an indispensable attribute of a real hostess. Often, family recipes of the most delicious Ukrainian borscht are passed from mother to daughter after several generations. The housewives have their own cooking secrets and original ingredients, so each borsch is unique.

To streamline this diversity, it is easier to divide all the borscht into two types:

hot borsch, they are cooked, as a rule, in meat broth, served hot;
cold borsch, they are cooked in the hot season on water, kvass or kefir, usually without meat, served cold.

Ukrainian borsch

Distinctive features of real Ukrainian borscht are richness, density, fat content, obligatory use of fat at different stages of cooking and, of course, classic dumplings and dumplings. Moreover, in Ukraine there is no single recipe for this soup, there are many regional variations that have peculiar features.

In Kiev borscht, the influence of Belarusian and Russian cuisines is strong, soup is usually cooked in beef broth, slightly acidified with kvass. The broth for Lviv borsch is cooked from bones, and then sausages or sausages are added to it. The recipe for delicious Ukrainian borsch in Odessa uses noodles, fish, served without sour cream. The nuance of borsch in Volyn is pre-boiled and shredded beets, which are added to the broth. In the Chernihiv version of the soup, zucchini and slices of sour apples are used. And in the recipe for the preparation of Ukrainian borscht in Poltava it is indicated that the soup should be cooked on goose or duck broth.

Reviews and advantages

Why is Ukrainian borsch so popular? The answer to this question is helped by the reviews of people on culinary forums and sites. The advantages of borsch include:

great taste;
ease of preparation and accessibility of products;
the overall low cost of the dish;
benefit, because in borscht there are a lot of vitamins and useful substances that fill the body with energy;
variety of recipes;
satiety soup.

Main ingredients

There are a lot of product combinations in borsch. But there is a set of basic ingredients that are in almost any step-by-step recipe for Ukrainian borsch:

Meat. For borsch, if this is not a cold option, use high-quality pork, beef, turkey, chicken, meat of geese and ducks, lamb, and even fish. An important recommendation when choosing meat - it should be fatter, it can be shank, ribs, any meat on the bones, from which a saturated broth is obtained. In addition to meat, lard is always present in Ukrainian borsch.
Water. Its quality determines the taste of the soup. With its chlorinated taste, tap water can put an end to borsch, even if its other components are of high quality. It is better to use spring or well water, if not, then bottled or filtered.
Vegetables. Beets - the main vegetable component of borscht, it is she who gives the soup a rich color and recognizable taste. In addition to beets, vegetable fry from carrots, onions and tomatoes or tomato paste is added to the borsch. Potatoes and sauerkraut or fresh cabbage are laid raw.
Greens and spices. Greens greatly enrich the taste and appearance of borsch, chopped bunches of bright green parsley and dill wonderfully harmonize with the burgundy red color of the soup. Also added to the borscht are peas of allspice and black pepper, garlic crushed with lard and bay leaf.

Fat

You need to talk about him separately. Salo is used in almost all Ukrainian soup variations. According to many culinary experts, a real Ukrainian borsch is unthinkable without lard. Beets and dressing are fried on it, and the resulting cracklings, sprinkled with salt and greens, are served to the table. The lard with greens and garlic is added at the end of cooking borsch, thereby giving the soup a flavor and fat content. The melted fat from the grease is lubricated by golden pampushkas. And it’s not at all necessary to use a fresh product, on the contrary, sophisticated and zealous Ukrainian housewives often cook borscht in old yellowish fat, considering that its unusual aroma gives a truly Ukrainian spirit.

Pampushki

Fragrant, smelling of garlic and freshly baked pastries, they create an excellent duet with borsch, which can serve as a symbol of culinary harmony. Baking them is easy, and the result is excellent. As a rule, donuts are made from simple yeast dough, kneading it on dry yeast, water, flour, salt, vegetable oil, sugar. Baked donuts are greased with melted lard with garlic and served with borsch.

Dumplings

The recipes of Ukrainian borsch with dumplings are especially popular . They cannot be called an attribute of only Ukrainian cuisine, dumplings are widely used in Caucasian, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Russian cuisines. Dumplings are made from dough mixed with eggs, water, salt and flour, sometimes boiled potatoes are added to the dough. They are placed in borscht about half an hour before its preparation, so that the dough has time to cook. Dumplings give the soup originality, satiety, and beauty.

Tableware

Recipes of Ukrainian borsch do not require any special dishes for cooking. Soup can be cooked in a cast-iron cauldron, metal pan, cast-iron or ceramic pot for the oven, even in a voluminous gooseneck. At the stake, on the stove, in the stove, in the slow cooker. Of course, from dishes and the type of heating, the taste of the dish changes. Borsch cooked at the stake has smoky notes on the palate. A soup from a multicooker or oven is more rich because of a long uniform languor than a soup cooked on a regular stove. But it is much more important to observe the basic principles of cooking borsch, which are generally the same for all varieties of this soup.

Basic principles and features of cooking

There is a well-established algorithm for cooking borsch, having mastered which, you can cook the soup according to any recipe. You just need to consistently perform stage after stage, remembering that each of them affects the final result.

Bouillon. Thick, saturated broth is the foundation of any borsch. Washed meat or bones are put in cold quality water. The water is brought to a boil, at this moment it is necessary to carefully catch the foam from the curled meat protein from the broth. Some do it easier, they just pour out all the water, wash the meat and boil the broth in new water. Together with meat, carrots, onions, parsley and parsnip are put into the water. Bone broth is cooked for four to six hours, meat broth for two to three hours.
Beet. In recipes of real Ukrainian borsch, beets are often cooked separately from other vegetables. It is sautéed in oil or fat, pre-baked in the oven, boiled or even put in raw soup. But more often the beets are still passer on fat. Moreover, so that it retains its color, it is slightly sprayed with table vinegar.
Frying. Grated or chopped carrots and chopped onions are also fried in fat or oil, then chopped tomatoes or tomato paste are added, which gives the soup a sour taste and a more saturated color. In some recipes of Ukrainian borscht in the roast there is a bell pepper.
Vegetables. About thirty to forty minutes before cooking the borscht, potatoes are cut into strips, cut into strips or cubes. After ten minutes, chopped fresh or pickled cabbage is added to the dishes. These ten minutes are necessary for the potato to boil; if it is thrown after the cabbage, it hardens from acid. Following the cabbage, after ten to fifteen minutes, beets and vegetable frying are laid.
Spices, lard and garlic. Spices are placed in borsch five minutes before cooking. Grated with garlic fat and chopped greens - two minutes before turning off the fire. Soup should not be served immediately, it needs to be wrapped in a towel or put in the oven for half an hour or an hour, so that it is swept, it has arrived. And only after that carry on the table.

Innings

Borsch is very beautiful in itself, but still it deserves a special presentation. You can pour it on portioned plates, or you can put it on the table in a separate tureen, from which pour on plates. Borsch is served with donuts and bread, lard and remaining greaves, each portion is flavored with sour cream and herbs. It must be remembered that borsch, like cabbage soup, tastes better the next day, after it is well infused. However, it should not be stored for more than three days.

Classic Ukrainian borsch: step by step recipe

Structure:

Beef on the bone - 500 grams.
Beets - 1 large or 2 medium.
Cabbage - 200 grams.
Carrots - 1 medium.
Onion - 2 medium heads.
Potatoes - 3-4 medium tubers.
Tomato paste or tomatoes - 2 tablespoons or 3 pieces.
Garlic - 4 cloves.
Fat - 100 grams.
Fresh parsley and dill - 50 grams each.
Water - 3.5 liters.
Salt, spices, pepper - to taste.

Cooking:

Wash the meat thoroughly, before this, if necessary, slowly defrost it to room temperature. Although borsch is preferable to cook from fresh beef.
Pour water into a pot and cauldron, put one head of onion in it.
Quickly bring the water to a boil and gently catch all the foam that forms when folding meat protein.
Simmer the broth for about two hours with the lid closed.
During this time, prepare beets and vegetable fry. In a frying pan in a small amount of oil, melt half the fat, put the resulting cracklings in a separate plate, pepper and add salt.
On melted fat for about five minutes, stirring, passer the grated or chopped beets.
In another pan, fry shredded onions and grated carrots for five minutes, then add chopped tomatoes or tomato paste, soup ladle and simmer for three to five minutes. The roast is ready.
Remove the meat from the broth, separate it from the bones, cut into portions and return it to the pan.
Salt the broth and put potatoes, cut into rather large pieces, into it. Cook for ten minutes.
Next, pour finely chopped cabbage into the pan. Cook for ten minutes.
Put the fry and beets in the broth. Cook for ten minutes.
Add chopped greens, bay leaf, black pepper and dressing from grated bacon, coarse salt and crushed or chopped garlic. Cook for five minutes, and then remove the borsch from the heat.
Let the soup brew for at least half an hour, preferably longer. Serve with garlic pampushkami, sour cream, fresh herbs and greaves.

Cold Ukrainian borsch: step by step recipe