Borscht: composition and preparation

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Every self-respecting housewife will tell you without hesitation how to cook this dish, which in most cases is a kind of thick beet-based soup, and it is this root vegetable that gives the authentic dish a characteristic red-brown color scheme. In addition, of course, the composition of borscht includes many other ingredients, with varying degrees of certainty in various recipes around the world. And of course, we can say with confidence that this is a traditional dish of all Eastern Slavs, the main "first" in the South Russian, Ukrainian folk cuisines. Borscht is also widely used among the nearest neighbors: Poles, Lithuanians, Romanians, Moldavians have similar soups. Even in the northern regions of our vast country, they eat borscht. So the dish is truly national and, so to speak, "not outdated" - in modern national restaurants it is tirelessly served to the table, as it is in the widest demand among customers. Well, let's tryand we will put into practice a few recipes?

Red borscht

But first, let's talk a little about the general classification of this dish. For example, the composition of red (traditional) borscht necessarily includes: beets and tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage and carrots, onions and parsley, dill. Thanks to the first two ingredients, this vegetable soup becomes red-brown (beetroot) in its color scheme. In addition, in some regions, beans, apples, zucchini, and sometimes bell and chili peppers can be included in borscht. The dish may also differ in a wide range of spices - up to twenty types are used. Along with the usual ones - black, red, allspice, garlic, dill, parsley, lavrushka, thyme and tarragon, basil and marjoram, some others, like zira and barberry, can be used. Sometimes dried fruits can be included in the composition of borscht: for example, prunes are very popular as an additive. And also lemon. Today, this first course is usually boiled in meat (certainly with bones) broth, although historically it was the simplest peasant food, and meat in the villages was added there only on big holidays. On weekdays - especially in the southern and southeastern regions of the Russian Empire - crushed lard plus garlic and onions.

When serving, the dish is usually seasoned with sour cream (the exception is some varieties, for example, Odessa). It is also served with the freshest, usually black or bran bread. Pampushki with garlic sauce are also popular. And during the fasts, borscht is prepared withoutfat, meat, animal fat. Use only vegetable oil. They cook red soup with both mushrooms and fish.

Friendship of Peoples

This soup with beetroot has its own ancient history in Ukraine, where it is also called borscht. For the Christmas festivities, mushrooms were previously prepared with "ears" - small dumplings or dumplings made from egg dough. And the composition of Ukrainian borscht includes pork lard (often crushed with garlic and s alt) as an obligatory ingredient. But there are, as already mentioned, Lithuanian and Polish, Russian and Moldovan variants. They are cooked differently in individual regions, and even with variations: meat, mushroom and lean, in summer - cold, beetroot … The main thing unites the recipe - wherever borscht is prepared, it is considered one of the favorite culinary dishes. And the ability to cook a truly tasty dish in different parts was previously considered almost the main virtue of the hostess, not inferior in importance, for example, to beauty. And borscht in the Slavic tradition was considered a powerful aphrodisiac!

Fridge

It is prepared mainly in late spring or summer, less often in autumn. The basis is pickled (or boiled) beets, sometimes kefir (or other fermented milk products) is also added. Other ingredients are introduced raw - dill, green onion, parsley, garlic. At the end of cooking, sour cream is introduced, sometimes hard-boiled eggs. The dish is eaten chilled, and boiled potatoes are sometimes used instead of bread. Accordingly, the composition of the borscht "holodnik" products will be significantly different from the ingredients, tofor example, red.

Green

This is, in fact, sorrel soup, but it is also called borscht and is considered a national cuisine of Eastern Europe. This product is not a kind of classic borscht, as it has a completely different recipe, as well as a green color. It comes from adding sorrel together with other green ingredients.

Some cooking tips

• To make the dish thick, cook one large potato with other ingredients. When everything is ready, take it out, knead it well and put it back in the pan.
• From cooking, the color of the beets is muted. To make the dish a juicy and bright shade, put about a quarter of a small beet cut (or grated) for soup into a bowl, pour boiling water and leave for about twenty minutes to half an hour (while the rest is cooked). And when we remove the pan from the heat, squeeze the broth and pour it into the total mass.
• To improve the taste and aromatic properties, we take a piece of decent fat (s alted, but not boiled) and grind it with garlic, and add the resulting consistency to the pan with food in the final. Just lick your fingers!
• It is not recommended to serve borscht immediately after its preparation! Be sure to let the dish brew (usually this process takes about an hour). By the way, the so-called daily (or yesterday's) borscht, according to the unanimous opinion of culinary experts, is much tastier than just made. Therefore, it is worth listening to folk wisdom!

Classicgenre

Although, as mentioned above, every home cook has her own recipe for this dish, perhaps you will be interested to know what is the composition of classic borscht products and how is it cooked according to most cookbooks? So let's cook!

What we take

What is in borscht? For the broth, we need beef or veal (preferably on the bone) - from a pound per large saucepan, parsley, one large onion (just peel it, but you don’t need to cut it). For the so-called frying or dressing, let's take a couple of medium beet roots, a couple of carrots, a couple of onions, a little vegetable oil, a little citric acid (or lemon juice), tomato paste. And you also need: about five potatoes, 300-400 grams of fresh white cabbage. And for serving to the table: greens, sour cream (a spoonful in each of the plates).

Cooking easy

1. We take a large "borscht" pan, put the washed meat in it and fill it with 2/3 water. We put on the fire and cook the broth. Watch carefully and remove the foam before boiling. By the way, the broth tastes better if you use bone-in meat.
2. When the water boils, cover with a lid and cook over low heat for about an hour and a half.
3. During this time, we will make a roast and prepare all the other ingredients. We wash and clean beets, carrots, onions. We grate the root crops coarsely, and cut the onion into cubes or strips - as you like.



4. Pour the vegetable oil into the pan, turn on a smallthe fire. First, fry the carrots and onions (five minutes), and then add beets to them (it is advised to sprinkle it with citric acid, as an option, sprinkle with lemon juice - thanks to this, the color of the dish will become really saturated red).
5. Stew vegetables for another five minutes. After that, add a few large spoons of tomato paste (you can make it yourself from fresh tomatoes, but this is a separate conversation). Mix everything thoroughly and leave on the stove for another five minutes.

“Assemblage point” of borscht

When our broth is cooked, we take out the meat from the liquid. While it is cooling, we introduce cabbage, peeled, washed and chopped into the pan (you can use a special shredder, and if it is not at hand, then an ordinary sharp and wide knife will do). After a few minutes, add chopped potatoes (cubed or straws - you decide). While all this is cooking, separate the meat from the bones and cut it into cubes. We return the ingredient back to the pan. At the end, s alt to taste and add dressing. Mix thoroughly (by the way, borscht is considered successful if the spoon for stirring in it is “worthy”). Add finely chopped greens, cover the pan with a lid, turn off the heat. The dish is ready. But he still needs to stand for at least half an hour, and preferably an hour. Although you can eat immediately after cooking, if you can’t wait, but the next day it will be clearly tastier when infused. As you can see, the composition and preparation of borscht is not as complicated as it seems. Don't be afraid to cookexpressing my own imagination. After all, this dish has many options. Maybe you can come up with your own?

The Art of Serving

This dish is traditionally peasant. Salo with donuts was served only on holidays. We will assume that we are “holy”, and we will serve small buns to the table, anointing them with garlic juice. They must certainly be fresh, piping hot. We put the borscht from the pan into plates in portions, and each of the portions relies on a spoonful of sour cream and a pinch of fresh herbs - it's tastier. It would also be nice to have a glass of good home-brew or vodka for appetite. Isn't it already salivating?

Little Russian variant

The composition of Ukrainian borsch, in principle, as well as its preparation, is not much different from the classic version. According to the ingredients: be sure to add a piece of "old" fat, bell pepper. And instead of beef (or veal), Ukrainians often use pork ribs. As a result, the broth is very rich and fatty. But at the same time, the dish itself does not seem so “heavy” - the fat consequences are quite confidently neutralized by a large number of vegetables. In terms of preparation, “Ukrainian ingredients” practically do not differ from the composition of Russian borscht, but they also have their own nuances. A small piece of bacon “with a smell” will need to be crushed in a mortar (or in a cup, if you don’t have such an authentic item in your kitchen) with garlic and s alt - you can add hot peppercorns. And then add the resulting mass to the pan with borscht. We do this at the very end, before turning off the stove. It turns out a very specific taste and rich "borscht" spirit.

Vegetarian

In previous recipes, we considered the composition of borscht with meat. But there are also so-called empty versions of this dish. The methods of their preparation (in the sense of frying root vegetables and onions in vegetable oil, the introduction of cabbage and potatoes) are practically no different from the above recipe. The main difference: the lack of meat in the broth. Moreover, it can be prepared from mushrooms, or just a set of vegetables, dried fruits and spices can be used. Here, the composition of borscht and its calorie content are determined exclusively by herbal ingredients. Beans (various varieties, sometimes other legumes) are also often used as an indispensable source of proteins. As a result: the dish, for all its low calorie content and the absence of animal products, turns out to be quite satisfying (and also useful for the body). These cooking options are especially relevant for those who fast due to their religious beliefs or adhere to certain types of diets, or for those who are limited in the use of animal protein for he alth reasons. As you can see, borsch is always an appropriate and even desirable dish - you just need to choose the appropriate version of the recipe for personal use. And there it’s up to the small: it remains only to cook!

Calorie counter and composition of borscht for 1 serving

Knowing such data is necessary first of all when a person watches his figure,following one of the popular diets aimed at reducing the daily intake of nutrients. But I want borscht! So let's calculate. The average serving is about 250 grams. According to nutritionists and according to the calorie counter, this amount of a tasty product (again, I mean the classic version) contains about 80 kcal, 330 kJ. A serving contains approximately 3.5 grams of protein, more than 8 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fat, more than 7 milligrams of cholesterol, about two grams of fiber, and important micronutrients. Here is such chemistry with biology.

Well, in general, bon appetit to you all! And do not forget that every housewife (or home cook) should at least once in her life try to cook this tasty and fragrant authentic dish. And there already, you see, borscht in its various variations can take its confident place in your family menu. Because well, where without borscht in the post-Soviet space?