Borscht facts for kids

Borshch is a yummy and popular soup. It's a type of sour red beet soup. This means it has a slightly tangy taste and a beautiful red color from beets. It's a very important dish in Ukrainian cooking. People in many Eastern European countries also enjoy it. These include Russia, Romania, Poland, Belarus, Moldova, and Lithuania. It's also eaten in Central Asian countries like Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

A bowl of delicious borshch.

What is Borshch?

Borshch is a traditional soup. It is known for its bright red color. This color comes from beets. It often has a slightly sour taste. This taste comes from ingredients like fermented beet juice or vinegar.

What's in Borshch?

Borshch usually has many healthy ingredients. The main ones are red beets, onions, and cabbage. It can also include potatoes and sometimes sausage. Many recipes add carrots, celeriac, and mushrooms. Some people also put in tomato paste. Fresh herbs like parsley, chives, and dill are often added. Spices like bay leaves and black pepper give it extra flavor.

How is Borshch Eaten?

Borshch is often served hot. It is usually eaten with a piece of black bread. Many people like to add a dollop of sour cream on top. Sometimes, it comes with garlic rolls called pampushky. In some places, it's served with pork cracklings.

Types of Borshch

There are many different kinds of borshch. The ingredients can change a lot. This depends on where it is made.

Red Borshch

The most common type is red borshch. This is the one made with beets. It can be thick and hearty. Or it can be a clear broth. In Poland, a clear red borshch is popular. It is often served with small dumplings. These dumplings are called uszka. They are shaped like little ears.

Cold Borshch

Some types of borshch are served cold. One example is Chłodnik litewski. This is a "Lithuanian cold soup." It is blended with sour cream or yogurt. Then it is sprinkled with chives. This soup is also known as šaltibarščiai in Lithuania. It is very refreshing on a hot day.

Other Colors of Borshch

Not all borshch is red!

• Green borshch: This type is made with sorrel. Sorrel is a leafy green vegetable. It gives the soup a green color. It is often served with sour cream and a hard-boiled egg.
• White borshch: This is a Polish soup. It is made from sour rye meal. It is sometimes called "white borshch." It is often served with fresh sausage, bacon, and eggs.

Images for kids

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  A tureen of thick borscht

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  Borscht ingredients may include beef, pork, salo (lard), beetroots, cabbage, carrots, celeriac, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, tomato paste, parsley, chives, dill, bay leaves, allspice and black pepper.

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  Ukrainian borscht with beans

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  Poltava borscht with halushky

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  Polish clear Christmas Eve barszcz served over uszka, or ear-shaped mushroom-filled dumplings

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  Chłodnik litewski, or "Lithuanian cold soup", blended with sour cream or yogurt, and sprinkled with chives, as served in Poland. The same soup is known in Lithuanian as šaltibarščiai, or "cold borscht".

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  Polish white borscht served over fresh sausage, bacon and eggs

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  Sorrel-based Ukrainian green borscht served with sour cream and a hard-boiled egg

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  A bowl of Luosong tang, or Chinese borscht, made from cabbage and tomatoes, as served in Hong Kong

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  Borscht sprinkled with parsley, served with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of rye bread

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  Ukrainian borscht served with a side of pampushky (garlic rolls), pork cracklings and sour cream

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  Kholodnick served with a boiled potato

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  A bouillon cup of Polish clear borscht with a krokiet (Polish crêpe-based croquette) and a brine-pickled gherkin on the side

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  Common hogweed, originally the principal ingredient of borscht

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  Rye meal mixed with water and left to sour is the main ingredient of Polish white borscht.

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  Cabbage-based borscht may be indistinguishable from the Russian shchi.

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  Peasants harvesting beets in what is now Ukraine, painted by Leon Wyczółkowski in 1893

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  The addition of tomatoes may give borscht an orange tinge instead of the purplish red imparted by beetroots.

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  Auguste Escoffier, known in France as the "king of chefs and chef of kings", was fascinated by borscht's ruby-red color.

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  Ukrainian beet-and-cabbage borscht

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  Tubed borscht as space food

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  A tureen of clear borscht among other dishes on a Polish Christmas Eve table

See also

In Spanish: Borsch para niños