Borscht: hot and cold

Borscht is a kind of soup of different varieties. The taste, colour and ingredients usually varies as per time and region. Borscht also known as borsht, barszcz or borshch is a very popular soup in many Eastern and Central European countries.

The colour of Borscht is mainly strong red as the main ingredient is almost always beetroot. But you will also found other delicious non-beet varieties, such as the tomato paste-based orange borscht and the green (zelioni) borscht (sorrel soup).

The basic borscht is Polish borscht locally known as Barszcz. The usual recipe of barszcz includes red beetroot, onions, garlic, and other vegetables such as carrots and celery or parsnip. The ingredients are cooked for some time together to produce kind of clear broth (when strained) served as boullion in cups or in other ways.

And if you like to have a Polish Borscht with a distinctive “smoky” taste, then  you have to include bacon in the above recipe.

There are actually two main varietiesof borscht, and they are hot and cold. Both are based on beets, but are otherwise prepared and served differently.

Hot Borscht

Usually Hot borscht Ukrainian and Russian Borchts are hot, the kind most popular in the majority of cultures is a hearty soup with many common optional ingredients, depending on the cuisine, including various vegetables (beans, cabbage, carrots, cucumber, potatoes, onions, or tomatoes), mushrooms, and meats (chicken, pork, or beef). It is more akin to a stew than most soups, and may be eaten as a meal in itself, usually with thick dark bread.

Cold Borscht

Cold borscht exists in many different cultures. Some of these include Lithuanian (šaltibarščiai), Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian and Russian cultures.

The basic Polish borscht (barszcz) recipe includes red beetroot, onions, garlic, and other vegetables such as carrots and celery or parsnip. The ingredients are cooked for some time together to produce kind of clear broth (when strained) served as boullion in cups or in other ways. Some recipes include bacon as well, which gives the soup its distinctive, “smoky” taste.

Source: wikipedia