Simple Borscht Recipe (Instant Pot or Stove Top!) (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between beet soup and borscht? ›

Barszcz is closer to a beet broth, while borscht is traditionally thicker, often containing extra ingredients like meat, root vegetables, or cabbage, served with a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill.

A common opinion is that a good borscht should be thick enough for a spoon to stand upright in it.

Borscht is a beet soup that's warm, sweet, and sour all in one bowl. It has the umami and complexity of a well-developed chicken soup but the beets add a whole different flavor profile.

Borscht can be hot or cold, meaty or light, dairy-laden or broth-based, depending on your mood. According to Bonnie Frumkin Morales, chef and owner of Kachka in Portland, Oregon, the biggest benefit of making borscht at home is that “it's very malleable and riffable.

It's standard for Ukrainian cooks to use pork in their Borscht and top it off with sour cream, whereas Russian cooks are more likely to use beef. Furthermore, Ukrainians will offer buns with their bortsch, and Russians will offer a native bread known as “black bread.”

Sometimes beets are peeled before cooking. They may also be scrubbed and cooked until tender with their skins on; the skins slip off fairly easily after cooling. (Some people are happy to leave the skins on; they are fine to eat.) You can also pickle cooked beets.

Borscht can also be eaten hot or cold. It's become a beloved holiday meal in many Eastern European Jewish homes, eaten on Passover, Shavuot and Shabbat. For many Jews, Passover wouldn't feel complete without beet borscht.

You can serve borscht with sides like Pumpernickel or rye bread, garlic toast, meat, salads, dairy, pickled foods, pierogi, grains, potato pancakes, mashed potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, deviled eggs seasoned with paprika or dill, gluten-free options, and accompany it with fermented Slavic beverages and Santa Carolina ...

Cooking Time and Temperature: Beets can lose their vibrant red color if they are overcooked or cooked at high temperatures for too long. If you cooked the beets for an extended period or at a high temperature, it could cause them to lose some of their color intensity, resulting in a more orange appearance.

Parsnips, carrots, beets and turnips all have a lot of natural sugar so if you prefer a sweet borscht, try making it without sugar. Taste it before adding the lemon juice and add a bit if you need to punch of the sweetness to suit your preferences.

Why is my borscht not red? ›

How to get that vibrant red color? To avoid getting a pale borsch soup. Cooking the beets in water or stock for long may result in a brown soup, and since a good borsch needs to be red just add a little bit of sugar and lemon juice at the end of the cooking process and mix everything with a spoon.

Cooled borscht can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. To freeze, pack into containers leaving 1-inch (2.5 cm) headspace. For the best results and to save energy, let frozen soup thaw in the refrigerator compartment on the day you plan to use it.

Marina, 65, was making her mother's recipe for borscht, a soup made from softened vegetables and meat when it's available. It's served with a dollop of sour cream and, on the side, a few slices of dense, dark bread rubbed with raw garlic. It's a dish she ate often as a child growing up in Odessa.

"Borscht is a soup that is very popular in many Eastern and Central European countries. It is made with beetroot, which gives it it's signature reddish-purple jewel color.

Borscht is a soup, usually made with beets, originating from Central and Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is especially popular in the cuisines of Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Latvia, and Ukraine.

The anthocyanins and betalains in beets are responsible for their scarlet hue, and are also immune-supporting antioxidants. Interestingly, beets contain natural nitrates, which can help increase blood flow to muscles for athletes and also help with lowering blood pressure.

Beet soup is a mix of beets, parsnip, ginger, onion and garlic. This blended version is creamy, savory, and rich in flavor. Perfect to serve on it's own, next to a salad or hearty main.