Borscht

Borscht

A bowl of borscht garnished with sour cream and dill
Alternative names	Borsch, borshch, borsht, bortsch
Type	Soup
Place of origin	Ukraine[1][2]
Associated cuisine	Ukrainian Armenian Ashkenazi Jewish Azerbaijani Belarusian Chinese Czech Estonian Georgian Hongkongese Iranian Latvian Lithuanian Mennonite Moldovan Polish Romanian Russian
Cooking time	30 minutes to 3 hours
Serving temperature	Hot or cold
Main ingredients	Beet sour or beetroots
Ingredients generally used	Tomatoes, vinegar, cabbage and/or potatoes, meat or salo
Variations	Clear red borscht, cold borscht, unsoured borscht
Similar dishes	Green borscht, white borscht as well as the ancient hogweed-made borscht
Media: Borscht

Culture of Ukrainian borscht cooking
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Borscht served in a ceramic bowl with bread and salt in a village in the Poltava region of Ukraine
Country	Ukraine
Reference	01852
Region	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2022 (5th extraordinary session)
List	Need of Urgent Safeguarding

Borscht (English: /ˈbɔːrʃ, ˈbɔːrʃt/ ^ⓘ) is a sour soup, made with meat stock, vegetables and seasonings, common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word borscht is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which give the dish its distinctive red color. The same name, however, is also used for a wide selection of sour-tasting soups without beetroots, such as sorrel-based green borscht, rye-based white borscht, and cabbage borscht.

Borscht derives from an ancient soup originally cooked from pickled stems, leaves and umbels of common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), an herbaceous plant growing in damp meadows, which lent the dish its Slavic name. With time, it evolved into a diverse array of tart soups, among which the Ukrainian beet-based red borscht has become the most popular. It is typically made by combining meat or bone stock with sautéed vegetables, which – as well as beetroots – usually include cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes. Depending on the recipe, borscht may include meat or fish, or be purely vegetarian; it may be served either hot or cold, and it may range from a hearty one-pot meal to a clear broth or a smooth drink. It is often served with smetana or sour cream, hard-boiled eggs or potatoes, but there exists an ample choice of more involved garnishes and side dishes, such as uszka or pampushky, that can be served with the soup.

Its popularity has spread throughout Eastern Europe and – by way of migration away from the Russian Empire – to other continents. In North America, borscht is often linked with either Jews or Mennonites, the groups who first brought it there from Europe. Several ethnic groups claim borscht, in its various local implementations, as their own national dish consumed as part of ritual meals within Eastern Orthodox^{[citation needed]}, Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, and Jewish religious traditions.