The borscht I make tastes like beets. And a bit cabbage because I don’t love beets so I usually throw in carrots and cabbage and celery to cut the dirt/beat taste. But it’s still nice.

We also added chopped cucumbers + sour cream, always told it was good for your blood

Now talk about Shav

I lived in Poland for three years. The barsczc there is fantastic.

My go-to is a golden beet version. I've used a few recipes, right now I like this one the best.
https://www.crumbtopbaking.com/golden-beet-soup/

There are so many varieties of borscht, it really depends on what kind you get/make!

My Polish SIL makes Christmas Eve borscht that is heavily spiced clear broth with small pierogi. It's sour, light, and tastes like Christmas spices (allspice, anise, cloves, etc.). My German grandmother made her husband's Polish family's everyday borscht that was like a beef stew with sour cream. Beef stock base, big chunks of beef and beets, and rye or another hearty brown bread on the side. My Ukrainian friend's family makes one similar to my grandmother's, but with lots of carrots and potatoes and parsley.

If you don't like the taste of beets, you won't like borscht. But if you do, it's great and there's no one way to make it. All borscht is good borscht!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dirt. It tastes like dirt.

your right

I love the dirt taste. As kids, we would pull up carrots, wash them in rain water and eat them raw.Talking about healthy and organic.
I love any root vegetables that is fresh and organic. The black soil taste is extra. Better than chemicals I taste nowadays.

Anonymous wrote:Dirt. It tastes like dirt.

your right

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We always had the cold beet borscht with sour cream growing up. It was my grandmothers specialty. I always assumed it was a Jewish food, but sounds like it isn't.

It’s Ukrainian/Russian. Many of the foods that we typically think of as Jewish in the US are actually Russian or Ukrainian- not just borscht but also lox, pickled herring, bagels, kasha (buckwheat). It’s because most of the Jewish immigrants to the US in the late 19th-early 20th century were from Russia or present Ukraine. Russian people wouldn’t consider that food Jewish.

Bagels are not traditional Russian/Ukrainian food, neither is lox.

When I lived in Moscow, smoked salmon was a really popular snack or appetizer. When you went to the theater, at intermission they always had sliced bread with smoked salmon out to purchase. People were shocked when I said it was considered a traditional Jewish food in America. I never saw bagels but they did have these hard nasty round circle things.

My Polish grandma (from the old country) made it when I was growing up and I didn't like it.

I was at a Polish restaurant about 5 years ago and ordered it "because how could I not? I'm at a Polish restaurant.." and it was delicious!

So I've looked it up and I make this fantastic version (which, by the way, seems to be the only thing that is so delicious that is also so healthy!) It's the ham! and the dollop of sour cream and the fresh dill. And salt at the end; makes a difference.

I used this ham shank from Whole Foods: https://www.burpy.com/whole-foods/wellshire-farms-smoked-ham-shanks/product-detail/1921951

PALEO BORSCHT

Need: soup pot+lid, big frying pan, hand blender, orange juicer

Night before: Chop vegetables and make stock (or Pre-made stock is fine).

INGREDIENTS
3-4 quarts of beef or pork stock (12-16 cups) see next page
Meat picked off the bones from making the beef or pork stock
4 medium potatoes, cubed into large pieces
8 medium beets diced
1 15 oz can of low salt diced tomatoes OR 2 large tomatoes, diced
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
1 tablespoons of olive or coconut oil
1 large onion, diced
2 fat carrots, grated
1 red pepper, cored and seeded then diced (recipe calls for green)
½ head of a big green cabbage, thinly sliced
¼ cup of fresh lemon juice (2 lemons)
1 tablespoon of honey (Omit if whole 30)
1 tablespoon of dried dill OR 2 tablespoons of fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Beet greens from beets, chopped into bite size chunks
Sour cream to serve with it (Try cultured organic sour cream)

INSTRUCTIONS

Make your stock the night before by plopping a ham or beef bone with meat on it in a gallon (16 cups) of water and simmering uncovered for 4-6 hours. You can add some water but not too much or it will be watery. I did 5.5 hrs starting at 3:30pm; refilled twice and ended at 8pm. Let the level drop some or you will not have enough room for cabbage mixture after adding the beat mixture.

Chill in the fridge overnight and the next morning skim the fat off the broth, bring to slightly warm on the stove and then pick the meat off the bones. (By bringing the broth up to warm it saves your hands!) Put the meat back in the soup and discard the bones. (You can skip this step and use store bought beef broth with water and add some chopped beef of some sort and simmer till tender but I’m warning ya, it won’t be as good.)

Bring the broth up to a simmer on medium heat then add the potatoes, beets, canned tomatoes and tomato paste. While that is simmering, heat up the oil in a large skillet over med-high heat, then sauté the onions and carrots till fragrant (about 4-5 minutes) Add the cabbage and sauté till the leaves begin to wilt then add the bell pepper, cooking for another minute or so. Turn off the stove and let that sit till the beets are tender in the soup stock, then add the veggies to that and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Time to season this jewel bright soup with the lemon juice, honey, dill and salt and pepper till it tastes just right. Add the beet greens and cook about another 5-10 minutes till they are wilted then serve in big bowls with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill and salt.

www.cavewomancafe.com/beef/from-russia-with-love-♥/
(Borscht in Polish is Barszcz.)

Mmmm...I make vegetarian...a recipe from The Moosewood Cookbook...so, so good. I hate peeling and chopping beets but it’s worth it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We always had the cold beet borscht with sour cream growing up. It was my grandmothers specialty. I always assumed it was a Jewish food, but sounds like it isn't.

It’s Ukrainian/Russian. Many of the foods that we typically think of as Jewish in the US are actually Russian or Ukrainian- not just borscht but also lox, pickled herring, bagels, kasha (buckwheat). It’s because most of the Jewish immigrants to the US in the late 19th-early 20th century were from Russia or present Ukraine. Russian people wouldn’t consider that food Jewish.

Makes sense - my great-grandparents were Lithuanian Jews, although they apparently intentionally left many of those regional traditions behind for obvious reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We always had the cold beet borscht with sour cream growing up. It was my grandmothers specialty. I always assumed it was a Jewish food, but sounds like it isn't.

It’s Ukrainian/Russian. Many of the foods that we typically think of as Jewish in the US are actually Russian or Ukrainian- not just borscht but also lox, pickled herring, bagels, kasha (buckwheat). It’s because most of the Jewish immigrants to the US in the late 19th-early 20th century were from Russia or present Ukraine. Russian people wouldn’t consider that food Jewish.

Bagels are not traditional Russian/Ukrainian food, neither is lox.

You can maybe argue about lox, but bagels are definitely traditional Russian (called “bubliki”).

I know what bublik is, question is what was first - bublik or bagel?
According to most sources - Jews brought bagels into Ukrane/Russia from Europe that was later adopted and became bublik.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We always had the cold beet borscht with sour cream growing up. It was my grandmothers specialty. I always assumed it was a Jewish food, but sounds like it isn't.

It’s Ukrainian/Russian. Many of the foods that we typically think of as Jewish in the US are actually Russian or Ukrainian- not just borscht but also lox, pickled herring, bagels, kasha (buckwheat). It’s because most of the Jewish immigrants to the US in the late 19th-early 20th century were from Russia or present Ukraine. Russian people wouldn’t consider that food Jewish.

Bagels are not traditional Russian/Ukrainian food, neither is lox.

You can maybe argue about lox, but bagels are definitely traditional Russian (called “bubliki”).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We always had the cold beet borscht with sour cream growing up. It was my grandmothers specialty. I always assumed it was a Jewish food, but sounds like it isn't.

It’s Ukrainian/Russian. Many of the foods that we typically think of as Jewish in the US are actually Russian or Ukrainian- not just borscht but also lox, pickled herring, bagels, kasha (buckwheat). It’s because most of the Jewish immigrants to the US in the late 19th-early 20th century were from Russia or present Ukraine. Russian people wouldn’t consider that food Jewish.

Bagels are not traditional Russian/Ukrainian food, neither is lox.

Anonymous wrote:We always had the cold beet borscht with sour cream growing up. It was my grandmothers specialty. I always assumed it was a Jewish food, but sounds like it isn't.

It’s Ukrainian/Russian. Many of the foods that we typically think of as Jewish in the US are actually Russian or Ukrainian- not just borscht but also lox, pickled herring, bagels, kasha (buckwheat). It’s because most of the Jewish immigrants to the US in the late 19th-early 20th century were from Russia or present Ukraine. Russian people wouldn’t consider that food Jewish.