Borscht 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.
The beetroot is the taproot portion of a beet plant, usually known in North America as beets while the vegetable is referred to as beetroot in British English, and also known as the table beet, garden beet, red beet, dinner beet or golden beet.
Polish cuisine is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other national cuisines. Polish cooking in other cultures is often referred to as à la polonaise.
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social circles.
Shchi is a Russian-style cabbage soup. When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, while soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi. In the past, the term sour shchi was also used to refer to a drink, a variation of kvass, which was unrelated to the soup.
Ukrainian cuisine is the collection of the various cooking traditions of the people of Ukraine, one of the largest and most populous European countries. It is heavily influenced by the rich dark soil (chornozem) from which its ingredients come, and often involves many components. Traditional Ukrainian dishes often experience a complex heating process – "at first they are fried or boiled, and then stewed or baked. This is the most distinctive feature of Ukrainian cuisine".
Latvian cuisine typically consists of agricultural products, with meat featuring in most main meal dishes. Fish is commonly consumed due to Latvia's location on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea.
Solyanka is a thick and sour soup of Russian origin that is common in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Baltic states and other post-Soviet states and certain parts of the former Eastern Bloc. It was one of the most reliably available dishes in the former East Germany.
Belarusian cuisine refers to the culinary traditions native to Belarus. It shares many similarities with cuisines of other Eastern, Central and Northeastern European countries, based predominantly on meat and various vegetables typical for the region.
Smetana is the English-language name for the types of sour cream traditionally prevalent in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It is a dairy product produced by souring heavy cream. It is similar to crème fraîche, but nowadays mainly sold with 9% to 42% milkfat content depending on the country. Its cooking properties are different from crème fraîche and the lighter sour creams sold in the US, which contain 12 to 16% butterfat. It is widely used in cooking and baking.
In West Slavic countries, as well as in Russia, Belarus and in Ukraine, fermented cereals, such as rye, wheat, or oatmeal, are used to make soups. In Poland and parts of Belarus, rye is traditional for making żurek; a variant made with wheat flour instead of rye is known in Poland as barszcz biały. Fermented oatmeal is a common ingredient in Belarus and in some regions of Poland. Fermented wheat or sourdough soups are also found in other western Slavic cuisines, in particular in the Slovak (kyslovka), Silesian (Sauermehlsuppe) and Czech (kyselo) cuisines.
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot, that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth. Soups are similar to stews, and in some cases there may not be a clear distinction between the two; however, soups generally have more liquid (broth) than stews.
Nettle soup is a traditional soup prepared from stinging nettles. Nettle soup is eaten mainly during spring and early summer, when young nettle buds are collected. Today, nettle soup is mostly eaten in Scandinavia, Iran, Ireland, and Eastern Europe, with regional differences in recipe; however historically consumption of nettles was more widespread.
Chrain is a spicy paste made of grated horseradish. It is a common condiment for meat and fish dishes in Eastern and Central European cuisines. Chrain comes from Yiddish כריין, which is in turn a loanword from Slavic languages.
Cabbage soup may refer to any of the variety of soups based on various cabbages, or on sauerkraut and known under different names in national cuisines. Often it is a vegetable soup, with lentils, peas or beans in place of the meat. It may be prepared with different ingredients. Vegetarian cabbage soup may use mushroom stock. Another variety is using a fish stock. There's also a preference to cook cabbage soup using a pork stock.
Spinach soup is a soup prepared using spinach as a primary ingredient. A common dish around the world, the soup can be prepared as a broth-based or cream-based soup, and the latter can be referred to as "cream of spinach soup." In China, a spinach and tofu soup is also known as "emerald and white jade soup"; spinach and tofu represent emerald and white jade respectively, and thus the spinach soup itself can be called "emerald soup". Fresh, canned or frozen spinach can be used, and the spinach can be used whole, puréed or chopped. Additional ingredients can include onion, green onion, carrot, celery, tomatoes, potatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, seasonings, salt and pepper. Spinach soup is typically served hot, but can also be served as a cold soup. Prior to being served, it can be topped or garnished with ingredients such as sour cream and crème fraîche.
Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine is an assortment of cooking traditions that was developed by the Ashkenazi Jews of Central, Eastern and Northern Europe, and their descendants, particularly in the United States and other Western countries.
Cream of sorrel soup, also known as potage Germiny, crème Germiny, or potage crème d'oseille, is a traditional French springtime vegetable soup, often served cold. It can be made with French sorrel, common sorrel, or with foraged wild greens with similar flavor profiles, such as sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), wood sorrel (Oxalis corniculata, Oxalis albicans), sour grass, or young leaves of dock, etc.
Green borscht with egg and sour cream
Green borscht made with spinach instead of sorrel and with potatoes
Ukrainian green borscht including both sorrel and beetroot
