How to make cold Borscht.

What is Borscht

Borscht is a quick and easy beet root soup that is easy to make and has as many variations as there is grandmas making it.

This project was inspired by my son who needed to do a school project on a modern*  Israeli food. I was pleasantly surprised when he chose to try Borscht. First off it is easy secondly it is so good.


Warning!!

Because Borscht is made with cooked beats you must take extreme cation not to get it on anything that you do not want to turn a vibrant shade of pinkish red. Also we will be using a blender that cares little if it is blending beets or you hand.

Be careful! 

*edit 11/10/10 Added the word Modern to help clarify this recipe.

Step 1 Gathering supplys

There are many variants of Borscht this is possibly one of the quickest and easy versions for it you will need:

Ingredients:

4 cups of chilled sliced beets (two 16oz cans)
1 1/2 cups of beet juice. (conveniently that is about the amount of juice that will be in the                       canned beets)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
sour cream


Tools:

Blender 
Tbsp
Glass measuring cup (to prevent staining)
Nice serving bowls 
Can  opener

Comments

[heyitskalee]

this reminds me of a certain Rugrats episode, when the Pickles family visits their grandparents. haha. i can't say if this looks good or not, since i've never tasted a beet before.

[leonardml]

My Bubbi always ate borscht and I've never tried it, but now that I'm grown I love all kinds of vegetables. i can't wait to try this - it sounds delish! Thanks for the post and you did a great job!

[LiquidLightning]

It's also really good when the beets are not blended but sliced into long, thin pieces.

[lindsey40]

IT MAKE YOU STRONG LIKE BULL!

[LiquidLightning]

Lol, my mom says that.

[Greenlntrn]

I just made a big batch of this soup and it is pretty darn tasty! I'm not sure why people have to make negative comments about whether or not it's "their" version of Borscht. Anyway...super easy and super good. I even used the fresh beets and it couldn't have been easier. Thanks for the inspiration!

[beernut]

Thank you fro trying it. By the way how did you cook you fresh beets?

[Greenlntrn]

I cooked them exactly as you suggested to another poster. I just chopped the greens and covered them in water and boiled until tender and then used to water as the juice. My beets were all different sizes though so I just pulled out the smaller ones and let the big ones cook for a while but on hindsight since I was making puree I guess that wasn't necessary. Leftovers today and STILL good!

[think3000]

best soup ever!! my dad has his own recipe and we love it the best flavoring is a dollop of sour cream and some dill.

[vegansweetie]

omg i love beets.
i can't wait to make this.

[robj98168]

Russian or Israeli, Hot or cold- Borscht is one of my adopted favorties. Thank you for posting this recipe!

[beernut]

Thank you for the kind words

[MechEngSk]

This is just some western version of Borscht.

for starters borscht is made hot. i
Yes it is Russian soup. It is meant to be rich and thick. You do not blend it to turn it into a creamy western soup. the ingredients are shaved. Borsht is meant to be meaty soup. it is based on 3 different types of meat.

Well you got the color right and the sour cream on top but all you have made is sour creamy beetroot soup.

[beernut]

You are right ,it is likely that it started as a Russian food but your statement is akin to saying,”Beer is Egyptian and should not be made with hops and served only at room temperature.” As foods move so do there recipe. A hot hearty soup that was meant to be served in the winter would be a good use of miscellaneous meet bit you had on hand. But if you are Jewish and returning home from Northern Europe to a much more moderate climate, hot soup dose not always sound so good. Couple that with some of the Jewish food laws and you end up with a much different beast.
On future food recipes maybe I should include a short history of the version I am doing.
Thank you though for taking time to look at the Instuctabel.

[wazzup105]

Israel ?

But surely borscht is an easten european dish (think Russia)

[beernut]

It is true that its origins are likely from northern Europe. My understanding is that the Jewish peoples brought it back with them to Israel and it has become a popular dish. I have to admit though my knowledge of it life and travels come mostly from a collage text and the web.

[DainiusGB]

It is, i come from lithuania and a version of this is one of our main national dishes

[scoochmaroo]

What about using fresh beets? How would it be best to prepare them? The farmer's market has the most beautiful beets right now!

[beernut]

Cut off the tops ( if they are young tops they are yummy steamed or in salad) wash well. Then put them in a pot and cover with water. Boil them until they are tender. Then pull them out and cool. The skins will pull off nicely. Use the water from boiling for the “juice” in the recipe.