Borscht Facts for Kids

Borshch (Ukrainian: борщ, Polish: barszcz, Lithuanian: barščiai, Romanian: borș) is a type of sour red beet soup. It is the main first meal in Ukrainian cuisine. It is also oftenly eaten in Eastern European countries, such as Russia, Romania, Poland, Belarus, Moldova and Lithuania. It contains red beets, sausage, onion, potatoes and cabbage. Borshch soup is usually eaten with a piece of black bread. It is also eaten in central Asian countries like Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

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A tureen of thick borscht
Borscht ingredients may include beef, pork, salo (lard), beetroots, cabbage, carrots, celeriac, onions, potatoes, mushrooms, tomato paste, parsley, chives, dill, bay leaves, allspice and black pepper.
Ukrainian borscht with beans
Poltava borscht with halushky
Polish clear Christmas Eve barszcz served over uszka, or ear-shaped mushroom-filled dumplings
Chłodnik litewski, or "Lithuanian cold soup", blended with sour cream or yogurt, and sprinkled with chives, as served in Poland. The same soup is known in Lithuanian as šaltibarščiai, or "cold borscht".
Polish white borscht served over fresh sausage, bacon and eggs
Sorrel-based Ukrainian green borscht served with sour cream and a hard-boiled egg
A bowl of Luosong tang, or Chinese borscht, made from cabbage and tomatoes, as served in Hong Kong
Borscht sprinkled with parsley, served with a dollop of sour cream and a slice of rye bread
Ukrainian borscht served with a side of pampushky (garlic rolls), pork cracklings and sour cream
Kholodnick served with a boiled potato
A bouillon cup of Polish clear borscht with a krokiet (Polish crêpe-based croquette) and a brine-pickled gherkin on the side
Common hogweed, originally the principal ingredient of borscht
Rye meal mixed with water and left to sour is the main ingredient of Polish white borscht.
Cabbage-based borscht may be indistinguishable from the Russian shchi.
Peasants harvesting beets in what is now Ukraine, painted by Leon Wyczółkowski in 1893
The addition of tomatoes may give borscht an orange tinge instead of the purplish red imparted by beetroots.
Auguste Escoffier, known in France as the "king of chefs and chef of kings", was fascinated by borscht's ruby-red color.
Ukrainian beet-and-cabbage borscht
Tubed borscht as space food
A tureen of clear borscht among other dishes on a Polish Christmas Eve table

Borscht facts for kids

Images for kids

See also