Surely every housewife wants her dishes to be tasty, satisfying and rich in color. This is especially true for soups. The cabbage soup according to the recipe must necessarily be a pleasant yellow color (due to carrots and butter), and the borsch must certainly be a rich red-burgundy color (due to beets). But, unfortunately, it is not always possible to achieve the desired color brightness. And if the first dish turns red, then after a while the color goes away. How to save it? This is where ordinary table vinegar comes to the rescue .
Why add vinegar to borsch?
After reading the recipe, many housewives ask the question: is it necessary to add vinegar to the borsch? It seems that acid can affect the taste of the dish. In fact, if you adhere to certain rules, then vinegar will not cause any harm to taste.
So, why add acid to borsch? Firstly, vinegar essence helps to give brightness and color saturation. Secondly, thanks to the use of vinegar, red borsch remains red, and does not become dull yellow after some time. Borsch will be real, and not resemble cabbage soup only with beets.
Thirdly, if the ingredient is used correctly (knowing when to add vinegar to the borscht), then the dish will end up with a pleasant sourness. Even if you do not cook sour cabbage borsch, it will have a sour taste. This is a great option for those who like borscht acid.
When to add vinegar to borsch?
So, we figured it out. Vinegar in borsch is a necessary and very useful thing. Now it remains to figure out when to add vinegar to the borsch.
This ingredient is added to the dish during the preparation of beets. Experts advise making carrot-onion and beetroot frying separately for this soup. Finely chopped onions and grated carrots are fried in a separate pan. And in a separate frying pan, beets grated on a grater are fried.
To begin with, beets are fried over high heat for several minutes. Then we reduce the fire and add some broth from the soup. Stew the beets for a few more minutes until it becomes soft. When to add vinegar to borsch? Acid is added at the last stage of beet cooking. After you add the acidic ingredient, stew the vegetable for another five to seven minutes. Then the beets are added to the soup.
How to add vinegar to borsch?
Now let's determine the amount of acid. When to add vinegar to borsch - we know. But how much and what essence is better to use?
For cooking borscht, you should take ordinary table (6% or 3%) vinegar. The amount of acid will depend on the volume of your pan, on the amount of broth and the beets themselves. Typically, one tablespoon of 6% vinegar is added per liter of water. That is, if you have a three-liter pan, then you need to add three tablespoons of table vinegar to the beets.
Sugar is used to soften the acid. For one tablespoon of vinegar, add one teaspoon of sugar. It is poured directly behind vinegar into a pan with beets. For those who love sour cabbage soup, but cooks them from ordinary cabbage, you can reduce the amount of sugar or not add it at all. If sour cabbage soup is not your favorite dish, but you still want to keep the color and its brightness, then you can reduce the amount of vinegar or add a little more sugar.
Some nuances
So, we know when to add vinegar to borsch, how much it is needed and why this ingredient is needed. Sometimes questions arise: “And if there is no vinegar in the kitchen, there is no time to run to the store. What to do?" Chefs say that vinegar essence can be replaced with ordinary lemon juice. In the dish is added, again, a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice per liter of water.
If in doubt whether to add vinegar to the soup, you can use citric acid. It will also preserve color and add acidity to the dish. It must be added, as they say, "at the tip of the knife." It is much more concentrated than lemon juice, so there is nothing to do with tablespoons. Sprinkle half a teaspoon of citric acid in a large pot, add a teaspoon of sugar - and vinegar is ready to be replaced.
Remember, when you add vinegar to the borscht, be sure to consider: do you use tomato paste with vinegar, do you put canned tomatoes with acid in the soup. Read the composition of the products. If they already contain vinegar, then try to reduce the amount of ingredient in a pan with beets.
And the last one. Whether other housewives add vinegar to the borsch, whether you will do it - practice will show. But remember, it is added to the roast from beets, and not to the pan itself!