Probably there is no mistress who would not know how to cook borsch. And for each - this hot dish turns out to be unique and very tasty. Of course, this would be obvious if the borscht of housewives living in different regions or countries, for example, were compared to the taste. But the same taste borscht cannot be found among cooks of the same region or village. This is the whole paradox. Borsch is made from certain ingredients. His recipe clearly states how, what and in what sequence should be followed in the pan, as well as how each ingredient should be prepared. However, one cannot find the same taste for borsch. So, after all, every hostess has her own secrets and secrets.
Borsch has a story. It’s difficult to say with accuracy which cuisine of a country it belongs to. The ancestor of this dish is considered by both Poles, Belarusians, Russians, and Ukrainians. But, probably, one should not determine the homeland of borsch. Indeed, on each side the recipe for cooking borsch is different.
Those who claim that borscht is more of a peasant dish mistakenly believe that they prepared it mainly in poor and simple families. Here you can argue for a long time, and the truth will amaze. If you delve into historical documents, the correspondence of the reigning persons and study the Old Slavonic annals, then you can learn from them that the princes and kings loved this dish. Borsch was often present at the tables during daily meals and dinner parties. For example, borscht was very fond of Tsarina Elizaveta Petrovna, her daughter-in-law, and later the mistress of the Russian state, Catherine II.
Cooking this brew is very simple. They know how to cook borsch, and experienced adult housewives, and their little heirs - daughters. Sometimes it seems that knowledge is inherited, by blood. A girl, listening only to her own intuition, can easily cook this dish, not knowing a clear recipe. And it is worth noting that her borsch will be worthy.
So, preparing borsch on the broth. To cook the broth, you need a good piece of meat, preferably on the bone. Nutritionists and modern physicians studying the canons of proper nutrition argue that it is better to cook borsch on the second broth. It means, as soon as the meat boils and boils a little, the old water should be drained and refilled with fresh, clean meat.
One of the main ingredients of borscht is beetroot. If you have never been interested in how to cook beetroot soup with beetroot and, especially, have not tried it, then you should try it. Beetroot not only gives a special color to borsch, but also affects the taste. Borsch with beets is even more satisfying and rich. If you don’t like the fact that after adding beets, borsch becomes a specific color, then this can be completely avoided. Just beets in the broth you need to put the very first and give it time to boil.
There are gourmets who, on the contrary, love to eat borsch of bright raspberry color. To preserve the brightness of beets, it is worth immediately after adding it to the broth to pour a little vinegar or citric acid. Lemon juice will do.
When telling how to cook borsch, you should separately pay attention to preparing dressing for this hot dish. Today, many housewives use ready-made purchased gas stations. It can not be argued that their borscht turns out tasteless or inedible. However, borsch with homemade, manually prepared dressing is much tastier. Moreover, it will take quite a bit of time to prepare it. For dressing you will need onions, carrots, tomatoes and fat, on which it will all be cooked before adding to the general pan. Borsch dressing is fried in lard or vegetable oil. It is important that chopped vegetables do not burn during the frying process. The skin is necessarily removed from the tomatoes , and after that they are crushed to a mushy state. Tomatoes can be replaced with ordinary tomato sauce or juice. If the latter will be used, then the preparation time for the dressing will have to be increased, because water must first evaporate from the juice.
The next cooking steps are potatoes and cabbage. Vegetables are chopped and dipped in meat broth. Cook until tender. Then the cooked dressing and spices are laid out in the pan. Ready borsch is decorated with greens and served on a table with sour cream.
Even if the first attempt at cooking borsch is not successful, do not be upset and re-read a bunch of recipes on how to cook borsch. You just need to try again, experiment, add something to your recipe, and exclude something. Be sure every time the borscht will turn out even tastier.