#Borscht

This year I had a good crop of red beets. Many nice big ones, although I lost quite a few to some rodent. I did catch a mouse and a vole in the trap, but I don’t know which one was the culprit.

Last week we made Borscht. Actually, my wife made it; I just eat it. This is the second batch she made this year. She makes the best Borscht I’ve ever eaten anywhere, and she isn’t even Ukrainian. She got the recipe from my daughter-in-law, who got it from her mother. Her mother was half-Polish and half Ukrainian and she had many ‘Old country’ recipes. I know Ukrainians claim the recipe for Borscht originates in the Ukraine, but I did some research, and found that Russians claim it came from Russia. The Polish people claim it is a Polish recipe. There are also rumors that the ancient Romans already made Borscht. We won’t ever know. The origin of Borscht is lost in the mist of time like so many other things. It doesn’t really matter where it comes from, but whoever developed it, my thanks goes to them, because it is a tasty treat. People who have never eaten a bowl of Borscht don’t know what they are missing.

There are many recipes for making Borscht. Every ‘Old Country’ grandmother has her own favorite recipe. My mother used to make it from Cabbage, but my wife uses only Red Beets. Lots and lots of beets (the soup has to be thick). Here is the recipe:

5 cups peeled, grated beets (3 – 4 medium beets) –uncooked-

1 chopped onion

½ cup grated carrots

½ of a celery stalk (grated)

1 tsp. parsley

1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1 – 14 oz can pork and beans with tomato sauce (rinsed)

8 tbsp. lemon juice

1 cup half and half cream

1 tbsp flour

12 cups of water (read paragraph about the water!)

Boil shredded beets, onions, carrots, celery, parsley, pepper, and dill for 15 minutes in liquid (see paragraph below).

Meanwhile, mix flour and cream and put through a sieve to remove lumps.

When vegetables are done, add can of pork and beans. Cook for 2 minutes. Add lemon juice. Cook for 1 minute. Add cream and flour mixture quickly to broth. Cook for ½ minute and remove from heat.

My wife changed the recipe she got from my daughter-in-law a little. Instead of putting in a piece of pork meat into the 12 cups of water, she uses pork broth. When she makes pork ribs, she boils the ribs before we put them onto the barbeque. They are tenderer that way. But that is another recipe. She saves the broth every time we have ribs (we freeze it in containers) and uses it to make Borscht. If she doesn’t have enough broth, she adds some chicken stock and very little water (Approx. 2 cups) to make up the 12 cups of liquid. Too much water makes the Borscht taste watery. Some people use sour cream instead of cream. And let’s not forget the fresh dill. When we eat the Borscht, we sprinkle some chopped dill on top.

I’ll be eating my last bowl today for lunch. My wife made a double recipe. We keep out enough for a few meals and freeze the rest. This way we can have Borscht even in the winter. To eat Borscht is a bit messy because of the red color, so I usually wear a bib (actually just a paper towel tugged into my collar) to cover my shirt. I know, it doesn’t look very macho, but, hey, it keeps my shirt from getting red spots all over.

In case you don’t have broth from ribs, here is the original recipe:

12 cups of water

2 tsp. salt

1 lb pork buttons or ribs

Add salt and pork (or ribs) to water. Cook for ¾ hour. Remove pork.

Add ingredients and boil for 15 minutes...etc.

Enjoy