Borshch is a special dish. It is without a doubt the favorite food of Ukrainians and it occupies a place of honor on daily and festive menus. Even if a number of other dishes await guests, a hostess usually says, “Please sit down, the borshch is ready.” Borshch long ago became a symbol of our people in the world. It’s gratifying to know that borshch is a favorite dish in many countries. Restaurants in Brighton Beach, NY, highlight borshch on their menus and it is as popular as it was decades back in the bistros of Paris. Despite its seemingly unquestionable Ukrainian origin, other nations also consider it one of their age-old dishes. There are countless versions of the story of how borshch came about. Needless to say, the competition to claim “ownership” of borshch is proof of its tremendous popularity. Yet the question remains: Where does it come from?
The Day asked its experts. Now we can heave a sigh of relief; borshch is indeed an exclusively Ukrainian dish. Unfortunately, food is perishable, so archaeologists have not been able to unearth a pot of borshch dating back to the Huns or Goths. Ethnographer Lidia Artiukh says that records dating to the 15th century contain the word borshchivnyk. Most Ukrainian and foreign linguists agree that this word, denoting a type of plant, is the root of the Ukrainian word borshch. Borshchivnyk is both a vegetable and wild leafy plant, which was originally used instead of cabbage. Borshchivnyk has grown in Ukraine for ages, like the beet, and both became the main components of the medieval borshch. Therefore, it is safe to assume that borshch was first cooked in Kyivan Rus’ even before the birth of Christ. After the Mongol Tatars’ onslaught only ashes remained of the large Ukrainian libraries, so borshch is first mentioned in a record dating to the 15th century.
Afterwards, our Slavic neighbors adopted this truly Ukrainian dish. Traditionally it is believed that the Ukrainians have the greatest claim to borshch, but ask Lithuanians and they will tell you that borshch with stuffed dumplings and pork loin is their national dish. In Poland, it is barszcz with little stuffed dumplings; in Romania, they make a borshch called ciorba, using a base of fermented seeds. Artiukh says: “Together with a team of learned colleagues I went on an ethnographic expedition to our borderland regions. In Moldova we were told that borshch is their national dish traditionally served at lunchtime. You will never see another first course on a Moldovan table. A Russian restaurant’s menu boasted “Siberian” and “Moscow” borshch. National dishes generally have much in common in the territories between two countries where the cultures are closely intertwined.”
Later the traditional Ukrainian borshch began to evolve. In the 18th century Peter I introduced potatoes to the Slavic lands. It started replacing the traditional turnip. The first tomatoes that arrived here early in the last century also became a key ingredient of borshch. Today there are at least 30 traditional borshch recipes, many of which reflect regional differences. In western Ukraine, borshch is rather sweet, unlike its eastern counterpart. More often than not it is cooked without cabbage and tastes like the Polish version. On the Left Bank it is cooked with pickled beets or beet kvass, which adds acidity. In the rest of Ukraine borshch is made with tomatoes that set the tone. Chernihiv borshch contains squash, while Kyiv borshch features salo (fatback), garlic, and beet kvass; Poltava borshch contains halushky (dumplings); Odesa borshch is made with goose; Lviv borshch with little sausages. There are also “green” and “cold” borshches; others are made with a meat and/or mushroom broth, prunes, or kidney beans. Some cooks use whole beets when they cook borshch, others grate them, while other cooks use only tomatoes. In some Ukrainian regions they sprinkle in some flour and add sour cream to boost acidity.
Be that as it may, every woman makes borshch her own way, using her little cooking secrets usually handed down from generation to generation. According to folk traditions, a real borshch must be thick enough to stand a spoon in it, and the steam must be so thick that you can’t see your children’s faces through it. A thick borshch is always served on family occasions, to celebrate the end of the harvest, or when guests arrive. In some areas — e.g., in the Carpathian Mountains — borshch is considered a traditional wedding party dish. One tradition doesn’t change. Every housewife always places a huge bowl of thick red borshch on the table for Christmas Eve and Easter, post- funeral meals, and weddings. The Christmas Eve menu includes a meatless borshch, and on New Year’s Eve (Jan. 14) thick borshch with lots of meat is a must. Miniature dumplings stuffed with minced meat with roast onion and mushrooms, called vushka, are often added. This dish is served in small clay pots, along with doughnuts, onions, and garlic.
COMMENTARY
Oleh SKRYPKA, the noted Ukrainian rock musician, spent several years in France where he often staged vechornytsi, traditional Ukrainian parties with food and drinks. Borshch, the true Ukrainian treat, was always served. However, cooking a real Ukrainian borshch was always a problem in France. “I couldn’t find a lot of the ingredients that go into a Ukrainian borshch,” recalls Skrypka. “I could not find fresh beets there; all I could find was canned or pickled beets. True, there are certain advantages to those kinds of beets, because they add the kvass flavor that our ancestors used for their borshch. The French never eat dill, so I had to use dill seeds, and it was hard to find them. It was difficult to explain to the French why we use concentrated broth, why we use pork or beef bones in a vegetable soup. They don’t have this concept. There were times when I had to add asparagus instead of kidney beans, and broccoli or Brussels sprouts instead of cabbage. Whenever I cook borshch, I always add garlic and Bulgarian pepper to produce its special flavor. Even when you have all the ingredients, sometimes you don’t get a real Ukrainian borshch, so I add a bit of fatback with ground garlic. However, the fatback must be old and yellow, with an odor, but then the borshch will turn out to be the best you’ve ever cooked.”
Maria BURMAKA, the popular Ukrainian singer, will not trust anyone but herself to cook borshch. She inherited the recipe from her grandmother and has since introduced certain innovative techniques, adding prunes when the bowl is boiling over with the fragrant red soup. She says that she tasted a sweet borshch in a restaurant and liked it. “My granny taught me that the right kind of borshch must include 12 kinds of ingredients; fresh cabbage and sauerkraut is a must, but I also add prunes, then ladle them out, but the flavor remains. “It’s just that my child won’t eat borshch when he sees prunes swimming around,” she explains.
Valentyn MORDKHYLEVYCH, manager of the Hostynnyi Dvir Restaurant, says that even day-old borshch is extremely popular with his foreign customers. Patricia Kaas said his soup was fantastic. Although she couldn’t remember the word for borshch or pronounce it, she loved it. Pierre Richard wrote one word in the guest book: “Borshch!” Mordkhylevych recalls that the French movie star learned to pronounce the word, unlike Patricia Kaas. Mikhail Zhvanetsky wrote in the “Stars’ Menu”: “It’s cozy here; the food is tasty; I am eating and writing.”
