Difference between soup and borsch

To the most popular - and deservedly so! - borsch can be attributed to soups. What are its features? What is the difference between soup and borscht, if by the second we mean a well-known, but in many ways unique dish?

What is soup?

Soup is a dish that is usually hot and involves cooking in broth - vegetable or meat. Traditional Russian soups mainly consist of broth. But many foreign recipes for the corresponding dishes involve draining the main part of the liquid so that mainly solid ingredients of the dish are to be consumed. There are, of course, cold soups, for example, okroshka.

Soup almost always includes vegetable ingredients and spices. Depending on the recipe and the set of ingredients, it can be high in calories or, conversely, dietary. Various sauces can be added to the soup. As a rule, the dish in question is served with bread.

Some of the most affordable and nutritious ingredients for soups are cabbage, carrots and beets. They are the main ingredients, in particular, borscht. Consider the features of this soup.

What is borscht?

Borscht is a soup, the main ingredients of which are, therefore, cabbage, carrots and beets. At the same time, the third vegetable gives the borsch a recognizable red color. The soup in question is one of the most popular in Russia (competing with cabbage soup), in Ukraine (it is considered to be just one of the national Ukrainian dishes), in Belarus. Borscht is quite common in other states of Eastern Europe - in Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Moldova.

There is historical evidence that the dish in question has been known among the people since the time of Ancient Rus. Actually, this can explain the fact that it is equally popular among the peoples whose ancestors previously inhabited Ancient Russia, as well as among their neighbors.

Initially, borscht was cooked from hogweed. True, not the same burning plant, the thickets of which are found everywhere in the north of Russia, but completely different - it belongs to a different biological species. Its leaves can be eaten. In ancient times, borscht was the name for a soup made from a corresponding plant.

Over time, borscht began to be made on the basis of beet kvass, which was diluted with water, then poured into a pot, and then boiled until boiling. Then various ingredients were added to the boiling beet kvass - actually beets, cabbage leaves, carrots, and other vegetables. The borscht was then to be cooked in the oven. Upon reaching readiness, it was salted, seasoned to taste. Traditionally, fresh sour cream is added to borscht.

The recipe of the soup in question may differ depending on the methods of its preparation, which have developed in any of the national cuisines in which borsch is known - Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Polish, Lithuanian, Romanian.

Comparison

Of course, you can find more than one difference between soup and borscht, if under the first we consider an example of a dish that is little known in Eastern Europe or is not traditional for the national cuisines of this region. In turn, not all soups outside Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and neighboring states are prepared like borscht:

  • based on beets;
  • with the addition of cabbage and carrots;
  • with sour cream.

It is quite legitimate to believe, therefore, that borscht is a dish that is not traditional for the cuisines of, for example, Western Europe, North America, Africa, Asia.

Having determined what is the difference between soup and borscht (in terms of their comparison as a dish widespread outside Eastern Europe and a dish that is traditional for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and neighboring states), we reflect the conclusions in table.

Table

Soup Borsch
What do they have in common?
Borsch is a kind of soup
What is the difference between them?
Not all soups are made with beetsPrepared with beets
Not all soups contain cabbage and carrotsPrepared with cabbage and carrots
Not all soups are served with sour creamUsually served with sour cream
May be a dish not known or very popular in Eastern Europe, but common in other regions of the worldIs a dish well known in Eastern Europe, but not very popular in many other regions of the world
.