This is my first attempt at making Polish Borscht Soup. I found several recipes and YouTube tutorial videos.борщ and featured on Ukrainian postage.(see image) Borscht is beet root based recipe popular in many central and eastern European countries. The original Ukrainian name does not end with a 't', the final t sound was added when the dish was adopted by Yiddish speaking Jews.

My base recipe came from the following YouTube video. Red Borscht - Barszcz Czerwony - Christmas Menu Recipe #51. There is a follow up video, how to make miniature Polish mushroom dumplings, Uszka. Ukrainian Borscht is more complicated, as it calls for carrots, potato, cabbage and beef.

As this is my first Borscht, I do not know if I prefer the Polish version or the Ukrainian version. I will be making it my own way. In Ania's video, she strained the soup with a cheese cloth, and recommend we do not bring the soup to a boil more than once as it will turn brown. In another Polish language video, (featured below) they used a strainer instead of a cheesecloth. Ania recommended letting the soup sit overnight, then slowly reheating it the next day.

• 1 can beets
• 1 red apple
• 2 cans water
• 1 small yellow onion
• 1 shallot
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 tbs orange juice
• 1 bay leaf
• sugar
• salt
• pepper

How Was it Served?

I served it with a dollop of sour cream and chopped green onion. The sour cream sank right to the bottom, which I did not like. I think that the sour cream is intended for the Russian/Ukrainian recipe and not the Polish recipe. I served it with chopped green onion, as I did not have time to make the mushroom dumplings.

How Did it Turn Out?

I thought that it was delicious, my husband thought it was too tart. Next time, I will replace 4 tbs Orange Juice with 2 tbs lemon juice. My intention is to make this soup again during the Winter Holidays. The Polish Borscht should be transparent, not cloudy, much like a red won-ton soup whereas the Russian/Ukrainian version can be cloudy, and hearty.