What is the difference between borscht and cabbage soup?

To understand the difference between borscht and cabbage soup, just look at traditional recipes. Borscht, green borscht and cabbage soup are types of vegetable soups. The difference between the dishes lies in the use of special ingredients. In classic borscht it is beets, in green borscht it is sorrel and eggs, in cabbage soup it is often sauerkraut. Cabbage soup is also characterized by great variability in ingredients.

How to distinguish borscht from cabbage soup?

It is not always possible to distinguish borscht from cabbage soup. Many housewives use family recipes that bear little resemblance to traditional ones. Easily accessible and maximally satisfying foods are added to the dishes: all kinds of green herbs, beans, eggs. This is why cabbage soup and borscht lose their uniqueness and it is no longer possible to infect them with precision.

But what is the difference between dishes prepared according to the standard? Let's look at the table:

Difference in photo:

What is cabbage soup?

In Old Russian the dish was called “shti”.Shchi was prepared with lean and meaty cabbage, from sauerkraut and fresh chopped cabbage, or with sorrel, or beets. A dish could include dozens of different components. Shti were cooked in cereal, fish, mushroom, vegetable, and meat broths. Tomatoes and apples could be added.

The name "cabbage soup", according to one version, comes from the Old Russian "s'to" ("sti"), which means "sustenance", "hearty food".

Shchi (shti) has long been the main hot dish of Russian cuisine. As the saying goes. “cabbage soup and porridge are our food.” There was no single recipe for cabbage soup. In each locality, for different occasions, the dish was prepared in a special way. There are at least 24 recipes: empty, Ural, Don, Tsar’s, Griboyedov’s, boyar’s, Morochanskie cabbage soup, etc.

Despite the numerous variations of the dish, there were general cooking rules:

• cooking (other stews could be prepared by simply diluting with water);
• thick consistency;
• high nutritional value (they satisfy hunger well);
• acid.

Cabbage soup (shti) was often whitened with sour cream and flour was added for thickness. One of the old recipes:

In its modern version, the characteristic differences of cabbage soup are:

1. Add raw foods (not fried).
2. Using sauerkraut.
3. Use of herbs.
4. Possibility of adding soaked apples, salted mushrooms and other non-standard ingredients for soups.

What is borscht?

In Dahl's explanatory dictionary, borscht refers to pickled beets and soup made from them. In the old days, the dish was prepared in the likeness of cabbage soup. Only instead of sauerkraut, sour beets were used. Therefore, it was sometimes called shti (cabbage soup) borscht, that is, beet soup.

By the way, invigorating beet kvass was prepared from pickled beets. Borscht with its addition was called borscht soup with juice.Red borscht was the main first course among the Eastern Slavs (and Ukrainians, in particular).

Standard composition:

• vegetables: beets, cabbage, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, carrots;
• spices: black and allspice, bay leaf;
• green herbs: parsley, dill.

Borscht is prepared with fresh and sour cabbage. If sauerkraut is not added, vinegar is used for acidity, or less often lemon juice. Very often the recipe includes garlic, sometimes beans, lard, bell peppers, turnips, zucchini, celery, thyme, lovage, basil, tarragon, marjoram.

Today beets are mainly used not pickled, but baked (boiled, stewed). This gives the dish a sweetness. If the sugar content of beets is not enough, it is often sweetened with sugar. Classic borscht is thick. It can be lean or lean - with meat, meat and bone broth or bone broth.

Green borscht: what is known about it?

The Eastern Slavs cooked red borscht in the cold season after the beet harvest, and green borscht in the spring, with the appearance of young greens. It is sometimes also called the Ukrainian analogue of Russian sorrel soup.

Green borscht made from the following products is considered traditional:

• meat broth with meat;
• vegetables: potatoes, carrots, onions;
• greens: sorrel, nettle, dill, parsley, onion;
• eggs - chicken or any other bird.

In the old days, the dish was also prepared with the addition of dandelion leaves. As for the egg, in homemade green borscht it is broken directly into the pan. It is allowed to grate eggs on a fine grater. A dish with neat halves or quarters of eggs looks more presentable.

Question answer

What is the difference between green cabbage soup and green borscht?

Lack of eggs. Cabbage soup, as a rule, contains more different ingredients added for richness, including cabbage.Green borscht invariably contains sorrel and young nettle. There is also a difference in preparation: in the first dish, herbs are added twice, and in the second - once, at the very end.

What is the difference between cabbage soup with beets and borscht?

Raw beets (fermented, pickled, sometimes canned) are placed in the cabbage soup.

In conclusion, cabbage soup is considered the simplest dish. Vegetables for it do not require sautéing or frying. All components are placed immediately into the pan. Good red borscht, thick and rich, takes several hours to prepare. You need to make a separate dressing to balance the sweetness and acidity. The difference between the dishes is significant in composition, processes, and taste.