Borscht

Borscht is a soup of Ukrainian origin that is popular in many Eastern and Central European cuisines, including those of Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Poles, Russians, and some Ashkenazi Jews. In most of traditional recipes, it is made with beetroot as the main ingredient. In some regions, tomato is used as the main ingredient, while beetroot may act as a secondary ingredient. Other varieties that do not use beetroot also exist, such as green borscht and white borscht.

Etymology

The English word borscht, also spelled borsch, borsht, or bortsch, comes from Yiddish באָרשט‎ (borsht), which derives from Ukrainian борщ (borshch). The latter, together with cognates in other Slavic languages, comes from Proto-Slavic *bŭrščǐ 'hogweed', and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bhr̥sti- < *bhares-/bhores- 'point, stubble'.Common hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) was the soup's principal ingredient before it was replaced with other vegetables, notably beetroot. The beetroot borscht was invented in what is now Ukraine and first popularized to North America by Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe (see History below).