The basis of a good borsch is rich meat broth, quality vegetables, juicy and bright beets. But it often happens that everything seems to be thrown, cooked, and something is missing, some kind of emptiness in the dish, there is no that highlight. Perhaps the matter is in spices. They give the dish a finished look, awaken the appetite before a meal, and after dinner leave a pleasant aftertaste. What to pour in the pan?
Standard spices for any borsch
Salt is always added to borsch, this is not discussed. Her appearance is a matter of personal taste. Some people like delicious salt, Himalayan pink or other types. In any case, it is laid at the end, when the vegetables are already half ready.
What can be added to borsch:
- Bay leaf. They throw it into the finished borsch entirely at the end and, preferably, remove it after a while, otherwise the dish will have bitterness. Boil laurel is not necessary.
- Pepper. It can be black or fragrant, ground or peas. With red pepper, chili pods, the first dishes are not cooked, they are served separately to add directly to the plate.
- Coriander. He is the seeds of cilantro. Coriander is ground or whole, is small balls. Before adding to the borsch, they must be kneaded, it is better to do this in a mortar.
- Dry celery. Finding celery root in a store is another quest. It’s easier to add a little dry and chopped spices to the borsch.
- Dry garlic. In the classic version, borsch is seasoned with fresh garlic. But such a rich aroma and taste are not always needed. You can pour a little dry garlic at the end, it is softer, lighter, easier to use.
- Vinegar, lemon juice. This does not apply to spices, but acidic ingredients are necessary to preserve beet color and bright taste.
In general, it’s better not to make spicy borsch, burning seasonings are served separately. It can be peppers, mustard, adjika, horseradish sauces. If you fill them with cooked borsch, the taste will go bad. In addition, it is customary to cook this dish in large pots immediately for several days, and when boiled again, aromatic additives change their smell.
By the way, many spices are appreciated not only for their taste, but also for their healing properties. Coriander calms, relieves cramps, is useful for diseases of the central nervous system. Laurel has an immunostimulating and antifungal effect. And everyone's favorite black pepper cleanses the body and participates in hematopoiesis.
Spices for broth
Very often, spices are added not to the finished borsch, but during the preparation of the broth, then all this is filtered, a saturated and aromatic broth is used. It is important to introduce them only after boiling the meat and removing the foam. If a second or third broth is being prepared, then aromatic seasonings are added to the last water also after boiling and removing the foam.
What to add when cooking the broth (5 l):
- 1-2 leaves of laurel;
- 5-7 peas of pepper;
- 3-5 peas of coriander;
- 1 carrot;
- 1 onion in the husk;
- parsley root, celery (optional).
The finished broth is filtered through gauze or a small strainer, then ordinary borsch is prepared according to the recipe. They add nothing more to it, except for greens and garlic.
Helpful advice! Fragrant broth with spices can be prepared in advance and frozen, used not only for borsch, but also for other dishes. At any time at hand will be the basis for soup or sauce.
Cilantro, dill, parsley and other greenfinch
Borsch without greens looks boring, so it is often added to the pan, sometimes immediately to the plate. No need to throw everything that is at home. The choice depends on the base used, that is, the broth. Greens can be added fresh and dry, frozen, canned, it all depends on the season. For a pan of 5 liters, 35-40 grams of fresh grass is enough, no longer needed (unless, of course, this is not green borsch).
What kind of greens to fill borscht of different types:
- Borsch with beef. Fresh parsley fits perfectly in it. You can use cilantro, in small quantities it will not spoil the dish.
- Borsch with lamb. Cilantro fits perfectly into it, you can add a little fresh or dry basil, but it is important not to overdo it.
- Borsch with pork. It perfectly fits dill and fennel. You can use not only greens, but also seeds, for example, lower a whole twig with an umbrella.
- Borsch with chicken, turkey. The perfect addition is dill, but you can lower the basil sprig, hold for five minutes and remove. She leaves behind a pleasant, but unobtrusive aroma.
- Vegetable, mushroom borsch. You can sprinkle parsley or dill. Vegetables are perfectly combined with all types of greens, like mushrooms, we choose to your taste.
Important! In no case should you use parsley with dill and cilantro at the same time. If you also throw basil or rosemary to them, you will get an incredible mixture with a hellish aroma. It is advisable to choose one species, but you can offer greens of other species on a separate plate.
What can not be added to borsch
Although borsch is compared with a hodgepodge because of the huge amount of ingredients, you don’t need to throw everything at it. This can just ruin the dish. Instead of soup, you get a whole pan of burning, sour or spicy mass.
What is not added to borsch:
- Cloves, cinnamon and other spices. These spices in the Ukrainian (or still Russian?) Dish certainly does not belong.
- Ginger. You can serve the pickled root to the borsch on a separate plate, maybe someone will like this option. But fresh or dry ginger cannot be added directly to the pan.
- Korean seasoning. It turns out that they are added not only to salads. Mistresses pour this mixture of spices in sauces, stews, soups, season fish and meat. But you definitely don’t need to add to borsch.
- Sunli hops. Another mixture that many housewives love. They believe that this is a universal option. Perhaps the Suneli hops are suitable for most dishes in our cuisine, but not for borscht for sure.
Still, it is better to add less spices than more. If there is little taste in borsch, something is missing, then the old Ukrainian dressing will help out - lard with garlic. You just need to add them and grind them in a mortar, add chopped herbs, sweet pepper, if desired.
This slurry is thrown into plates, smeared on bread, added to the pan, but only at the very end. Aroma and amazing taste are provided!
