The secret of cooking borscht to keep the color bright

Probably every Ukrainian has his own secrets of making rich and bright red borscht. However, sometimes the dish turns out to be pale - UAportal tried to figure out why.

If beets are cooked for a long time, their color becomes paler. To preserve its brightness, some housewives add sourness to borscht - it can be vinegar, tomato paste, lemon juice, or beetroot kvass. Some people add citric acid, or even pickled tomatoes.

Read also: How to cook borscht: a simple recipe and useful tips

If you don't like the sour taste of the dish, there is one secret to preserve the color of beets without acid. Add sautéed beets to the dish at the end of cooking.

And now here's an easy recipe for Ukrainian borscht that even a beginner can handle.

Ingredients:

• Meat - 500 g
• Beans - 200 g.
• Potatoes - 4 pcs.
• Cabbage - a quarter of a head.
• Onion - 1 pc.
• Beet - 2 pcs.
• Carrot - 1 pc.
• Tomato paste - 2 tbsp.
• Garlic - 2-3 cloves.
• Greens - a few sprigs of parsley and dill.
• Lard - 60 grams.
• Sugar - 1 tsp.
• Salt - to taste.
• Spices - at desired.
• Oil - 2 tbsp.

Let's start cooking:

1. Cut the meat into pieces and put it in a small saucepan to cook. When it boils, rinse it and transfer it to the pot where you will cook the borscht, fill it with water and set it to cook.
2. Add the beans and let them cook with the meat. And then get to work on the "stuffing".
3. Wash and peel the vegetables. Dice the potatoes, grate the carrots and beets on a coarse grater into different plates, and chop the onion finely.
4. Wash, dry, and chop the scallions. Peel the garlic and chop it finely.
5. Chop the cabbage. Add the potatoes to the prepared broth first.
6. Fry the grated beets in vegetable oil.
7. In a separate pan, fry the bacon, remove it, and put the onion in the pan, fry it until it turns brown. Add the grated carrots and sauté over low heat.
8. Add the shredded cabbage to the broth, boil for 5 minutes, and pour the fried carrots and onions out of the pan.
9. Return to the beets. While it is simmering over low heat, add the tomato paste, sugar, salt, and garlic.
10. Add the beet roast to the borscht 10 minutes before the end of cooking. When you add the beetroot mixture to the borscht, stir in the chopped herbs and seasonings, and add the bay leaf.
11. When the borscht has been boiling for 5 minutes with the last ingredients, turn off the heat on the stove and let it brew under the lid.

We also offer a recipe for Lenten borscht with smoked pears.

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